College of Design & Engineering Studies

 

The College of Design & Engineering Studies (CoDES) challenges students to think broadly, make responsibly, and respond critically to the complex social, technological, cultural, and environmental conditions that surround them. Through a curriculum that brings together iterative creation, experimentation, and critique, students engage in making as a form of inquiry and research.  Distributed across the campus, CoDES activities are centered around both the IDEAS Lab on the first floor of the Exley Science Center and the Digital Design Studio in the Center for the Arts (CFA).

CoDES hosts the interdisciplinary Integrated Design, Engineering, Arts & Society (IDEAS) major and minor, as well as the Engineering Dual Degree Programs. Hands-on, collaborative, project-based courses form the core of the IDEAS major and minor. Building on Wesleyan’s strong liberal arts tradition, IDEAS courses draw from a broad range of fields including biology, product design, ecological design, architecture, graphic arts, engineering, geology, archaeology, government, and physics. 

 

CoDES Facilities

IDEAS Lab Schedule for Fall 2025
To be announced

Textiles Hub Open Hours for Fall 2025:
To be announced

 

 

Related Sites 

 (CIS)

 

Summer Research Events 

 across the sciences on the CIS website!

 

Department News

To help medical personnel safeguard themselves during the coronavirus outbreak, two makerspace labs on campus are manufacturing much-needed protective masks using 3D printers. On April 1, Wesleyan donated its first set of 100 face shields to medical personnel at Middlesex Hospital in Middletown, and others to Wesleyan staff who must work on campus to support […]

Equipped with 3-D printers, water-jet and laser cutters, computer-operated milling machines, and high-tech drills, saws, and workstations, Wesleyan’s new IDEAS Lab is on the “cutting edge” of digital fabrication. This fall, the College of Integrative Sciences opened the adjoined classroom and makerspace in Room 40 of Exley Science Center. While it is currently used by […]

In December, the students of IDEAS 170: Introduction to Design and Engineering presented inventions of their own design. These final group projects are possibly the next new life hacks everyone will crave: a projector that doesn’t rely on electricity (great for watching movies when the power is out), a chair that folds flat (packs easily […]