Smith offers 50 areas of study in social sciences and history, the arts, languages, literature, mathematics and the natural sciences. Academic concentrations give students a way to delve further into an area of interest by combining academic and practical experiences, such as internships and service learning. Student-athletes can choose from more than 1,000 courses; the open curriculum gives you the freedom to personalize your experience.

ABOUT THE MAJOR

The mission of the Picker Engineering Program is to impart the perspectives, knowledge and tools of engineering to our students, to prepare our graduates to be critical thinkers and resilient learnings, to foster an inclusive engineering community that welcomes diverse perspectives, to generate new knowledge and engage our students in that process. 

In 2004, Smith College made history when 19 women graduated as part of the first class of engineers ever from an all-women’s ABET-accredited engineering program. The reasons to have an engineering program at an all-women’s, liberal arts college are compelling. As a creative endeavor at the intersection of design, science and mathematics, engineering draws on nearly all aspects of the human experience, including history, politics, economics, arts and societal aspirations. The work of engineers both exacerbates and offers solutions to some of our gravest societal problems, including climate change, disease, resource limitations and conflict. 

Student-Athlete Perspective, Bryn Murray, Field Hockey/Lacrosse

Why did you choose the engineering program at Smith?

I chose the Smith engineering program because it allows students to explore different areas of engineering over the course of your four years. Entering college I knew I wanted to pursue engineering, but I had no idea which specific discipline was best for me. Unlike other more technical institutions, Smith allowed me to take technical depth courses in many areas (geotechnical, mechanical, biomedical, etc. which has helped me discover my interests and create a well rounded foundation of skills to begin my professional career with.

How do you feel Smith has prepared you to enter the professional field?

My Smith education has prepared me with the confidence that I can tackle any problem I am faced with, even if it is something I do not know because there is always room to grow and continue to learn. I've developed extensive skills with teamwork, presentation skills, and meeting strategies through group projects and collaborative work which have been encouraged in every course I've taken. 

What are your goals or plans following graduation?

After graduation, I will be taking the Fundamentals of Engineering Exam and hopefully starting a job with a civil engineering or medical devices company. I also have the goal of going on a cross-country road trip if time permits :)

What has your experience with the program/faculty been?

The Picker Engineering Program has pushed the limits of what I thought I was capable of, but that has been the source of a lot of personal and academic growth for me. All of the faculty is so willing to help in your specific course and as a college student in general--it is clear that they want to see their students succeed. There is also a great network of students in the engineering department that love to collaborate on work and share their knowledge which has made even the most stressful times fun and enjoyable.

What internships have you been involved with as part of the program?

During the summer before my junior year, I participated in Smith’s Summer Research Fellowship (SURF) in Sarah Witkowski’s Clinical Cardiovascular Research Laboratory. Although this is not specifically an engineering internship, I was able to apply my engineering knowledge to a new field, even though it was an area that I did not have expertise in.

I also began a special studies in Spring 2020 with Instrumentation Laboratory to develop an improved design for one of their medical devices. However, this unfortunately got cut short due to Covid and the transition to remote learning.

Student-Athlete Perspective, Karena Garcia, Cross Country/Basketball

Why did you choose the engineering program at Smith?

Throughout my education, I enjoyed most subjects I learned and studied, but i enjoyed math and science the most. When I was in 5th or 6th grade, I remember I participated in an after school program called “Girls Got it Going On” which is about getting girls excited about STEM. I knew I loved match and science but this little six-week program finally gave me the vocabulary for what career would allow me to do both which was engineering. Since then, I used my love for and experiences with match and science to help guide my decision to pursue engineering. In high school, I still knew I wanted to be an engineer, so I knew I needed that degree! Smith was perfect because it had an engineering program which many small, private liberal arts colleges usually don't. Not to mention how cool it sounded to be part of a historically all women's engineering program! So, in retrospect, “Girls Got it Going On” was really just one big foreshadow for my life. 

How do you feel Smith has prepared you to enter the professional field?

What Smith has prepared me for is how to work hard while balancing the other intricacies of life. Work and life does not stop after college, and it will most likely get more complicated, but I think that my time here has helped prepare me to excel through it all anyways. It has also taught me that engineering is the right career for me. On the more technical side, I have definitely learned so much about the fundamentals of various engineering disciplines, but I still feel like I need to know more specifics, especially when it comes to civil engineering. (I guess that's what graduate school is for). My Design Clinic project has been helping with this some, but like anyone in any field, I worry not knowing how to do my job once in the workforce.

What are your goals or plans following graduation?

Engineering at Smith is great because I have gotten a chance to explore the many disciplines of engineering. I played around with the idea of being an electrical engineer for a bit, then thought maybe mechanical engineering after that, but finally decided on civil engineering after taking a geothermal systems class with Professor Rubin. Working on my Design Clinic project has also solidified my choice to pursue civil engineering because I actually love working on our project! With all of that in mind, I decided that I wanted to commission as an officer in the United States Navy Civil Engineering Corps. There, I will receive training on Construction Management, Public Works projects, and Expeditionary Projects where I can get my hardhat dirty!

What has your experience with the faculty been?

My experience in the engineering department has been so incredible. Looking back from first-year to now is wild because 1. I have done so much work over the past four years (thinking about all of the assignments I've completed, all of the hours in tutoring, all of the textbooks I've ready, and all of the content I have absorbed is hard to wrap my head around honestly) and 2. I have truly learned so much about engineering and myself. I have loved learning and struggling with my classmates. Since the engineering major is pretty strict, we all end up  in the same classes together at some point, so we all know each other pretty well, and I think my senior class of engineers is arguably the funniest class to come out of the program since I've been at Smith. I've loved all my classes and all of my professors. My favorite class ever was Geothermal Systems. 

What internships have you been involved with as part of the program?

I was very lucky to have internships every summer while at Smith. The summer before sophomore year, I worked at a place called Azbil BioVigilant where I was basically doing electrical engineering. The next summer I worked at M3 Engineering where I did more civil/architectural/structural engineering (this one was my favorite), and this past summer during the pandemic I was lucky to be back at BioVigilant where I did computer science based work. All of these experiences were extremely valuable, and I learned so much while I was there.

ALUMNAE PERSPECTIVE | SARAH PRICE | LACROSSE

What is your current position?

I am currently a Project Engineer at AHBL.

How did the engineering program at Smith prepare you for your current position?

The engineering program at Smith helped expose me to many different kinds of engineering. I t also helped me spark my interest in environmental and water engineering. We are allowed to take various engineering electives and I took geotechnical engineering, which is quite handy when reading geotechnical reports. A lot of the electives I chose were water engineering based which has helped me understand the theory behind my job a lot.

Would you recommend the engineering program and why?

I would recommend the engineering program at Smith because it immerses you into classes you might not think you''d be interested in. It also gives you a broader knowledge of the fields of engineering. Some schools offer more specific fields of engineering but the students lack the knowledge 

What are your career goals and how do you believe Smith allowed you to pursue them?

I hope to one day be a project manager. I believe Smith has helped me gain confidence as a female in a male dominated field. The design clinic class was an awesome experience to help me learn to delegate and be a leader amongst my peers for a quarter. I think Smith has helped me build a strong work ethic as well as time management skills. I believe both are very important skills to have as a project manager. 

What internships were you involved with while at Smith?

While at Smith I worked in a lab for Niveen Ismail. We studied the use of zooplankton to filter out contaminants in water. Outside of Smith, I also did an internship in Dublin, Ireland. I worked with students to study the effects and weirs and dams on fish migration and river health. 

ALUMNAE PERSPECTIVE | BETHANY CLAPS | LACROSSE

What is your current position?

I currently work as a Supply Chain Manager for Apollo America, a life safety company that manufactures fire detection devices in Metro Detroit. 

How did the engineering program at Smith prepare you for your current position?

The Picker Engineering Program taught me how to solve problems, collaborate across different perspectives, and communicate effectively both verbally and in writing. These are key skills no matter your role or industry! You do not need to have a specialized engineering degree to be a valuable contributor to a future employer - the broad focus of the Picker Engineering Program provides the fundamental mental models and the different frameworks needed to start solving the complex problems that many organizations face.

Would you recommend the engineering program and why?

The Picker Engineering Program was a fantastic way to build my technical knowledge and skills in an environment that was not overly focused on any one discipline. This allowed me to graduate from Smith as a well-rounded, life-long learned that is able to think critically about problems from a host of different perspectives.

What are your career goals and how do you believe Smith allowed you to pursue them?

My main career goal is to be a leader of people, uniting my team to help make the world a safer, cleaner, and healthier place. I would not be where I am today, in my career or in life, without the personal growth I experienced during my time at Smith in the classroom and on the field and without the opportunities afforded to me as a member of our incredible society.

What internships were you involved with during your time at Smith?

During my time at Smith, I was involved in SSEP, Smith’s Summer Science and Engineering Program, a residential experience for high school students to come to campus and explore STEM topics. I served as a Teaching Assistant for the four week program, focusing on a robotics course. I also spent one summer in a Research Experience for Undergraduates at the University of Pennsylvania, where I worked in a Materials Science lab. 

PROFESSOR SPOTLIGHT | ANDREW GUSWA | DIRECTOR OF THE PICKER ENGINEERING PROGRAM

Education: Ph.D., M.S.C.E, Stanford University   /    B.S.E., Princeton University

In 2001, Drew Guswa joined the faculty at Smith College to help launch the Picker Engineering Program—the first engineering program at an all-women’s college. In 2009, he was named as the founding director of Smith’s Center for the Environment, Ecological Design, and Sustainability. In this capacity, Guswa has worked to provide students with opportunities to integrate knowledge across disciplines in support of environmental decisions and action.

As a civil and environmental engineer, he views his own research as a chance to make manifest his commitment to the environment through continually acquiring engineering and analytical skills and applying them to new challenges. He is particularly interested in the interactions between one's predictive goals and the mathematical representation of hydrologic processes. In 2015–16, Guswa was a visiting scholar at Stanford University, collaborating with the Natural Capital Project on the development of hydrologic models to support land-management decisions.

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