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IndDesMjr: Bachelor of Science
IndDesMjrOverview
The Individually Designed Major in Engineering (IDMEN) provides another option for undergraduate students interested in a specific study area not covered by one of the numerous engineering programs offered as departmental majors or Engineering subplan majors. Each IDMEN curriculum is designed by the student in consultation with at least two faculty advisors. The primary academic advisor must be in the School of Engineering and a member of the Stanford Academic Council.
Requirements
School Requirements
School of Engineering Core
Mathematics and Statistics Courses
Engineering students need a solid foundation in the calculus of continuous functions, linear algebra, differential equations, an introduction to discrete mathematics, and an understanding of statistics and probability theory. Students are encouraged to select courses on these topics.
Calculus
MATH 19/20/21 (or equivalent with placement via SU exam) are required and prerequisite to the CME 100/102 and MATH 50/53 series.
*Up to 10 units of AP credit (with placement into MATH 51/CME 100) may be used as long as at least 20 math units are taken. SoE Dean’s Office (in 135 Huang) must approve AP credit.
Math Electives
Complete additional courses from the School of Engineering's approved Science course list for 2026-27 to reach the 21-unit minimum of Math coursework. The list is available in the Mathematics subsection within the Engineering-BS School Requirements.
More advanced Mathematics courses may be substituted via approval of petition to deviate.
Science Courses
Students must complete at least 17 units minimum from the School of Engineering's approved Science course list for 2026-27. The list is available in the Science subsection within the Engineering-BS School Requirements.
A strong background in the basic concepts and principles of natural science in such fields as physics, chemistry, geology, and biology is essential for engineering. Most students include the study of physics and chemistry in their programs. Only one social/behavioral sciences course, and one earth sciences course, may be used for the major and must be above the level of an intro course. Both Physics 20 series courses may not be used if the corresponding course (mechanics, E&M) in the Physics 40 series is counted.
PHYSICS 22, 24, and 26 are Laboratory courses associated with PHYSICS 21, 23, and 25, and must be taken at the same time as, or following completion of the associated Lecture courses.
That is:
PHYSICS 22 should be taken in the same quarter or following completion of PHYSICS 21
PHYSICS 24 should be taken in the same quarter or following completion of PHYSICS 23
PHYSICS 26 should be taken in the same quarter or following completion of PHYSICS 25
Technology in Society
It is essential for the student to obtain a broad understanding of engineering as a social activity. To foster this aspect of intellectual and professional development, all engineering majors must take one course devoted to exploring issues arising from the interplay of engineering, technology, and society.
Students must complete at least one course from the School of Engineering's approved Technology in Society list for 2026-27. The list is available in the Technology in Society subsection within the Engineering-BS School Requirements.
The TiS course must be on the list the year that it is taken.
NBIO101 by application only; must take for 3 units and a letter grade.
Course chosen must be on the list the year it is taken.
ENERGY 177A+B must both be taken for 3 units each to count toward TiS requirement.
Engineering Fundamentals
Students must complete at least two courses minimum from the School of Engineering's approved Engineering Fundamentals course list for 2026-27. The list is available in the Engineering Fundamentals subsection within the Engineering-BS School Requirements.
The Engineering Fundamentals requirement is satisfied by a set of technically rigorous introductory courses from various engineering disciplines, as shown in the table below. These courses serve several purposes:
They provide a breadth of knowledge about some of the major fields within engineering.
They allow students to explore several engineering topics before starting a specific engineering major.
The individual classes offer a reasonably deep insight into a contemporary technological subject for the interested non-engineer. Engineering (and IDMEN) majors must complete at least two courses from the list below.
Students must receive a C- or better grade in each Engineering Fundamentals course.
Only one course from each numbered series is allowed (for example, CS 106A or 106B, but not both).
CS 106M is a 1-unit enrichment supplement for CS 106B. Students must be enrolled in CS 106B to enroll in CS 106M.
ENGR 40M and 50M are offered via video at some BOSP overseas program locations and will count as fulfilling the requirement.
Core Program Requirements
Program Core
Engineering Depth
Thirty-four units of engineering depth courses must be drawn from Engineering coursework accepted by other majors within the SoE at the core/depth level, including a capstone depth course with content relevant to proposed goals.
Students must receive a C- or better grade in all engineering depth courses, maintaining an overall GPA of at least 2.5 in engineering courses.
Additional Coursework
Sufficient relevant additional coursework to bring the total number of units in the major to at least 90.
Introductory Seminar courses (IntroSems), 1- or 2-unit survey/professional/personal interest courses (such as MS&E 475, ENGR 103, or ME 104B), ENGR 1 or 2, Student Initiated Courses (SIC), or Sophomore College (SC) courses may not be used to satisfy unit requirements in the IDMEN program.
Students are responsible for completing the prerequisites for all courses included in their majors.
Writing in the Major (WIM)
WIM Course Options
Students must take one course related to their focus area designated as a Writing in the Major course by the SoE department offering the course (the course must be certified as fulfilling WIM by the university).
Atmosphere and Energy
EARTHSYS 191
Concepts in Environmental Communication
Bioengineering
BIOE 131
Ethics in Bioengineering
Biomedical Computation
NOTE: BIOE 212 is crosslisted with BIOMEDIN 212, CS 272, and GENE 212. Any of these offerings will count.
Computer Science
Chemical Engineering
CHEMENG 185A
Chemical Engineering Laboratory A
Design/Product Design
DESIGN 161A
Advanced Design: Open Build Capstone
DESIGN 161B
Advanced Design: Open Build Capstone
DESIGN 162A
Advanced Design: Partnered Build Capstone
DESIGN 162B
Advanced Design: Partnered Build Capstone
Electrical Engineering
CS 194W
Software Project (WIM)
EE 109
Digital Systems Design Lab
EE 133
Analog Communications Design Laboratory
EE 134
Introduction to Photonics
EE 153
Power Electronics
EE 168
Introduction to Digital Image Processing
EE 191W
Special Studies and Reports in Electrical Engineering (WIM)
EE 264W
Digital Signal Processing (WIM)
EE 267W
Virtual Reality (WIM)
Engineering Physics
AA 190
Directed Research and Writing in Aero/Astro
BIOE 131
Ethics in Bioengineering
CS 181W
Computers, Ethics, and Public Policy (WIM)
CS 182W
Ethics, Public Policy, and Technological Change (WIM)
EE 134
Introduction to Photonics
EE 153
Power Electronics
ENGR 102W
Technical and Professional Communication
ENGR 199W
Writing of Original Research for Engineers
MATSCI 161
Energy Materials Laboratory
MATSCI 164
Electronic and Photonic Materials and Devices Laboratory
PHYSICS 191
Scientific Communication in Physics
Environmental Systems Engineering
BIOE 131
Ethics in Bioengineering
CEE 100
Managing Sustainable Building Projects
CEE 102W
Technical and Professional Communication
COMM 120W
The Rise of Digital Culture
EARTHSYS 191
Concepts in Environmental Communication
Management Science and Engineering
The WIM course for MS&E is the same as the capstone course, MS&E 108. This course is not available to IDMEN students because they lack the background to take this project course.
Material Science and Engineering
MATSCI 160
Nanomaterials Design
MATSCI 161
Energy Materials Laboratory
MATSCI 164
Electronic and Photonic Materials and Devices Laboratory
Capstone
Capstone Requirements
At least one of the Engineering courses must be identified as a “capstone/senior project” course in an SoE major, with content and activities that are relevant to your proposed goals.
Examples include:
ME 216B+C [DESIGN 161A+B] are the capstone courses for the Design major
CS 191, 194, etc., are the capstone options for CS.
ENVSE has a list of 5-9 capstone offerings, depending upon the specialty area chosen.
Your capstone should fit into your SoE topic focus; an Honors thesis or project may not be used for the capstone unless a detailed proposal and plan are approved at least a full year before graduation by the participating faculty member and the IDMEN Review Committee. Also, it is important to confirm that you will be allowed to enroll in your proposed capstone. Since some departments reserve space in these courses for their own majors, you should not assume that you will be allowed to enroll. Please check with the department hosting the course and the instructors teaching the course to be sure you’ll be allowed to enroll at the time you are planning to take this course. [NOTE for those with an MS&E-centric program: The MS&E capstone/WIM course (MS&E 108) is available only to declared MS&E majors, so you must find an alternative option from one of the other SoE programs.]
Students should choose one option from one of the lists below. Please note that some options consist of one course, and others require two courses to complete. An Honors Thesis may also meet this requirement, with approval from advisors and the IDMEN committee.
CEE Course Options
CEE 133F
Studio 6: Integrated Design Capstone
CEE 145E
Equitable Infrastructure Solutions
CEE 161I
Atmosphere, Ocean, and Climate Dynamics: The Atmospheric Circulation
CEE 165H
Big Earth Hackathon Wildland Fire Challenge
CEE 183
Integrated Civil Engineering Design Project
CEE 199
Undergraduate Research in Civil and Environmental Engineering
CEE 272
Coastal Contaminants
CEE 274D
Pathogens and Disinfection
CME Course Options
CME 209
Mathematical Modeling of Biological Systems
CS Course Options
CS 173A
Foundations of Computational Human Genomics
CS 194H
User Interface Design Project
CS 210B
Industry Innovation Lab
CS 270
Modeling Biomedical Systems
CS 274
Representations and Algorithms for Computational Molecular Biology
CS 275
Translational Bioinformatics
CS 279
Computational Biology: Structure and Organization of Biomolecules and Cells
DESIGN Course Options
DESIGN 161A
Advanced Design: Open Build Capstone
DESIGN 161B
Advanced Design: Open Build Capstone
DESIGN 162A
Advanced Design: Partnered Build Capstone
DESIGN 162B
Advanced Design: Partnered Build Capstone
ENGR Course Options
Students wanting to count ENGR 199 or 199W must get approval from advisors and IDMEN committee.
Applicable only for students approved for Honors and enrolled in applicable research.
MATSCI Course Options
MATSCI 161
Energy Materials Laboratory
MATSCI 163
Mechanical Behavior Laboratory
MATSCI 165
Nanoscale Materials Physics Computation Laboratory
Students must receive a C- or better grade in the engineering capstone course(s).
Honors
OptionalHonors
Honors
IDMEN majors with a solid academic record and enthusiasm for independent research in a significant project may pursue a Bachelor’s degree with Honors (IDMEN-BSH). This option is particularly valuable for students pursuing a PhD because the research experience helps prepare a student for doctoral-level work. The honors thesis, and any coursework associated with the honors degree, is above and beyond the scope of the major itself and can only be counted as a Capstone project if a detailed proposal and plan are approved at least a full year before graduation by the participating faculty member as well as the IDMEN Review Committee.
The student must submit a letter applying for the Honors option endorsed by the student’s primary advisor and honors advisor; the letter should be submitted to the Office of Student Affairs in 135 Huang no later than mid-October of the senior year.
The IDMEN honors advisor may require coursework beyond what is required for the BS without honors.
The student must maintain a GPA of at least 3.5.
The student must complete an honors thesis or project. The manner of evaluating the work will be set by the honors advisor and a second reader, one of whom must be a member of the Academic Council in the School of Engineering. The honors or program advisor will decide the deadline to submit the thesis or project, but it should be set by mid-May at latest.
The student must present the work in an appropriate forum, e.g., in the same session as honors theses are presented in the advisor’s department.
If the honors project will also serve as the capstone for the major, the project must be sent to the SoE Office of Student Affairs by end of May of the senior year for final evaluation by the IDMEN committee.
The signature and title page of the approved thesis or project must be submitted to the Office of Student Affairs by the first week in June of the senior year.
Further information is available from the Office of Student Affairs, Huang 135.