Program Description
In this 6-week, 6-credit program, you’ll study and live at Polytechnic University of Valencia in the hilltop university town of Alcoy, Spain. You’ll take day trips to Valencia, Bocairent, and Xativa; enjoy a 4-day weekend in Granada and Toledo; and spend the final two days of the program in Madrid.
The 2024 program will be led by Notre Dame Professor Luis B. Fargier-Gabaldón in conjunction with a local Alcoy university professor.
This summer experience is open to all engineering students.
Courses
All students enroll in both of the following courses for a total of 6 engineering credits.
- EG xxxxx: Introduction to Bridge Engineering (3 credits)
This course looks at how bridge engineering often involves a multidisciplinary team of experts. For example, civil engineers (including structural, hydraulic, and geotechnical experts and earth scientists) usually design of the structure; environmental engineers quantify the environmental impact of the bridge and propose remedial solutions; mechanical and electrical engineers are responsible for the design and maintenance of the components in bascule bridges (e.g., Tower Bridge in London); aerospace engineers conduct wind-tunnel tests to optimize the design of cable-stayed and suspension bridges (e.g., Gordie Howe International Bridge between Detroit and Windsor); chemical engineers use technics to enhance the durability of concrete in sea water (e.g., Sunshine Way Bridge in Florida) and coatings to delay corrosion and high-strength additives to anchor steel members into concrete; while computer science engineers develop computer-based systems to implement structural health monitoring techniques that track to behavior of the bridge in real time (e.g., Rio-Antirrio Bridge in Greece).
- EG 34440: Probability and Statistics (3 credits)
This course looks at the techniques that engineers use to address uncertainty in the design and analysis of engineering artifacts. At the core of these techniques is probability, a branch of applied mathematics that provides structure for analyzing “random experiments” – actions whose outcome cannot be predicted with certainty in advance. Statistics provides a bridge between probability and the “real world,” where (imperfect and incomplete) data must be gathered and conclusions or inferences must be drawn from that data.
Human living standards are directly correlated with energy availability and consumption. About 1 billion people in the world today have no access to electricity, at least another billion have unreliable electricity and often only enough to power a few light bulbs, and more than two billion people cook food over open fires.
Dates
May 22 – June 29, 2024
Housing
Modern dorms at Polytechnic University of Valencia.
Program Fee
The cost of the 2024 program is $9,000, plus a $200 University Study Abroad Administration Fee.
The program fee includes the cost of 6 Notre Dame engineering credits; accommodations for six weeks; meals in the dining hall on program days during the week; roundtrip transportation from Madrid to Alcoy; GeoBlue international health insurance; all program academic outings and field trips; and on-site program support from Notre Dame faculty.
It does not include the cost of airfare, weekend meals; passport/visa fees; international cell phone/plan; or personal spending money.
All students are considered for need-based engineering scholarships to help underwrite program costs.
Apply
Applications will be accepted between September 25 – and November 1, 2023.
Program assignments and waitlist notifications occur before Christmas break.
Questions?
Feel free to contact:
Michael Kitz
Executive Director, Summer Engineering International Programs
mkitz@nd.edu
Todd Taylor
Director, Summer Engineering International Programs
ttaylo24@nd.edu