GCU Engineering
GCU Engineering in Grand Canyon University’s College of Engineering and Technology features relevant curricula that follow industry standards and hands-on, project-based learning beginning in the freshman year. All students have access to lab and industry standard engineering equipment and professional fabrication shops throughout the program. GCU’s engineering programs are led by faculty with extensive and practical experience in government and/or a range of industries, including mobility, biomedical devices, defense and semiconductors.
Engineering Degrees
Bachelor’s degrees within GCU Engineering include focused areas such as biomedical materials, electronics, mechanical design and robotics. Learn more about the engineering degrees GCU offers and how you can get started today.
- Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering
- Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering
- Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering
- Bachelor of Science in Engineering with an Emphasis in Project Management
- Bachelor of Science in Engineering with an Emphasis in Robotics
- Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering
- Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering
- Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering with an Emphasis in Aerospace
- Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering with an Emphasis in Robotics
- Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering Technology
- Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering Technology with an Emphasis in Mechatronics
- Bachelor of Science in Software Engineering
- Bridge (Master of Science in Software Engineering)
- Master of Science in Software Engineering
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Throughout your studies in GCU Engineering, you’ll have access to labs and industry equipment that are typically used in professional settings and not commonly accessible to undergraduate students. The purpose of these facilities is to combine lecture and lab classrooms, enabling activity-based learning alongside theoretical instruction. Programs outside the classroom are also available for students to gain additional experience.
Below are examples of the equipment and research opportunities available to GCU engineering students can prepare them for a career in the industry.
- Biomedical Device Development Lab
- Supports undergraduate research in biomedical device development and medical sector engineering research.
- Combined Lecture and Lab Classrooms
- The equipment used in undergraduate instruction includes an SEM (scanning electron microscope), AFM (atomic force microscope), ultrasound machine, x-ray diffractor and CT machine.
- Engineering Design and Prototyping Facilities
- Prototyping support equipment including an array of 3D printers, CNC machines, laser cutter, plasma cutter and standard industrial tools like mills, lathes and welders.
- Research and Design Program (RDP) for Undergraduates
- The goal of the Research and Design Program at GCU is to fund investigation and development in science, technology and engineering on the GCU campus. This program can provide undergraduate students the experience and mentoring that could be valuable when furthering their education and pursuing career opportunities within the engineering field.
Request more information today to see how you can be a part of GCU Engineering.
GCU Engineering faculty bring to the classroom extensive experience in research, industry and government service. Current faculty have many years of industry and applied research experience in the areas including but not limited to automotive, biomedical device design, mobility, electronics and manufacturing. The faculty actively convey the connections between practical engineering solutions and course theory.
KEEN Partnership
GCU Engineering is part of the Kern Entrepreneurial Engineering Network (KEEN) which is a community of more than 3,000 engineering faculty and staff across the nation. The purpose of KEEN is to give students the opportunity to generate an entrepreneurial mindset so they may have the ability to create meaningful change in their community. Through this partnership, GCU and all engineering students are part of an immersive community can foster collaboration and communication in engineering projects.
GCU Engineering students can be part of an experience that creates and expands opportunities for work and participation in relevant research projects or industry experience.
Read below about some of the current and past projects and presentations in which students have participated.
Canyon Motorsports, a part of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) GCU Collegiate Chapter, designed and constructed an open wheel racecar and successfully competed in their rookie season in June 2019 at the Lincoln, NE Formula SAE event. Additionally, the SAE GCU Collegiate Chapter received the 2019 Class 3 Honeywell Outstanding Collegiate Branch Award “for exemplary performance in the areas of technical meetings, networking opportunities, SAE collegiate design series teams, membership and recruitment, and community service programs.” In fall 2019, SAE GCU performed 120 hours of STEM outreach to Sevilla West School - West Campus. The SAE-sponsored program called “A World In Motion” allowed members to teach basic engineering concepts to fifth- through eighth-grade students.
Founded in 2017, the Thunderbots have competed in VEX Robotics competitions and also sponsored many local service projects. After being invited to the 2018 VEX World Championship, the team won the 2018 Judges Award for the club that “showed exemplary effort and perseverance, team accomplishments or endeavors that might not fall under existing awards but are deserving of special recognition.” The team later received Guinness World Records official participant certificates for competing at the 2018 VEX World Championship event, certified as the world’s largest robotics competition. In November 2019, the team earned the Judges Award at the VEX U Fall Tournament in recognition of their efforts and outstanding character.
Cory Cathrea, 2020 Electrical Engineering graduate, founded GCU’s IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) student branch in September 2018, becoming the first engineering club on campus to be affiliated with the national organization. Cory attended the IEEE Rising Stars Conference in Las Vegas in December 2018 where he helped bring together 335 IEEE industry professionals and university students from all over the world as a member of the conference planning committee[CH5]. At the conference, Cory earned the opportunity to network and learn new technologies and skills on topics such as 5G and giving impactful presentations.
Three Biomedical Engineering program undergraduate students, Madison Strong, Manuel Torres and Jeffrey Richards, were accepted to give an oral/poster category presentation at a premier academic, industrial and clinical diabetes conference. At the Diabetes Technology Meeting in November 2020, they presented their report entitled “Preliminary assessment of a mass manufacturable point-of-care insulin sensor” at the virtual session in front of many other university and industry experts across the world. The conference typically draws attendees from the FDA, American Diabetes Association, Mayo Clinic and many others. Their work has since been published in the academic journal Biosensors and Bioelectronics, titled “Faradaic electrochemical impedance spectroscopy for enhanced analyte detection in diagnostics.”
