Director's Welcome
SoE Strategic Curricular Initiatives for Student Success
My name is Stephen Secules, and it’s my pleasure to welcome you to our website. I’m the Director of two School of Engineering strategic initiatives being developed to promote student success through our curriculum.
The first initiative is to create a common first year engineering course experience for all SoE students. Through a pilot development and cross-departmental input, we have created a course experience that will help students transition to UNM SoE, give exposure to each of their SoE major options, and provide foundational experience in engineering, computer science, and construction management skills and habits of mind. The course is planned to be launched to all incoming SoE students in Fall 2026 and taught in a newly refurbished makerspace classroom (COLL*IDE).
The second initiative is to create a new Bachelor of Science degree in Integrative Engineering. This program will be accredited by the Accreditation Board of Engineering Technology (ABET) and provide students more flexibility to pursue an emphasis across engineering, humanities, and social science topics. The curriculum will emphasize engineering design, professional skills such as communication and leadership, and core engineering content from departments across the School of Engineering. Students will select tracks that prepare them into different areas of specialization, which will include a professional skill area (e.g., ethics, policy) and a technical skill area (e.g., robotics, AI). Graduates from the program will be well-positioned to take leadership in career paths that emphasize the integration of technical and professional skills, such as engineering entrepreneurship and management, technology policy, patent law, high-tech arts installations, and other innovative and interdisciplinary efforts.
We are building a team of lecturers, staff, cross-departmental faculty collaborators, and undergraduate researchers and peer learning facilitators to help achieve both of these large strategic efforts. If you’re interested in getting involved in any capacity, please reach out!
On this page, you’ll find initial information about the new initiatives. We’ll update this page with more information so check back soon!
Dr. Stephen Secules
Director of First-Year Engineering and Integrative Engineering
Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering
University of New Mexico
