The engineering department updated its courses for the 2026–27 school year, introducing a biomedical engineering elective and changing existing electives’ lengths.
Engineering teacher Jodi Ramirez said the changes aim to make courses more accessible, with shortened courses allowing students who “typically wouldn’t try one of these courses” to explore different engineering fields.
Digital Electronics will become a one-semester Intro to Electrical Engineering course, and the two-semester Aerospace Engineering class will be split into two one-semester courses: Flight Systems Engineering and Rocket and Space Systems.
Junior Ratik Jain, currently taking Aerospace Engineering, said he values the course’s project-based approach.
“I’m really interested in flight, but I know other friends in the class who are mainly there for the space side of things,” he said. “Although both are combined in aerospace, I know all of us would enjoy [it] if we focus[ed] on what really drew us into the class.”
The Engineering Capstone class will expand to two semesters, with the second focused on internships. Ramirez said this reflects the department’s emphasis on experiential learning, which will also guide the new Biomedical Engineering course through guest speakers and field trips to biomedical companies in Minnesota.
“Every year, I see students going off to a university and they’re majoring in engineering, and I haven’t seen them in any of these classes,” Ramirez said. “It’s a great idea to get a feel for what [college engineering classes] are like, and a lot of these are like your intro level engineering classes in college.”
Freshman Isabel Pollock, who is taking Civil Engineering and Architecture, does not plan to register for additional engineering courses but said she appreciated the opportunity to try and gained a “really good sense” of what architects and engineers do.
Both she and Jain said they encourage other students to enroll, praising the faculty and classroom support.
This piece was originally published in Zephyrus’ print edition on Feb. 19, 2026
