TWU’s first engineering program gains tentative approval

Aug. 18, 2026 ― DENTON ― Texas Woman's University has taken a major step toward launching its very first engineering program.

TWU's System Board of Regents on Aug. 14 approved a proposal to establish a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, with an eye toward beginning classes in fall 2027.

The proposed degree program would help address workforce needs in a high-growth industry ― and one in which women are significantly underrepresented. Industry officials have said women engineers comprise only 16% of all professional engineers in the United States.

"Employers are actively seeking women engineers, and we sit in a region rich with industry partners," said Angela Bauer, the university's executive vice president for academic affairs and provost. "A woman-focused learning environment, combined with natural synergies across our existing academic programs, gives TWU an opportunity no other institution in Texas can claim."

Bauer said Texas Woman's determined a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering was a logical choice for the university's initial offering in that field because of the high demand for workers in that discipline and because of interest among prospective students.

Working with consultants, the university has already developed a distinctive curriculum with the three unique elements: AI literacy as a core component throughout the program, which prepares graduates for professions in which artificial intelligence plays a central role; infusing leadership skills alongside technical ones; and hands-on laboratory activities that begin on the first day of instruction.

"Most programs immerse students in math and science courses for two years before they touch real engineering problems," Bauer said. "Ours would put them in the lab in their first semester - because students who build things early stay in the program, and they graduate as engineers who are comfortable making things work."

Before it can be implemented, the degree program still needs approval from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.

Page last updated 1:47 PM, August 18, 2026