Seattle University’s Project Center has over three decades of success. Our numbers speak for themselves! Since 1987, the Seattle University Project Center has been partnering with businesses, government agencies and nonprofit organizations who provide complex, real-world assignments for student design teams. When Seattle University students tackle real-world business problems for industry sponsors, good things happen. The students gain first-hand knowledge of how industry works, and sponsors gain a fresh perspective from the student team.

All graduating seniors in Civil Engineering, Environmental Science, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering will complete a senior design project. We also can have interdisciplinary teams of students from two or more of these departments. Masters of Science students in Software Engineering and Data Science also complete 2-quarterlong projects. 

Student teams are partnered with sponsors from industry, as well as Seattle University faculty to provide solutions to real-world problems. Over the course of the project, student teams are responsible for almost everything expected from a professional consultant, including project management, budgeting and scheduling. Over the course of the academic year, the students collectively work 1000 hours to design and deliver their prototype, software application or proof of concept.

Everyone wins! Our students are developing valuable career skills and the sponsors are gaining access to new talent by getting a good look at individual students who are potentially future employees. Employment by a sponsor is not a guarantee to our students, yet many of our sponsors have hired Seattle University Project Center students after completing the project.

As we look ahead to the next 36 years, the capabilities of the Project Center will continue to evolve. Seattle University is building a new complex called the Center for Science and Innovation that will connect us even more closely to our corporate, government and nonprofit organizations while providing our students a space to explore solutions to tomorrow’s complex STEM challenges.

 Project Timeline

General project timeline

Industry supplies the challenge, 900+ industry led projects, 4000+ students, 30+ patents, 300+ sponsors, 600+ students hired by sponsors

“Working with the Project Center is a collaborative way to make headway on evaluating our structures. By utilizing student teams, Seattle City Light furthers our knowledge base on the structures while the students learn seismic analysis and perform the heavy number crunching under our supervision.”

Robert Cochran, PE/SE Senior Civil Engineer Structural Engineering Group Seattle City Light