Dear UMSL Engineering Community,
I am delighted to welcome you to the UMSL School of Engineering, the first and only public school of engineering in East Missouri. The school, which opened its doors to the first cohort of students in Fall 2025, was launched through $15 million in initial funding provided by the State of Missouri and an additional $8 million gift from the James S. McDonnell Foundation. These funds enabled the development of a 20,000 sq. ft. world-class teaching and research facility in Stadler Hall which includes state-of-the-art laboratories, active learning classrooms and modern collaborative spaces designed to foster creativity, community and discovery.
We offer a wide range of specializations within different undergraduate disciplines in civil engineering, electrical engineering and mechanical engineering, and we will expand to other prospective engineering fields including graduate programs. Such academic diversity helps to address the workforce gaps and the shortage of well-trained engineers, broaden the research and innovation ecosystem, and solve industry problems.
Dr. George Nnanna speaks with prospective students and their families at a recruitment event.Our strong focus on undergraduate engineering pedagogy – built on experiential learning, innovation and entrepreneurship, integrated teaching and learning approaches, internships, and industrial partnerships sets us apart from traditional engineering schools. Students are introduced to hands-on engineering design in the first semester of freshman year and have the opportunity to interact with renowned engineering professors in their fields. As a public, urban research university, UMSL is deeply connected to the industry and community of St. Louis, through such, our engineering programs were built to meet the needs of today’s workforce while opening doors for tomorrow’s possibilities.
Our emphasis on user-inspired research pushes beyond traditional disciplinary boundaries to explore critical issues at various scales – macro to nano, in advanced manufacturing, sustainable city design, transportation, water treatment, electronic cooling, renewable energy, power systems and electronics, smart grid technology, and robotics. UMSL Engineering offers tools, means of support and opportunities to launch bold and meaningful initiatives that create access to affordable quality engineering education.
We’ve built pipelines that connect K-12 students to engineering education through high school internships, Explore Engineering and engineering summer camps. These programs provide hands-on learning experiences, increase student engagement, foster problem-solving skills and expose students to engineering disciplines and career paths. At the UMSL School of Engineering, we’re not just preparing students for careers – we’re empowering the next generation to shape the world.
We welcome you to join a new kind of engineering school — one built for the world ahead.
George Nnanna, Ph.D., P.E., ASME Fellow
Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Founding Director, School of Engineering
engineering@umsl.edu