Course Descriptions

Communication Tools for Academic & Professional Success in Engineering

This is a course designed for international students. The course will provide students with tools to assist with language proficiency, career guidance and cultural learning experiences.

Conflict Management and Negotiation

Learn core competencies that lead to effective conflict management. Discern underlying sources of conflict and approaches to work through it. Develop a plan to handle confrontation as well as strategies that will minimize future conflict. Resolving conflict helps facilitate achieving personal, team, and organizational goals, leading to higher performance levels.

Engineering Ethics and Sustainability

By studying both historic and hypothetical engineering cases, the student will more fully appreciate a professional's responsibilities in applying emerging technologies to modern challenges. Special attention will be given to sustainability in response to global social issues. Students will have opportunities to demonstrate mature decision making skills and to appreciate the importance of lifelong learning about both professional practice and ethical issues.

Engineers in the Community

A senior design-style course where your client is a community-focused organization that addresses equity gaps here in St. Louis. This course requires group meetings with community partners and instructors. During fall break, we make site visits and host guest speakers. This class fulfills the requirements for 4501, 4502, and 4503. Expanding the themes currently taught in these courses to introduce parallels in a local community, students will consider how engineers can make a positive impact. Graduating seniors will have priority. 

Leadership and Team Building

Forms of leadership and qualities of effective leaders evaluated through case studies, with opportunities for self-analysis. Teamwork and effective team-building skills in engineering environments, with a focus on multidisciplinary and complex engineering projects. 

Presentation Skills for Scientists and Engineers

This course focuses on developing memorable and powerful presentations about scientific or technical topics for non-specialists. Technical presentations are a complex blend of information, conversation, and performance, requiring a nuanced set of cognition, emotional intelligence, and design skills.

Publication Writing

Academic writing in science, mathematics, and engineering fields is a requirement for professional advancement. This course is designed to help students gain the skills needed to write academic peer reviewed research publications. Enrolled students will have the option to write about their own research projects.

Reflective Writing in Medicine and Healthcare

Reflective writing is an essential step on the path to any career in medicine, public health, nursing, dentistry, or other healthcare fields. As you apply for and interview for the next step in that path, it's important to be comfortable communicating your journey to your chosen career and the moments that have shaped you along the way. Explore some of the topics and experiences you might consider using in your personal statement and application, journal about shadowing and volunteer experiences, read and critique others' writing, learn the skills and strategies for this format, and meet one-on-one with the professor to perfect your reflective writing into a presentable and polished format. This course is designed for juniors and seniors; preference will be given to McKelvey School pre-med/pre-health students. Prerequisites: junior standing; must have fulfilled the College Writing requirement.

Technical Writing

Write technical material effectively for a target audience. Some of the skills you will learn:

• Master business communication skills for the workplace
• Design documentation with an effective layout and visual design
• Cite relevant, credible information from appropriate technical sources
• Use appropriate sources to solve problems