Shocker Design Experience

Start your college journey with a real-world impact. The Shocker Design Experience (SDX) is a unique, year-long program for first-year students from every major, sponsored by the WSU College of Engineering. In a two-semester project, you'll join a multidisciplinary team to tackle a meaningful challenge, develop an entrepreneurial mindset, and gain skills that will set you up for success in any career.

Professional Development Workshops Koch Innovation Challenge Project Innovation Hub

Fueling Tomorrow's Innovators

We couldn't run the Shocker Design Experience without the incredible support from our sponsors. We're proud to have Koch Industries as the lead sponsor of our program and of the Koch Innovation Challenge, as well as for our paid peer mentorship program, which provides upperclassmen with valuable applied learning experiences. A special thanks to Great Plains Ventures for sponsoring our classroom studio, named for their founder, Charles Peer, in the John Bardo Center. Their companies, Great Plains Industries (GPI) and Aerospace Systems and Components (ASC), also provide crucial funding for student projects, ensuring our students have the materials and tools needed to bring their ideas to life. A special thanks also goes to alumnus John Lovitt for his generous support, which provides essential classroom equipment for rapid prototyping and helps us teach students valuable teamwork and feedback skills.Their generous contributions not only make a significant impact on the student experience but also help us increase freshman retention, directly preparing our students for successful internships and careers.

Driving Persistence. Changing Outcomes.

The SDX program is a powerful driver of student success in the college. With 422 participants in 2024-2025, the program achieved an 80% freshman-to-sophomore retention rate. This is a significant outcome, as SDX participants persist at a rate 11 percentage points higher than non-participants, demonstrating the program’s essential role in improving retention.

ASEE Paper Publication KEEN Conference Workshop

Internship Spotlight:
Our Students in the Field

WSU senior prepares for aviation workforce with NIAR internship

Read about our SDX "graduate" and current peer mentor, James Wright. As a first-year student, his team won the Koch Innovation Challenge and competed nationally at the Collegiate Entrepreneurs' Organization Global Pitch Competition in 2023.

Student wearing construction hat driving vehicle

Mechanical engineering student finds confidence, community with internship at Shuttlewagon

Read about SDX "graduate" Janett Lerma-Reyes. As a first-year student, her team advanced to the finals of the Shocker New Venture competition (Top 5) and also finished in the top teams of the Koch Innovation Challenge in 2025.

From classroom to career: WSU engineering student powers up her career through paid internship

Read about SDX "graduate" Karaline Scott. As a first-year student, her team won the Koch Innovation Challenge in 2025 and will head to the Collegiate Entrepreneurs' Organization Global Pitch Competition to compete nationally.

Full Year Freshman Experience:
Fall FYS + Spring Project

Enroll Now

Students sitting at a table laughing about a shared activity

Fall FYS Course

Step 1 - Enroll in our Fall FYS Course

Take our First Year Seminar (FYS) course to learn about the inventions that made our modern world possible. You'll then experience the innovation process yourself using entrepreneurial mindset and the design thinking process, a human-centered design method for innovation that focuses on empathy as a way to understand the user and design to meet their needs. The FYS course is a prerequisite for the spring semester applied project. Open to students of all majors!

Enroll in FYAP 102A Introduction to Technology & Innovation

A students shows off her cardboard prototype

Spring Applied Project Course

Step 2 - Enroll in our Spring Applied Project

Continue your work from the fall FYS in your spring semester in the applied project course, where your team can transform your ideas into a fully working prototype. We'll coach you on product development, protecting your intellectual property, and giving an elevator pitch to share your new product. Participate in the Koch Innovation Challenge, a fun innovation competition to earn applied experience credit or Engineering+ credit towards graduation. Open to students of all majors!

Enroll in ENGR 102B Entrepreneurship & Innovation Applied Project