The board of regents for Texas Woman’s University has approved a proposal to launch the university’s first engineering program in Fall 2027. The proposed bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering aims to address workforce needs and close the gender gap in a high-growth industry.
“Employers are actively seeking women engineers, and we sit in a region rich with industry partners,” said Angela Bauer, executive vice president for academic affairs and provost. “A woman-focused learning environment, combined with natural synergies across our existing academic programs, gives TWU an opportunity no other institution in Texas can claim.”
Texas Woman’s University’s mechanical engineering curriculum has an emphasis on AI literacy, ensuring graduates are prepared for professions in which artificial intelligence plays a central role. Participating students will learn both leadership and technical skills and participate in hands-on laboratory activities that begin on the first day of instruction.
“Most programs immerse students in math and science courses for two years before they touch real engineering problems,” said Dr. Bauer. “Ours would put them in the lab in their first semester — because students who build things early stay in the program, and they graduate as engineers who are comfortable making things work.”
Before the program can be officially launched, it must be approved by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.