Now in its third year, the Transition to Engineering Program (T2E) takes the college’s wildly successful First-Year Engineering (FYE) program required of all incoming engineering students and applies it at the high school level. Doug Klein, FYE lecturer and well-known educator within the Kentucky public school system not only directs the program but also trains the teachers who facilitate T2E in their classrooms.

“It is our plan with this program to have students coming to the college of engineering knowing what to expect from our faculty,” says Klein. “Engineering is a rigorous and hands-on major and allowing students to get started on engaging engineering content and build confidence is a major benefit.”   

Through the T2E program, high school seniors must pass their engineering course, complete and design a project they present and make themselves calculus-ready at the college level. If they enroll at UK, they will receive credit for the first two required FYE courses and enter a modified version of the third. The program targets students with a strong interest in engineering and high academic achievement.  

Program Summary

UK faculty train high school teachers in the EGR 101/102 curriculum.  These high school teachers will then instruct their students in this content.  At the conclusion of the high school course, students complete an assessment on the content provided by the university and a project that integrates coding and product development.  Students that are successful, may receive credit for EGR 101 (1 credit) and EGR 102 (2 credits) at the University of Kentucky.  The receiving of these credits is contingent on these students registering for the final course in the First Year Engineering sequence, EGR 103 (2 credits) the semester after graduation.

High School Expectations 

• Provide an educator that is willing to complete training in engineering content 
• Provide resources for the teacher, such Arduinos and access to software
• Proctor the final exam for T2E in a secure environment, to students that will graduate that academic year and allow a representative from UK to observe the assessment time. 
• Allow UK Engineering faculty to observe student project presentations.

Provided by the University

• Access to curriculum utilized in the First Year Engineering sequence at UK.
• Teacher training on content by engineering faculty. 
• Assessment examples that may be shared with students.
• Access to faculty to collaborate on content through office hours.
• Access to faculty to collaborate with students on projects. 

Engineering Credit

Students that successfully complete the following: 

• Exam - Pass the T2E Final Exam with an 80% or better
• Project - Complete and present a project that meets expectations outlined in curriculum.  
• Calculus ready – At the beginning of their first semester be identified as Calculus ready by the Math department at the University of Kentucky.  Criteria for 2022:   
  • ACT of 27 or higher 
  • 3.75 HS UWGPA and pre-calculus 
  • 3.1 HS UW GPA and calculus 
  • 3 or better on Calculus AB or BC AP Exam 
  • 76 or better on the Aleks exam 

Students that then attend the University of Kentucky College of Engineering may receive the following: 

• Credit for EGR 101 (1 credit) 
• Credit for EGR 102 (2 credits) 
• Access to sign up for EGR 103 (2 credits) the fall after their graduation. This course has Calculus (MA 113) as a prerequisite or concurrent enrollment.

For more information contact Doug Klein at: doug.klein@uky.edu