It's easy to start your application.
Undergraduate Admissions
Day in the life of a McKelvey Engineer
No matter their major, students at the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis can take advantage of opportunities to get involved in groundbreaking research, serve as leaders in student organizations and explore the St. Louis area.
While it’s impossible to show the full breadth of experiences one may encounter on campus, we wanted to share a glimpse of what a day in the life of an Engineering student was like. Check out the videos below to learn what it means to be a McKelvey Engineer.
Emily Chen
Emily Chen, a junior majoring in biomedical engineering, starts her day with an early meeting with her peers in the lab of Jessica Wagenseil, vice dean for faculty advancement and professor of mechanical engineering & materials science. Since Chen lives off campus, she gets to check out popular neighborhoods, such as the famous Delmar Loop, on her way to the lab.
After that, she grabs a quick bite to eat at Coffeestamp, which serves fresh coffee and made-from-scratch baked goods including empanadas. Before coming to campus, Coffeestamp was already a popular roastery located in St. Louis’ Fox Park neighborhood.
Chen then heads to Whitaker Hall for “Quantitative Physiology II,” a required course biomedical engineering students typically take during their junior year. The course includes a lab section where students get hands-on experience building and working with medical devices.
Her day on campus wraps up with a meeting of the Student Union, on which she serves as executive vice president of the undergraduate student government.
Brianna Duhart
Brianna Duhart's day begins in one of WashU’s residential colleges located on the South 40, an area that has been compared to a small town with its own fitness center, dining facilities, sports fields and student-run shops.
Duhart is an undergraduate researcher in the lab of Jessica Wagenseil, vice dean for faculty advancement and professor of mechanical engineering & materials science. She spends two hours working in the lab before heading to “Engineering Mathematics,” a required course for all Engineering students.
After a lunch of toasted ravioli (a St. Louis favorite!) at Parkside Café, she goes to “Biomechanics,” another required course that biomedical engineering students take during their sophomore year. In this course, students study the movement and mechanical properties of the human body through lectures and interactive labs.
Heading back to her residence, Duhart passes through the South 40 Underpass, a brightly decorated tunnel advertising events and student groups on campus. After dinner, Duhart spends her evening studying and offering virtual office hours as a teaching assistant for “Introduction to Computing Tools with MATLAB."
International Experiences: Jocelyn Epstein and Guinter Dame Vogg
Each summer, the Department of Energy, Environmental & Chemical Engineering offers students the opportunity to take their studies abroad as a part of its “International Experiences” course. Previously, the course has been hosted in Delhi, India; Taipei, Taiwan; and Budapest, Hungary.
In 2023, Jocelyn Epstein and Guinter Dame Vogg, seniors majoring in environmental engineering, joined their classmates to study at the National University of Singapore in Queenstown, Singapore. After flying out of St. Louis Lambert International Airport, students spent two weeks attending lectures on topics such as materials science, sustainability and water treatment; touring institutions such as the Global Center for Maritime Decarbonization and Bayer Crop Science; and visiting cultural landmarks such as Gardens by the Bay, Supertree Grove and Clarke Quay.