Explore Careers & Personal Pathways

The student body of Interdisciplinary Engineering Studies (IDES) and Multidisciplinary Engineering (MDE) have a wide range of interests.  To learn more about program pathways and related opportunities for work, visit the links and student stories below.

MDE Concentration	Related Student/Alumni Story or Video
Acoustical Engineering	Alumnus Oscar Otero, Acoustical Consultant Alumnus Zane Wright, Acoustical Consultant Learn more from Prof. Rick Thomas and an Industry Partner
Engineering Management	Alumna Danielle Render Alumnus Zach Herington
General Engineering	Alumnus Alex Offenbach (2022 Update: All roads lead to Indy) Alumnus Christopher Nilsen
Humanitarian Engineering	Alumna Madeline Moisio Part II of the Colloquium discusses the need and growth of Humanitarian Engineering (highlights Angela Collins, MDE Alumna '18)
Lighting Engineering	Maybe this concentration is for you!
Nano Engineering	Maybe this concentration is for you!
Theatre Engineering	Alumna Issy Block Jessica Goldberg Alumnus Zachary Kovalenko Learn More from Assist. Prof. Rich Dionne Boiler Bytes; Meet MDE's Amanda Grimm and Elena Helvajian
Visual Design Engineering	Alumna Lexy Ackerman Alumnus Reis Lehman
Self-Design Plan of Study	Alumna Abby Lemert, Foreign Policy Engineering

Not finding a concentration or plan of study that matches your academic and professional interests?  Schedule an appointment to meet with an IDES/MDE Academic Advisor and learn more about the opportunities and limits of a “Self-Design” Plan of Study (Note: Only available in Multidisciplinary Engineering).
 

IDES Concentration Information	Related Student/Alumni Story
Pre-Medical Studies	Alumna Abhi Mishra
Self-Design Plan of Study	Seth, Internet of Things

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MDE Employer Recruiting & Testimonials

Often we are asked “What type of companies would be interested in hiring a MDE student?”, or “Why would a company recruit an MDE student?”.  It is an honest and legitimate question to ponder. The answers are quite simple:  

1. All types of companies recruit and hire our MDE students.  From large to small, public sector, private, and not-for-profit, in very traditional industrial sectors and those just emerging into our economy.
2. Company’s recruit our students because they have either hired students from our program, and are coming back for more, or, they are looking for that “special candidate” with either a broad and flexible mindset toward engineering (General, Visual Design,…) or a very specific and refined skill set within a novel area of engineering (e.g. Acoustical, Theatre,…)

Companies may not have heard of the Multidisciplinary Engineering when they first visit Purdue, but they are sure not to forget MDE after they have met our graduates.  Our students provide the best answer to why EVERY company needs at least one Multidisciplinary Engineer on their team!

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^{Last Updated: June 2, 2022}