Collegiate Design Series

At the university level, Extreme Engineering is what you get with the SAE Collegiate Design Series (CDS).

CDS takes learning beyond textbook theory to designing, building and testing the performance of a real vehicle. CDS provides world-class, hands-on learning experiences for undergraduate and graduate students, developing and training the next generation of mobility engineers. The diverse menu of SAE collegiate competitions includes AutoDrive, Aero Design, Clean Snowmobile Challenge, Formula SAE, Formula Electric, Baja SAE, and Supermileage.

Hands-On, Team Engineering Experiences

SAE collegiate design series

All competitions within CDS prepare undergraduate and graduate engineering students in a variety of disciplines for future employment in mobility-related industries by challenging them with a hands-on, team engineering experience which also requires budgeting, communication, project management, and resource management skills (the top skills most valued by today’s innovative organizations).

“The Formula SAE project was the first opportunity I had to see my ideas develop fully into hardware. Some of the designs worked…others didn’t…but the opportunity to go through that learning curve took engineering out of the textbooks and into the real world for me.”

Renee Sears, Manager, Ford Motor Company

Students from around the globe unite in this exciting and intense experience and regularly land their first engineering job by talking with recruiters from leading companies in the mobility industry at CDS events.

Learn More

Browse upcoming challenges and learn more about the Collegiate Design Series.