The PEERs Seminar is offered every spring as ENGR 401: Leadership Development to Promote Equity in Engineering Relationships. As part of this course, students use their energy, creativity, social conscience, and on-the-ground perspectives to improve the diversity environment in the College of Engineering. Students explore topics such as diversity in science and engineering, the impact of unconscious and structural bias, community engagement, and leadership.

“The PEERs class was unique in that it created an atmosphere that encouraged critical discussion of systemic issues that do not have clear solutions, and which affect our lives as people and as students. Learning about implicit bias and stereotype threat gave me a much-needed vocabulary for describing some of the issues my peers and I were facing.”

The course has included students from all 10 engineering departments and all levels, from first year undergraduates to graduate students.This course fulfills the University’s Diversity and Individual & Society graduation distribution requirements.

Sample course syllabus and suggested readings Sign up for the class

Final projects for the class focus on sharing learnings with the broader engineering community in the format of a presentation. Most recently, students have pitched programs and environmental changes that would help create an inclusive culture at the College of Engineering.

These ideas are also later presented by PEERs Leaders at conferences, in classrooms, and to various groups and programs across campus.