3 credits
Fall 2025 Distance Learning Upper Division
EPICS is a service-learning design course in which teams of students from across campus work together on long-term projects that benefit the community. Project work centers around the engineering, technology, and computing needs of a community partner, but interdisciplinary team interaction is an integral element for project success. Students may participate in EPICS multiple semesters and participation for multiple consecutive semesters on a project team is encouraged. Teams are composed for first-year students through seniors. Most EPICS projects last at least one year, though partnership with the community organization continues for several years. Projects are intended to solve real problems, are defined in partnership with their community partners, and span the complete design process cycle [problem identification - specific development - conceptual design - detailed design - delivery - service/maintenance - retirement]. You receive academic credit for participation in EPICS. How academic credits are applied to your major depends on your degree program and is determined by your department and/or advisor.
Learning Outcomes1Apply material from their discipline to the design of community-based projects.
2Understand design as a start-to-finish process.
3Identify and acquire new knowledge as a part of the problem-solving/design process.
4Be aware of the customer.
5Function on multidisciplinary teams and an appreciation for the contributions from individuals from multiple disciplines.
6Communicate effectively both orally and written with widely-varying backgrounds.
7Be aware of professional ethics and responsibility.
8Have an appreciation of the role that their discipline can play in social contexts.
Prerequisites
Restrictions
made by Purdue students.