FALL 2026 DISCERNMENT ACTIVITIES
A considerable portion of the fall-semester Engineering Design (EG10117) course is dedicated to discerning your major. Table 1 lists the large discernment events for first-year students during the Fall of 2026. All events, other than the Alumni Panels, occur during class times throughout the event dates, meaning they take place at 9:30 AM, 11:00 AM, 12:30 PM, 2:00 PM, and 3:30 PM.
If you are not enrolled in EG10117 but would like to come to a discernment event(s), we would love to have you! Please reach out to Joe Lyon (jlyon2@nd.edu) or Andrew Bartolini (abartoli@nd.edu) so we can notify the faculty member to expect additional students.
We also maintain a Google Calendar of engineering events to help our first-year students explore the College of Engineering at Notre Dame. You can find that calendar here.
Finally, in addition to the EG10117 Teaching Assistants (learn more about our TAs here), you can leverage the ACES (Academically Collaborative Engineering Spaces) Peer Mentors as a resource for discernment. Learn more about them here.
Table 1. Description of Discernment Events for Fall 2026
| Date | Event | Description | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10/1 | CEEES Day | The Civil & Environmental Engineering & Earth Sciences Department will attend each class session to provide an overview of the department. CEEES Day Slides (link active during fall semester) Civil Engineering Alumni Slides Environmental Engineering Alumni Slides | Stinson Remick 108/109 |
| 10/13 | CSE Day | The Computer Science and Engineering Department will attend each class session to provide an overview of the department. CSE Day Slides (link active during fall semester) Computer Science Alumni Slides Computer Engineering Alumni Slides | Stinson Remick 108/109 |
| 10/29 | CBE Day | The Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department will attend each class session to provide an overview of the department. CBE Day Slides (link active during fall semester) Chemical Engineering Alumni Slides | Stinson Remick 108/109 |
| 11/10 | EE Day | The Electrical Engineering Department will attend each class session to provide an overview of the department. EE Day Slides (link active during fall semester) Electrical Engineering Alumni Slides | Stinson Remick 108/109 |
| 11/12 | AME Day | The Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering Department will attend each class session to provide an overview of the department. AME Day Slides (link active during fall semester) Aerospace Engineering Alumni Slides Mechanical Engineering Alumni Slides | Stinson Remick 108/109 |
| 11/17 | Student Panels | Panels of upper-division students answer student questions about the department, life as a student in that major, and career opportunities. | Throughout Stinson-Remick **Varies by panel |
| 11/20 | Alumni Panels* | Alumni who have recently graduated from the university are invited back on a Friday (corresponding to the last football game) to serve on panels and answer student questions about working in a particular field. Look on the last slide before the “Questions” slide for links to the alums’ LinkedIn and/or emails. The links will be active in mid to late October. Aerospace Engineering Alumni Panel Civil & Environmental Engineering Alumni Panel Chemical Engineering Alumni Panel Computer Science and Engineering Alumni Panel Electrical and Computer Engineering Alumni Panel Mechanical Engineering Alumni Panel | Throughout Debartolo |
| 12/1 | Departmental Experience | Each department creates a customized experience for first-year students, which may include tours of academic and lab spaces, introductions to clubs, faculty panels, and more. Breakdown of Available Offerings (coming in November) | ** Varies by department |
*Note: Alumni Panels happen on a Friday afternoon and not during regularly scheduled class sessions.
**Reach out to Joe Lyon (jlyon2@nd.edu) or Andrew Bartolini (abartoli@nd.edu) for more information about locations.
UPCOMING SPRING 2027 DISCERNMENT ACTIVITIES
The following are great ways to discern your major in the spring of your first year (sign-ups will be posted as we begin the spring semester):
- Meetings/Coffees/Lunches with Faculty – during February
- Lunches with Seniors – week during mid-February
- Continued utilization of the Engineering Exploration Google Calendar (click here)
- Feel free to contact either Andrew Bartolini (abartolini@nd.edu) or Joseph Lyon (jlyon2@nd.edu) to talk about your discernment.
Contact Dr. Bartolini (abartolini@nd.edu) or Dr. Lyon (joseph.lyon@nd.edu) with questions