Cabrillo's engineering program was started in 1961 by Rich Hart. Thanks, Rich.

Our program provides the facilities, equipment, and teaching faculty to present the very finest lower division engineering education, so that students transfer with full junior standing and successfully complete a degree in engineering. There are over 500 students majoring in engineering at Cabrillo making engineering one of the top ten majors at Cabrillo.

Our Mission:

The Engineering Department at Cabrillo College provides a high quality learning environment designed from the ground up to support, encourage and inspire the next generation of thinkers and do-ers. We promote these very Important elements in our program:

  • HANDS-ON LEARNING:

Engineering is the application of theory to solve real world problems. Here, our courses include labs and hands-on design projects that engage students while applying theory to practice. Come get your hands dirty.

  • CREATIVITY:

Engineering is a creative endeavor. It takes inventiveness to see complex problems in simpler ways, and that there are many solutions to any problem. Here you will be rewarded for coloring outside the lines.

  • DIVERSITY & INCLUSION:

The world's best engineers come from every background, culture, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality representing every discipline of engineering. Here we know we grow stronger from respecting our differences and from standing in alliance with each other. You are welcome here.

  • INTEGRITY:

Engineering is an honorable profession. Our instructors and staff demonstrate and promote respect, ethicality, honesty and professionalism. Here you will be able to study and collaborate in a supportive environment free from harassment and hostility.

  • SUSTAINABILITY:

Engineers have the obligation to incorporate sustainability in their design principles. Here, our forward thinking is foundational and sustainability is embedded in all our courses. A greener tomorrow begins here today.

  • ENGR AS A HELPING PROFESSION:

Engineers Engineers are endowed with vast potential to make positive change in our own communities and in the world. Here, we strive to produce world leaders through service-learning projects where they can practice their profession for the benefit of others. Come make a difference with us.

All the diversity of the student population is present in the engineering student body. We honor ALL students: IMMIGRANTS, UNDOCUMENTED, MUSLIMS, WOMEN, LGBTQ, DISABLED, PEOPLE OF COLOR, LIBERALS, CONSERVATIVES, PREVIOUSLY INCARCERATED, FIRST GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENTS, VETERANS, YOUNG, and OLD.

Important to note: Approximately 50% of California graduates with BS degrees in engineering began their academic pathway at a community colleges.

Surveying
Women Engineers
Engineering Bench

Take ENGR 5 to Choose your Careers in Engineering!

The ENGR 5 Engineering as a Profession course is available to high school and college students to explore the many options and opportunities of engineering careers and to determine which engineering career is the best fit for you. We will explore engineering through class discussions, videos, design projects, and speakers from industry.

Two in-person and one synchronous online sections are taught in both the fall semester and the spring semester. And, in addition an in-person section is taught in the summer.

Summer 2024 ENGR 5 Offering One Section:

Mon-Fri, June 24-28 and Mon-Wed, July 1-3, 2024; 1:00-5:15pm

Fall 2024 ENGR 5 Offering Three Sections to select from:

Weds, 4-7pm; On-Line Zoom

Thurs, 11am–2pm; In-Person Cabrillo Aptos Campus

Thurs, 4:30-7:30pm; In-Person Cabrillo Watsonville Center

Spring 2025 ENGR 5 Offering Three Sections to select from:

Weds, 4-7pm; On-Line Zoom

Thurs, 2:30-5:30pm; In-Person Cabrillo Aptos Campus

Thurs, 6-9pm; In-Person Cabrillo Aptos Campus

For high school students:

Tuition is free for local high school students and you will receive high school and college credit.

To register for ENGR 5, complete the Cabrillo application (link below); submit the Dual Enrollment form (if you are a high school student); and register for one of the many sections of ENGR 5.

Hear from an engineer who took ENGR 5 while in high school (in English):
Hear from an engineer who took ENGR 5 while in high school (in Spanish):
See first hand what ENGR 5 is all about...

Orientation Session about Cabrillo's Engineering Program for Perspective and New Students!

The Engineering Department hosts an orientation (both in-person and on Zoom) on the Tuesday evening the week before the first day of classes each semester, 6-8pm.

At the orientation, you will be introduced to the Cabrillo engineering program and faculty, engineering disciplines, the engineering education process, and the program cores. At the end of the orientation, we will check in with each of you to make sure you are scheduled for the correct course for the upcoming semester.

Fall 2024 Orientation: Tues., August 20, 2024; 6:00-8:00 pm:

Attend In-person: ELab, Room 810, SE corner of the bottom floor of the 800/STEM Building

~or~

Zoom In: Zoom Information: Meeting ID: 831 2764 0789; Passcode: engr

https://cabrillo-edu.zoom.us/j/83127640789?pwd=nQnfnDTFr3lyik0jmEdtyfYmudccTW.1

If you missed the orientation, watch the zoom recording below.

About Engineering Program:

Cabrillo College's engineering program began in 1960, the second year of the college's operation. Cabrillo's engineering program provides the complete lower division coursework which prepares you to transfer with full junior standing to all college/universities in California and across the United States in all the following engineering majors:

  • Aerospace, Marine, and Ocean Engineering

  • Agricultural, Biological, Biomedical, and Chemical Engineering

  • Civil, Environmental, Structural, & Architectural Engineering

  • Electrical, Computer, and Software Engineering

  • Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

  • Materials and Nanotechnology Engineering

  • Mechanical, Mechatronics, and Robotics Engineering

  • Nuclear and Petroleum Engineering

BENEFITS of CABRILLO's ENGINEERING PROGRAM:

Cabrillo's engineering program offers you:

  • small class size

  • cost-effective education

  • accessible faculty who are committed to your academic success

  • engaged community of students

  • faculty with varied disciplines and interest

  • modern classroom and laboratory facilities

  • hands-on fun engineering curriculum

  • transferable courses to all UC, CSU & private universities

  • strong foundation for you to be successful in your junior and senior years

  • STEM Center: place to study collaboratively with free tutoring, workshops, and computers

  • more than $40,000 in scholarship awarded each year

  • mentors and connection to engineering alums

  • engineering student clubs

The quality of education, the individualized attention, the convenience, and the cost are the advantages of coming to Cabrillo. History has proven that Cabrillo students do as well as, and almost always better than, those students who started as freshman at the four-year schools.

Take a tour of Cabrillo engr alum at work with your hosts, Cabrillo's own Rhoxanne Morris and Tony Cacace.

Ask An Engineer

Does a future in Engineering sound perfect for you?
Learn more today!
Water Balloon Launcher
Materials Hardness Tester
Surveying
Bowling Ball Vertical Maze
Engr Faculty: Karl and Karen
Society of Hispanic Professional Engrs Conference
STEM Study Center
Engr Faculty
Innovative Musical Instruments
Walk on Water
Steel Beginning the Heat Treatment Process
250-lb Container Lifter
Preparing Concrete
Rosa and the STEM Team
American Society of Engr Educ Presentation on the Engr Abroad Program
Engr Design Project
Wooden Bicycle Design
Cabrillo Female Engr Alums
Engr Interns
Walk on Water
Questions about the engineering program?
Contact Jo-Ann Panzardi, PE, Chair/Instructor (831) 479-6497: Engineering Department, Rm 811, Aptos Campus, or