Student Clubs

American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE)

The goal of the AICHE Student Chapter is to foster professional and personal development as a chemical engineer. The group meets weekly during the academic year and students at all levels are encouraged to join.

It serves as the conduit for receiving important information from the department, such as job information and openings, internship announcements, and departmental policies that affect chemical engineering students. The student chapter hosts speakers from the industry and ventures out for plant and industrial facility tours throughout the year. The club has intramural sports teams, such as broomball and softball, and plans other social gatherings.

There is a small annual cost to join the student chapter which comes with some helpful Chemical Engineering resources. The student members elect their own officers including the president, vice president, secretary and treasurer, once a year and a faculty member serves as the group's advisor.

Engineers Without Borders

This is a group with local and global reach. The focus is to design and complete engineering projects in order to build a better world and according to the national EWB organization we "empower communities to meet their basic human needs." On the national level, there are nearly 700 projects underway including work in 46 countries with more than 16,800 members. Plans are in the works to collaborate with another chapter to positively impact Guatemala. This club got started in the 2017-2018 school year and is primarily focused on recruiting members, raising funds and contributing to local projects.

Tau Beta Pi

This group is the national honor society for engineers.

The first purpose of Tau Beta Pi is to recognize engineering students of distinguished scholarship and exemplary character. They take on projects designed to serve the organization, campus, or community. In addition to service projects, they also host social activities.

Membership in the Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society is by invitation only. Every fall and spring terms, the qualified engineering seniors and juniors are invited to join the society. There is a one time initiation fee for joining the Tau Beta Pi engineering society. The chapter is advised by faculty members from each of the engineering disciplines at UMD.

Society of Women Engineers

This club's mission is to stimulate women to achieve full potential in careers as engineers and leaders, expand the image of the engineering profession as a positive force in improving the quality of life, and demonstrate the value of diversity.

Open to both men and women in engineering, the UMD SWE chapter attends regional and national conferences, hosts speakers from engineering companies, organizes outreach events with the Duluth community, and has several social gatherings throughout the year. Members participate in volunteer opportunities, are eligible for scholarships and awards, and have the chance to network with other students and professionals in engineering.

The Order of the Engineer

This group got started in the U.S. in 1970 to foster a spirit of pride and responsibility in the engineering profession, to bridge the gap between training and experience, and to present to the public a visible symbol identifying the engineer.

Swenson College hosts a ceremony at the end of fall and spring semesters where graduating students can join the Order by taking an oath. Once they've accepted the Obligation of the Engineer they are presented with a stainless steel ring to wear on the little finger of the working hand. The Obligation is a creed similar to the oath generally taken by medical graduates which sets forth an ethical code. Initiates, as they voluntarily accept the obligation, pledge to uphold the standards and dignity of the engineering profession and to serve humanity by making the best use of Earth's precious wealth.

The Order is not a membership organization. There are never any meetings to attend or dues to pay. Instead, the Order does foster a unity of purpose and honoring of one's pledge lifelong. UMD was the first university in Minnesota to have initiation of its graduating engineers on campus. The initiation is held at the end of each term. All graduating engineering students are invited to join the Order of the Engineer. There is a small, one-time only initiation fee for the paper work and the special ring.

Omega Chi Epsilon (OXE)

Omega Chi Epsilon is a national honor society for chemical engineering students. The UMD chapter, Beta Zeta, was created to connect high-achieving chemical engineering students with each other as well as the resources of the national society. The three pillars our events all fall under are Scholarship, Service, or Social. Every month, we host events dedicated to helping our community, the chemical engineering department at UMD, and our peers in the organization.

Membership in Omega Chi Epsilon is by invitation only. Every fall, qualified chemical engineering juniors and seniors are invited to join the society. The chapter is advised by Dr. Richard Davis.

The Chocolate Club

The Chocolate Club is a chemical engineering club that applies engineering concepts in an experimental setting for undergraduate students to aid in the understanding of the application of topics covered in classes. 

Advised by Dr. Steven Sternberg.

Bulldog Rocketry

Design, manufacture and test a high-powered rocket to partake in the Space Grant Midwest High-Power Rocket Competition held annually in Minnesota and cosponsored by NASA.