2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

As products become more complex and more connected, following principles and practices of systems engineering is becoming a necessity. Issues related to designing the right product, managing the product lifecycle, meeting safety requirements, and saving money are just a few of the outcomes of good systems engineering. Curricular changes are needed to properly prepare our students for the workforce, to enable them to become innovators, and to give them tools to help transform the way that companies work. These changes include not just what and how we teach but also include hands-on, experiential aspects of learning.
This paper presents a practical approach to integrating systems engineering (SE) concepts into the existing UC Irvine mechanical engineering capstone design course without requiring additional credit hours or standalone courses. Nine key SE topics were incorporated into lectures and project deliverables for a two-quarter capstone sequence with unique open-ended projects that are prototyped and tested. Topics include things such as stakeholder needs and expectations, measures of effectiveness, requirements elicitation and analysis, functional analysis, and integration with continuous verification and validation. Also described is a SE technical elective which initially motivated the capstone course but is now being informed by the capstone student outcomes and other student projects.
Nearly 150 students responded to a 15-item survey that assessed conceptual understanding, perceived career value, and self-efficacy in applying SE practices. Results demonstrate strong student outcomes: 94% recognized connections between SE and traditional design processes, 84% rated SE as extremely or very valuable to their careers, and 92% understood the critical distinction between verification and validation. Notably, 74% of students indicated that more SE content is needed throughout the mechanical engineering curriculum, with many requesting earlier exposure to these concepts. This work in progress reports findings from a single cohort but demonstrates that SE concepts can be effectively embedded within existing capstone experiences, providing students with professional frameworks and systematic approaches to managing complexity.