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The Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering

Olin College is a crazy experiement in higher education located in Needham, MA. Since running our first courses in 2002, we have been called:

"One of America's 25 New Ivies"   —NewsWeek  (link)

"exactly what I wish we could do"
      — MIT Professor David Mindell, quoted in IEEE Spectrum  (link)

"Home"   (link)

F. W. Olin college is a fascinating story still unfolding. The college offers this summary of our history:

The idea for Olin goes back nearly two decades. That’s when the NSF and the leaders of the engineering community began urging fundamental reforms in engineering education; include more emphasis on entrepreneurship, teamwork and communication. The F.W. Olin Foundation took up the challenge, committing more than $460 million to create a new undergraduate engineering college. In 1997 Olin was chartered. Bringing together some of the best ideas in engineering education, Olin developed a hands-on, interdisciplinary program geared toward today’s technology challenges.

More Information

Re-engineering Engineering   —The New York Times

Olin College Summary   —The Princeton Review

F. W. Olin College   —Wikipedia

About Olin   —Olin College Website