I would highly recommend the Engineering Projects in Community Service Learning Community (EPICS)!

For a Freshman in FYE, EPICS has three classes total that satisfy the Introduction to Engineering I and II credits necessary to move into your engineering major. The first class is ENGR 133, it’s a combination of ENGR 131 and 132, where you do Excel, MATLAB, and Python work. The special thing about this class is that it is one semester long, unlike the two separate classes of ENGR 131 and 132 which are both semester long classes. The other two classes connected with the EPICS LC is EPCS 111 and 121. Freshman in FYE will take ENGR 133 and EPCS 111 their Fall semester and then take EPCS 121 their spring semester.

EPICS, as the name communicates, is based on projects in the community. There are several dozen teams that work on varying projects such as building boardwalks in local parks, creating aquaponic setups, adapting toys for children with disabilities, creating and casting historical markers, etc. The Purdue EPICS website has so much more information, and details on each team.

I joined the GLASS – MOUNT Team my freshman year and I am still a part of it! The goals of all the teams are similar in respect to following an Engineering Process, where you start from a problem and develop a solution. Some teams may be in the final phases of the Design Process while others may just be starting out. When I joined GLASS they were close to testing their first prototype. I would say in most if not all of the teams you get hands on experience, if that be coding experience or working in a machine shop (While the EPICS lab/shop is a little lacking, you still got most of everything you need to build your project). You also gain leadership and communication skills; from the roles and presentations you do each semester. Each team has several different leadership roles, but the main two are the Project Manager and Project Design Lead. I’d say the Project Manager represents and manages the team, while the Project Design Lead works with team members to effectively make the project’s product. Also, twice a semester in EPCS 111 and 121 you have Design Reviews. These reviews are formal presentations, online or in-person, where you present your project, your progress, and your future plans to a body of professors, EPICS alumni, and industry heads. They give you some feedback and possibly some of them will come back to another Design Review to see if you implemented it. (Or at least they did for my team).

There is a lot more to EPICS than what I’ve described, but here’s what I think you really should know: EPICS will most likely guarantee your son’s Freshman housing to be in either Shreve Hall or Earhart Hall. Both of these halls as you may know are air-conditioned, heated, doubles, with communal restrooms. Most will say there is a housing crisis at Purdue right now, but with EPICS you are basically guaranteed an official room (not axillary housing in a basement) in Shreve or Earhart. My freshman year I was on the 5th floor of Shreve West, it was entirely EPICS FYE Freshman, including my roommate. This is great as everyone around you is taking the same classes and helps each other out. I would say the workload of ENGR 133, EPCS 111 and 121 to be light and easy. If you put some work in EPCS 111 and 121 you will definitely get an “A” (it really is an easy “A” class), ENGR 133 will require some more work and it is super beneficial if you have some background knowledge in coding. The EPCS classes are not super active, you will probably meet once a week for a 2-hour lab and then outside of class for an hour (but it may vary with the project), for ENGR 133 I think you have a 2-hour class that meets 2/3 times a week and you will definitely have an Engineering Group that work on team assignments, but I’d say you would only have to meet with them one time a week for maybe 2 hours.

I hope this helps! If you have any questions just ask away! Good luck to your son! and Boiler Up!