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Arts & Engineering

Be the Best of Both Worlds

Not everyone thinks like an engineer. Learning to work with people from other disciplines can make you a better communicator, decision maker and critical thinker. Experiences that combine Engineering and the Arts bring a new dimension to your studies and set you up for success in the workplace and in society.


Erin Schimmel portrait

Some of the most important things about being an engineer aren’t taught in the classroom, such as learning about different people’s viewpoints and perspectives. Holding leadership positions within Living ArtsEngine has helped me grow in this way.”

Erin Schimmel
Environmental Engineering, 
ArtsEngine

ArtsEngine

ArtsEngine is an interdisciplinary initiative for students and faculty supported by the five North Campus schools and colleges (Engineering; Architecture & Urban Planning; Art & Design; Music, Theatre & Dance; Information). We provide grant funding for interdisciplinary projects and research, co-sponsor campus-wide programs, such as the MPowered Innovation Challenge and the Science as Art competition. We also offer co-taught courses on creativity and collaboration through our UARTS courses, and support the Living ArtsEngine residential community. 

ArtsEngine Website

Talk to a human: artsengine@umich.edu | (734)763-2318

Semesters Offered/Recommended: Year Round

Financial: Funding Available

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Core Professional Competencies

Experiences in ArtsEngine build the professional competencies that employers say they’re looking for, including:

  • Creativity: Learn to generate ideas, processes, and products that are both novel (unique, original, atypical, cutting-edge) and appropriate (relevant, practical, useful, applicable, fitting, effective).
  • Ability to Accept and Manage Risk: Learn to critically assess available information, take action despite uncertainty, manage outcomes, and learn from failure as well as from success.
  • Teamwork: Work to define and achieve shared goals by leveraging different perspectives, roles, responsibilities, and aptitudes. Learn to overcome conflict and to use it to your team’s advantage to create more robust solutions.

If you’re a Michigan Engineering student, use Spire to find out more about how ArtsEngine can foster your professional growth.