Course of Study

Both tracks of the program will be centered round challenging studio design projects. These will emphasize cross-disciplinary collaboration and teamwork, customer focused research, user interface design, future scenarios building, strategic thinking, environmental issues and an understanding of the business, politics and technologies of the transportation world. The ability to present complex solutions in a format that can be understood by non-experts will be developed as well as building strong visualization skills. Collaborative thesis or research projects will give students the opportunity to demonstrate their mastery of developing innovative solutions that balance the needs and expectations of customers and end-users with the requirements of the enterprises that deliver them.

The Vehicle Track curriculum will be complemented by courses on emerging and future trends in vehicle technologies, manufacturing and product development processes, project management and leadership skills. For their thesis, students will be encouraged to develop new vehicle ideas to a proof of concept level, in collaboration with students and faculty from other disciplines and schools.

The Transportation Systems Track curriculum will instead, add courses, which familiarize students with the worlds of urban planning, policy-making and systems thinking. Students will develop their thesis in collaboration with other appropriate disciplines around proposals for new transportation systems that respond to longer-term urban and environmental issues.

Internships appropriate to each track will be encouraged to complement their curricular activities. In addition, there will be opportunities to work on transportation design research projects with faculty.