ASU FSE 100: Introduction to Engineering
FSE 100 is the Fulton Schools' project-based introduction to engineering, where students work in teams through the engineering design process to model, build, and test solutions to an open-ended problem, with reports and presentations along the way. Nearly every ASU engineering freshman takes it, on campus or online.
Fennie is independent and not affiliated with Arizona State University. This is an unofficial study guide.
What makes it hard
The two-credit label undersells the workload: design deliverables, documentation, and team meetings consume real hours every week. Most struggles are coordination failures rather than technical ones. Teams that don't divide work early end up with one person building the project during finals, and the open-endedness itself unsettles students used to problems with single right answers.
What you'll cover
- • The engineering design process
- • Teamwork and project management
- • Prototyping and testing
- • Technical documentation and reporting
- • Engineering ethics and professional skills
The FSE 100 study guide
How to study for ASU FSE 100, step by step.
- 1
Budget hours like it's a three-credit course
FSE 100's deliverables, builds, and meetings outgrow the two-credit label. Block real weekly time for it from the start so the project never has to borrow from your calculus exam week.
- 2
Set team roles and deadlines in the first meeting
Most FSE 100 pain is coordination failure, not technical failure. Divide the work, write down who owns what, and set internal deadlines a few days ahead of the real ones.
- 3
Embrace iteration over perfection
The design process is the curriculum: prototype early, test, document what failed, improve. A documented chain of imperfect iterations grades better than one late polished build, and it's the actual engineering habit being taught.
- 4
Write documentation as you go
Design journals, reports, and presentations are a big slice of the grade and brutal to reconstruct afterward. Capture decisions and test results the day they happen.
Today
Today's FSE 100 plan
What a Fennie Daily Plan looks like for FSE 100. Yours is built from your own syllabus and adapts every day to your deadlines and progress.
First plan free, no card required. Fennie is independent and unaffiliated with your school.
FAQ
Is FSE 100 at ASU hard?
Not technically, since it's an introduction. The challenges are workload management and teamwork: deliverables every week, open-ended problems, and grades that suffer when teams coordinate late. Treat it like a three-credit course and it goes smoothly.
What do you build in FSE 100?
Teams work through the engineering design process on an open-ended project, modeling, prototyping, testing, and documenting a solution, with the specific challenge varying by section and semester.
Why is FSE 100 only 2 credits?
It's structured as a project studio rather than a lecture course. The credit count reflects contact hours, not workload, and most students report it consuming closer to three credits' worth of time during build weeks.
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