Olin College of Engineering, officially Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering, is a
private college
Private universities and private colleges are institutions of higher education, not operated, owned, or institutionally funded by governments. They may (and often do) receive from governments tax breaks, public student loans, and grants. D ...
focused on engineering and located in
Needham, Massachusetts
Needham ( ) is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts. A suburb of Boston, its population was 32,091 at the 2020 U.S. Census. It is home of Olin College.
History
Early settlement
Needham was first settled in 1680 with the purchase of a ...
. Olin College is noted in the engineering community for its relatively recent founding, small size, project-based curriculum, and large endowment funded primarily by the defunct
F. W. Olin Foundation
The Franklin W. Olin Foundation, founded as the Olin Foundation in 1938 by Franklin W. Olin, was an independent grantmaking Private foundation (United States), foundation from its founding in 1938 until it spent down its corpus and closed down in ...
. The college covers half of each admitted student's tuition through the Olin Scholarship. Olin College is ranked among the top undergraduate engineering programs within the United States.
History
Olin College was founded by the F. W. Olin Foundation in 1997.
The trustees were concerned about perpetuating
Franklin W. Olin
Franklin Walter Olin (January 9, 1860 – May 21, 1951) was the founder of the Olin Corporation and the Franklin W. Olin Foundation. He was born in Woodford, Vermont, and his father built mills and waterwheels.
College and professional athletics ...
's
donor intent
A donor in general is a person, organization or government which donates something voluntarily. The term is usually used to represent a form of pure altruism, but is sometimes used when the payment for a service is recognized by all parties as rep ...
indefinitely, so the foundation's president, Lawrence W. Milas, proposed creating a college. “We always had a bias toward supporting science and engineering schools because Mr. Olin was an engineer,” Milas said. “I was concerned with whether or not this would be consistent with what Mr. Olin had ever considered. I went back and read minutes of board meetings. And sure enough, in the late 1940s, at two or three board meetings shortly before his death, he expressed the idea of starting a new institution.”
By 2005, the foundation had donated most of its financial resources to the college, providing Olin with an endowment of about $460 million.
Richard Miller was inaugurated as the college's first president on May 3, 2003. Miller was also the first employee of Olin College, and had been working as its president for several years before he was officially inaugurated.
In a program known as Invention 2000, Olin College hired its first faculty members and invited 30 students, known as Olin Partners, to help it form a curriculum. The students lived in temporary housing and spent their first year after high school investigating assessment and grading methods, jump-starting the student culture, and experimenting with forms of engineering education.
Olin admitted its first full class of 75 students in 2002. This class included the Olin Partners, a group of deferred students known as the Virtual Olin Partners, and recent high school graduates. After admitting three more classes, the college reached its full size of approximately 300 students in fall 2005.
It currently has about 390 students.
Olin's campus was designed by the architecture firm
Perry Dean Rogers Architects
Perry Dean Rogers is an architectural firm based in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1923 as Perry, Shaw & Hepburn, the firm became notable for its designs for educational institutions. The firm was responsible for the restoration of Colonial Will ...
in the
postmodern style. The first phase, comprising four buildings, was completed in 2002. The construction of a second dormitory, East Hall, was finished in fall 2005. Future plans include an academic building that would contain additional machine shops and project space. Olin shares many campus services, including health, public safety, and athletic facilities, with
Babson College
Babson College is a private business school in Wellesley, Massachusetts. Established in 1919, its central focus is on entrepreneurship education. It was founded by Roger W. Babson as an all-male business institute, but became coeducational i ...
.
Academics
Teaching and learning
Olin College offers degrees in
electrical
Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by ...
and
computer engineering
Computer engineering (CoE or CpE) is a branch of electrical engineering and computer science that integrates several fields of computer science and electronic engineering required to develop computer hardware and software. Computer engineers ...
,
mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, and ...
and
engineering
Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...
. Within the engineering program, students may concentrate in
computing
Computing is any goal-oriented activity requiring, benefiting from, or creating computing machinery. It includes the study and experimentation of algorithmic processes, and development of both hardware and software. Computing has scientific, e ...
,
design
A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb ''to design'' ...
,
biological engineering
Biological engineering or
bioengineering is the application of principles of biology and the tools of engineering to create usable, tangible, economically-viable products. Biological engineering employs knowledge and expertise from a number o ...
,
materials science, or
systems design
Systems design interfaces, and data for an electronic control system to satisfy specified requirements. System design could be seen as the application of system theory to product development. There is some overlap with the disciplines of system a ...
, or they may design their own concentrations with the administration's approval.
Unlike many institutions, Olin College does not have separate academic departments. All faculty members hold five-year renewable contracts without offering
tenure
Tenure is a category of academic appointment existing in some countries. A tenured post is an indefinite academic appointment that can be terminated only for cause or under extraordinary circumstances, such as financial exigency or program disco ...
.
Classes emphasize context and interdisciplinary connections. Freshmen take integrated course blocks that teach
engineering
Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...
,
calculus
Calculus, originally called infinitesimal calculus or "the calculus of infinitesimals", is the mathematical study of continuous change, in the same way that geometry is the study of shape, and algebra is the study of generalizations of arithm ...
, and
physics
Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...
by exploring the relationships among the three subjects. Arts, humanities, social sciences, and entrepreneurship courses take an interdisciplinary approach to subjects such as the self ("What Is I?"), history ("History of Technology"), and art ("Wired Ensemble" and "Seeing and Hearing").
Olin also emphasizes practically grounded education, connecting concepts to real-world challenges and projects. Beginning in their first year, students receive training in Olin's machine shop for project-based work. First-year students are required to take "Design Nature", in which they design and build mechanical toys based on biological systems (such as the
click beetle
Elateridae or click beetles (or "typical click beetles" to distinguish them from the related families Cerophytidae and Eucnemidae, which are also capable of clicking) are a family of beetles. Other names include elaters, snapping beetles, spr ...
's jumping mechanism). Classes often take a "do-learn" format, with the application of concepts being taught before the formal introduction of the underlying theory.
As part of its mission to redefine engineering education, Olin is continually undergoing curriculum reviews. The goal of these reviews is to ensure that the college maintains a culture of change and continuous improvement. Significant aspects of the curriculum — such as student assessment, course offerings, and student workload — are considered for detailed review yearly.
Olin's academic culture is heavily influenced by its
honor code A code of honor or honor code is generally a set of rules or ideals or a mode or way of behaving regarding honor that is socially, institutionally, culturally, and/or individually or personally imposed, reinforced, followed, and/or respected by cer ...
. Exams are usually not held for most courses but a project-based pattern is followed and students have to work on final projects instead. In general, the academic culture is highly informal, and some members of the upper administration teach classes.
Much of Olin College's curriculum is built around hands-on engineering and design projects. This project-based teaching begins in a student's first year and culminates in two senior "capstone" projects. In the engineering capstone, student teams are hired by corporations, non-profit organizations, or entrepreneurial ventures for real-world engineering projects. In the Affordable Design and Entrepreneurship (ADE) capstone, students work on self-designed projects.
Accreditation
Olin College is accredited by the
New England Commission of Higher Education
The New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE) is a voluntary, peer-based, non-profit membership organization that performs peer evaluation and Higher education accreditation in the United States, accreditation of Public university, pub ...
and the
Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology
The ABET (incorporated as the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, Inc.) is a non-governmental organization that accredits post-secondary education programs in applied and natural sciences, computing, engineering and engineering ...
.
Admissions and financial aid
Admissions
Admissions to Olin College are highly selective, with, as of Fall 2021, 18% of applicants being admitted and the
interquartile (middle 50%) of admitted students submitting scores under Olin College’s test-optional policy having
SAT
The SAT ( ) is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. Since its debut in 1926, its name and scoring have changed several times; originally called the Scholastic Aptitude Test, it was later called the Schola ...
scores between 1500 and 1550 or
ACT scores between 34 and 35.
Admissions Office considers a student's
GPA
Grading in education is the process of applying standardized measurements for varying levels of achievements in a course. Grades can be assigned as letters (usually A through F), as a range (for example, 1 to 6), as a percentage, or as a numbe ...
to be a very important academic factor, with a very high emphasis on an applicant's letters of recommendation, application essays, the rigor of academic record, and high school rank. In terms of non-academic materials as of 2022, Olin ranks extracurricular activities, the interview, talent/ability, and character/personal qualities as 'very important' in making first-time, first-year admission decisions, while ranking whether the applicant is a first-generation college applicant,
legacy preferences
Legacy preference or legacy admission is a preference given by an institution or organization to certain applicants on the basis of their familial relationship to alumni of that institution. It is most controversial in college admissions, where st ...
, state and geographical residence as 'considered'. Volunteer work, racial/ethnic status, and work experience are marked as 'important'. The level of an applicant's interest is highly accounted for in the admission decisions.
Olin College's admission process is non-conventional and follows a two-step process. Applicants first apply for admission through the
Common App
The Common Application (more commonly known as the Common App) is an undergraduate college admission application that applicants may use to apply to over 1,000 member colleges and universities in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, as we ...
and all applications are reviewed in January. A holistic review process then carefully evaluates each applicant’s academic and personal qualities to determine whether they will advance to the second phase of the admission process. About 225-250 applicants are invited to participate in the second phase, Candidates’ Weekends, for them to learn more about the Olin community, curriculum, and culture. All applicants who reach the second phase of the process are required to participate in Candidates’ Weekends, as the information gleaned provides the basis for final admission decisions.
Financial aid
All accepted students receive the merit-based Olin Tuition Scholarship, which pays for half of the tuition and covers cross-registration of courses with
Babson College
Babson College is a private business school in Wellesley, Massachusetts. Established in 1919, its central focus is on entrepreneurship education. It was founded by Roger W. Babson as an all-male business institute, but became coeducational i ...
,
Wellesley College
Wellesley College is a private women's liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henry and Pauline Durant as a female seminary, it is a member of the original Seven Sisters Colleges, an unofficial g ...
, and
Brandeis University
, mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts"
, established =
, type = Private research university
, accreditation = NECHE
, president = Ronald D. Liebowitz
, pro ...
. Olin also shares clubs and intramural sports with those colleges. In addition to the Olin Scholarship, Olin follows
need-blind admissions and provides need-based grants to meet each student's full demonstrated need. Olin also allows students to receive funding and non-degree credit for "passionate pursuits," personal projects that the college recognizes as having academic value.
It used to provide full-tuition scholarships, but in 2009, responding to a significant decline in the college's endowment caused by the
Great Recession
The Great Recession was a period of marked general decline, i.e. a recession, observed in national economies globally that occurred from late 2007 into 2009. The scale and timing of the recession varied from country to country (see map). At ...
, the trustees decided to reduce the merit scholarships to half-tuition for all students since the 2010-11 academic year.
Student life
Dormitories and student housing
Olin College houses students in dorms and suites in either the West Hall or the East Hall. Olin students are required to live on campus unless an exception is made by the dean of student life due to personal circumstances (e.g., for married students or students with families nearby). In addition, the Office of Student Life picks student "resident resources" (R2s) to fill the role traditionally played by
resident assistant
A resident assistant (RA), also known by a variety of other names, is a trained peer leader who coordinates activities in residence halls in colleges and universities, mental health and substance abuse residential facilities, or similar establishm ...
s (RAs) at other schools. Unlike most RAs, R2s are not directly responsible for enforcing dorm policies.
Honor code
The Olin Honor Code has five clauses, titled "Integrity", "Respect for Others", "Passion for the Welfare of Olin College", "Openness to Change", and "Do Something". The code and related policies can be amended by a majority of students at a meeting of at least half of the student body. If students voted to abolish the code, governing policies set by the Office of Student Life would take effect.
The honor board — consisting of students elected by their peers, with one faculty adviser — is the main disciplinary structure at the college. When a violation of the honor code is alleged, the board decides if sanctions are warranted and, if so, what kind of sanctions. Penalties must be approved by the dean of student life.
As of 2017, faculty and teachers are not required to sign the Honor Code as first years are supposed to during orientation.
Extracurricular activities
Students can participate in clubs,
community service
Community service is unpaid work performed by a person or group of people for the benefit and betterment of their community without any form of compensation. Community service can be distinct from volunteering, since it is not always performed ...
projects, co-curricular activities with faculty and staff (which are noted on transcripts), and "passionate pursuits" (independent projects eligible for funding and/or non-degree credit).
The college has a variety of clubs and organizations that support the arts, including the Power Chords (an
a cappella
''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...
group), the
Franklin W. Olin Players, a film club, and a
conductorless orchestra
The conductorless orchestra, sometimes referred to as a self-conducted orchestra or unconducted orchestra, is an instrumental ensemble that functions as an orchestra but is not led or directed by a conductor. Most conductorless orchestras are sma ...
.
Olin does not compete alone in the
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
, and the regional NCAA conference — the
New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference
The New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) is an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division III. Member institutions are located in the northeastern United States in the states of Connecticut and M ...
— has not given approval for students to compete with Babson's varsity teams. Olin students are, however, allowed to participate in club teams and non-NCAA sports at Babson, and the Babson women's rugby team includes several Olin members. Olin has two soccer teams that compete through a Boston athletic organization, as well as an
Ultimate
Ultimate or Ultimates may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music Albums
* ''Ultimate'' (Jolin Tsai album)
* ''Ultimate'' (Pet Shop Boys album)
*''Ultimate!'', an album by The Yardbirds
*''The Ultimate (Bryan Adams Album)'', a compilatio ...
team that competes in the BUDA league and the
Ultimate Players Association
USA Ultimate is a not-for-profit organization that serves as the governing body of the sport of ultimate (also known as ''ultimate Frisbee'') in the United States.
It was founded in 1979 as the Ultimate Players Association, but rebranded itself ...
. Additionally, students participate in Sunday morning football games, intramural sports, pick-up Ultimate games, the Student Martial Arts Club, a fencing club, and other athletic organizations.
Campus clubs form in an ad-hoc fashion whenever a group of students unite around a common interest and apply for recognition. Funding is managed by the Student Activities Organization.
Olin students compete in the
Mathematical Contest in Modeling
The International Mathematical Contest in Modeling (MCM) is a multi-day mathematical modelling competition held annually in USA, during the first or second weekend in February, since 1985 by COMAP and sponsored by SIAM and INFORMS. It is distinguis ...
every year. In 2002, a team from Olin received the highest rating in the contest; in 2005, an Olin team received the highest rating and earned the
INFORMS Prize. Some students compete in design projects at the
Society of Automotive Engineers
SAE International, formerly named the Society of Automotive Engineers, is a United States-based, globally active professional association and standards developing organization for engineering professionals in various industries. SAE Internatio ...
' Mini-Baja competition and the
American Society of Mechanical Engineers
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) is an American professional association that, in its own words, "promotes the art, science, and practice of multidisciplinary engineering and allied sciences around the globe" via "continuing ...
' Human Powered Vehicle competition. Others are members of the Olin Automatons, a group dedicated to
autonomous vehicle
Vehicular automation involves the use of mechatronics, artificial intelligence, and multi-agent systems to assist the operator of a vehicle (car, aircraft, watercraft, or otherwise).Hu, J.; Bhowmick, P.; Lanzon, A.,Group Coordinated Control o ...
technology, which was originally formed to develop an autonomous vehicle for the
DARPA Grand Challenge
The DARPA Grand Challenge is a prize competition for American autonomous vehicles, funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the most prominent research organization of the United States Department of Defense. Congress has authorize ...
.
The college has no
fraternities
A fraternity (from Latin ''frater'': "brother"; whence, "brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club or fraternal order traditionally of men associated together for various religious or secular aims. Fraternity in ...
or
sororities
Fraternities and sororities are Club (organization), social organizations at colleges and universities in North America.
Generally, membership in a fraternity or sorority is obtained as an Undergraduate education, undergraduate student, but conti ...
. An "underground" alumni group known as the Combs Society works to extend and adapt the Olin culture, brand, and mission.
Mascot
In 2002, the Olin Partners and Virtual Olin Partners selected the
phoenix
Phoenix most often refers to:
* Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore
* Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States
Phoenix may also refer to:
Mythology
Greek mythological figures
* Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...
as the school's mascot. The mascot, sometimes unofficially called Frank, represents Olin's willingness to reinvent itself, just as the phoenix is reborn from its ashes. In 2013, Olin underwent a
rebranding
Rebranding is a marketing strategy in which a new name, term, symbol, design, concept or combination thereof is created for an established brand with the intention of developing a new, differentiated identity in the minds of consumers, investors ...
, and the original school colors, blue and silver, are now seen together only in the school seal and on diplomas. Everywhere else, the school now uses
gradients
In vector calculus, the gradient of a scalar-valued differentiable function of several variables is the vector field (or vector-valued function) \nabla f whose value at a point p is the "direction and rate of fastest increase". If the gradi ...
of bright colors.
Reputation and rankings
In the 2022–2023 ''
U.S. News & World Report'' college rankings, Olin was ranked second for the best undergraduate engineering programs among non-doctorate-granting institutions in the United States.
, ''
The Princeton Review
The Princeton Review is an education services company providing tutoring, test preparation and admission resources for students. It was founded in 1981. and since that time has worked with over 400 million students. Services are delivered by 4,0 ...
'' ranked Olin College second for classroom experience, third for dormitories, third for amount of studying, fourth for student opinion of professors, fifth for ease of getting around campus, eighth for
LGBT
' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity.
The LGBT term is a ...
friendliness, 11th for financial aid, 11th for quality of life, 12th for science laboratory facilities, 17th for career services, and 19th for student happiness.
In 2006, Olin was selected by
Kaplan, Inc.
Kaplan, Inc. is an American for-profit corporation that provides educational and training services to colleges, universities, businesses and individuals around the world. Founded in 1938 by Stanley Kaplan, the company offers a variety of test prep ...
and ''
Newsweek
''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...
'' as one of "America's 25 New
Ivies".
''
Business Insider
''Insider'', previously named ''Business Insider'' (''BI''), is an American financial and business news website founded in 2007. Since 2015, a majority stake in ''Business Insider''s parent company Insider Inc. has been owned by the German publ ...
'' ranked Olin first on its "Best 20 College Campuses in the US" list in 2014. It was eighth on Forbes's "Top 25 Colleges Ranked By SAT Score", with an average combined critical reading and math score of 1489.
Media coverage
In 2014, the ''
Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'' published an article that criticized the school for poor management of its endowment. The ''Globe'' pointed out that despite the abandonment of full-tuition scholarships, Olin's spending remained relatively constant, and payroll costs rose 16% between 2009 and 2011. It also noted that Olin's administrators received "significantly more than the median salaries of executives in comparable positions", and that
Moody's
Moody's Investors Service, often referred to as Moody's, is the bond credit rating business of Moody's Corporation, representing the company's traditional line of business and its historical name. Moody's Investors Service provides international ...
had downgraded the institution's bond rating. In an open letter to the Olin community, President Richard Miller defended the decisions of the administration and rebutted several of the points made in the article. The college successfully petitioned the ''Globe'' to release an official clarification, which stated that the article had "failed to include the most recent financial information available". The ''Boston Business Journal'' also challenged the ''Globe''
's assessment of Olin's finances, reporting that revenue and enrollment had "rebounded smartly" in 2013 from recession lows.
Notable alumni
*
Etosha Cave
Etosha R. Cave is an American Mechanical engineering, mechanical engineer based in Berkeley, California. She is the co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Twelve (company), Twelve, a startup that recycles carbon dioxide.
Early life and educ ...
, co-founder and chief scientific officer of
Twelve, a
carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide (chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is transpar ...
recycling startup
*
Frances Haugen
Frances Haugen (born 1983 or 1984) is an American data engineer and scientist, product manager, and whistleblower. She disclosed tens of thousands of Facebook's internal documents to the Securities and Exchange Commission and ''The Wall Street Jo ...
, data engineer, scientist, product manager, and
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
whistleblower
A whistleblower (also written as whistle-blower or whistle blower) is a person, often an employee, who reveals information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe or fraudulent. Whi ...
*
Kevin Tostado
Kevin Tostado is an American documentary filmmaker. He founded the independent film company Tostie Productions in 2004. Born in San Diego, CA, Tostado received a B.S. in electrical and computer engineering from Olin College in 2006. In addition ...
, American documentary filmmaker, and founder of Tostie Productions
See also
*
Association of Independent Technological Universities The Association of Independent Technological Universities (AITU) is a group of private American engineering colleges established in 1957. The purpose of the association is to share ideas and practices that promote innovation and entrepreneurship, pr ...
*
Argosy Foundation
The Argosy Foundation, founded in 1997, is currently based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was formerly known as the Abele Family Charitable Trust.
History
The foundation was established in 1995 with a $9 million endowment from John Abele. In 2002, i ...
References
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Olin College Of Engineering
Educational institutions established in 1997
Engineering universities and colleges in Massachusetts
Needham, Massachusetts
Private universities and colleges in Massachusetts
Universities and colleges in Norfolk County, Massachusetts
1997 establishments in Massachusetts