University of Michigan

ENGR 101

Solving engineering problems with computer programming in MATLAB and C++.

Week 1

Announcements
Welcome! We're glad to have you in ENGR 101! We're getting the website ready for the Fall 2026 term. Check back a couple days before class starts and there should be some stuff here. :)
Past semesters' websites are linked above so you can look at those if you want to get a feel for how the course is generally run. Note: The Fall 2026 course will look most similar to the Winter 2026 course in terms of the course content, homework, lectures, and labs, but there will be some changes to the assessment structure (projects, assessments, quizzes, exams, etc.). See the note to the right about the Schedule of Topics for the Fall 2026 semester.
Things to know about ENGR 101 Fall 2026
Lecture. There is one lecture per week. Lectures are in person and attendance is required. You may attend whichever lecture best fits your schedule; it doesn't matter which lecture you are registered for.
Lab. Labs are in person, and attendance is required. You must attend the lab that you are registered for.
Asynchronous Homework. Each week will have 2-3 hours of asynchronous homework that you will need to make sure that you have completed before lecture that week. Otherwise, lecture might be a little confusing! :)
Schedule of Topics. Scroll down to see the schedule of topics for this semester along with due dates for assignments. This schedule is subject to change between now and the start of classes, so maybe don't put these due dates into your calendar quite yet.
Start of the Semester

Our first lecture will be Tuesday, September 1st. The first day of labs will be Wednesday, September 2nd.

Scroll down to the Schedule of Topics for more details!

Professor Office Hours

Coming Soon!

Professor office hours will start after the semester begins, so check back then for times to come see us!

Staff Office Hours

Guide to ENGR 101 Office Hours

Read this guide to office hours to help you get the most out of your office hours time in ENGR 101.

Why You Should Go to Office Hours

This student-facing post from Arizona State University talks about office hours: why to use them, how to prepare for them, etc. We hope you'll come visit us in our office hours, and we want to emphasize that you can come to discuss course-related questions or concerns, but you can also come to ask us about majors, about your resume, etc. We are very excited to meet with you 1:1!

Office Hours in B521 Pierpont
GSI and IA staff office hours will start after the semester begins, so check back then for times to come see us!

Course Essentials

Syllabus

Updated syllabus will be added soon

Course Norms

Updated norms and expectations for meetings, email, and other forms of communication in the course will be added soon

People

Updated course staff list will be added soon

FAQ

Updated FAQ coming soon

Guide to PrairieLearn

Updated guide coming soon

Quiz & Exam Logistics

Updated guide coming soon

Installation Guide for ENGR 101

Updated guide coming soon

Request Forms

Excused Lab Absence Request (Illness)

This form will open at the start of the semester

Regrade Request

This form will open at the start of the semester

Projects

The Autograder

Project code is submitted to the autograder; the autograder is linked at the top of this course webpage. Read this guide to the autograder to learn more about using the autograder.

The Honor Code

All project code is subjected to our cheat checking procedures. If we find sufficient evidence of cheating, we are required to submit a report to the Honor Council. You can learn more about what happens with Honor Council reports by watching this video from the Engineering Center for Academic Success.

Project Info

Project information will be available here on the website when the project is released. Project information generally consists of these items:

Checkpoint Due Date (11:59pm)

Project Due Date (11:59pm)

Overview ( slides )

Specifications

FAQ

Schedule of Topics

Week 1

Homework Topic

Lecture Topic

Lab Topic

Projects

Quizzes & Exams
Setting Up Your Computer
Homework 1 due		 Lecture 1: Learn how to succeed in ENGR 101
Lab 1: Introduction to ENGR 101 Lab
Lecture reflection due Lab exercises due

Week 2

Homework Topic

Lecture Topic

Lab Topic

Projects

Quizzes & Exams
Labor Day
Intro to MATLAB; Vectors and Matrices; Functions in MATLAB
Homeworks 2-4 due		 Lecture 2: Your Computer as an Engineering Tool
Lab 2: Matrices and Functions (Storing Pallets)
Lecture reflection due Lab exercises due

Week 3

Homework Topic

Lecture Topic

Lab Topic

Projects

Quizzes & Exams
Logical Operations and Indexing; Working with Images
Homeworks 5-6 due
Lecture 3: Practice with Functions and Images
Lab 3: Logical Indexing and Images (Great Lakes Temperature Map)
Lecture reflection due Lab exercises due

Week 4

Homework Topic

Lecture Topic

Lab Topic

Projects

Quizzes & Exams
Plotting and Figures; Statistics and Simulation; Advanced Plotting and Data Visualization
Homeworks 7-9 due 		Drop/Add Deadline Quiz #1 happens this week

You will be able to select a time slot that fits your schedule!
Lecture 4: MATLAB Project Overview MATLAB Project released
Lab 4: Plotting, Statistics, and Simulation (Sugary Cereals)
Lecture reflection due Lab exercises due MATLAB project spec review due

Week 5

Homework Topic

Lecture Topic

Lab Topic

Projects

Quizzes & Exams
Strings and Cell Arrays; MATLAB Tables
Homeworks 10-11 due
Lecture 5: Beam Deflection MATLAB Project Checkpoint due
Lab 5: Cell Arrays, Tables, Data Visualization (Panda Tours and Wavefield Fun)
Lecture reflection due Lab exercises due

Week 6

Homework Topic

Lecture Topic

Lab Topic

Projects

Quizzes & Exams
No homework due this week. Get your MATLAB Project done! 🎉
Lecture 6: Analyzing Credit Card Limits MATLAB Project due
Lab 6: More Tables & Data Analysis (Halley's Comet)
Lecture reflection due Lab exercises due

Week 7

Homework Topic

Lecture Topic

Lab Topic

Projects

Quizzes & Exams
Debugging Practice
Homeworks 12-13 due 		Quiz #2 happens this week

You will be able to select a time slot that fits your schedule!
Lecture 7: Animation in MATLAB
Lab 7: Goodbye MATLAB, Hello C++
Lecture reflection due Lab exercises due

Week 8

Homework Topic

Lecture Topic

Lab Topic

Projects

Quizzes & Exams
Fall Break!
Intro to C++, More C++ Basics and Branching, Iteration
Homeworks 14-16 due		 Lecture 8: Your Computer as an Engineering Tool, part 2 (ASYNCHRONOUS) Lab 8: Data Types, Braching, and Iteration (PIN Security)
Lecture reflection due Lab exercises due

Week 9

Homework Topic

Lecture Topic

Lab Topic

Projects

Quizzes & Exams
Functions in C++; Strings, Streams and IO
Homeworks 17-18 due 		Quiz #3 happens this week

You will be able to select a time slot that fits your schedule!
Lecture 9: Program Planning and Debugging Run-Time Errors
Lab 9: Functions and File I/O (Launching Snowballs)
Lecture reflection due Lab exercises due

Week 10

Homework Topic

Lecture Topic

Lab Topic

Projects

Quizzes & Exams
Vectors; Program Design
Homeworks 19-20 due
Lecture 10: Redacting Information
Lab 10: Vectors and Program Design (Spellcheck)
Lecture reflection due Lab exercises due

Week 11

Homework Topic

Lecture Topic

Lab Topic

Projects

Quizzes & Exams
Structs, Vectors of Vectors
Homeworks 21-22 due		 Quiz #4 happens this week

You will be able to select a time slot that fits your schedule!
Lecture 11: C++ Project Overview C++ Project released
Lab 11: Data Structures and Program Design (Containerships)
Lecture reflection due Lab exercises due C++ Project spec review due

Week 12

Homework Topic

Lecture Topic

Lab Topic

Projects

Quizzes & Exams
No homework due this week. Get your C++ Project Checkpoint done! 🎉
Lecture 12: House Hunting C++ Project Checkpoint due
Lab 12: Programming Practice (Energy Management)
Lecture reflection due Lab exercises due

Week 13

Homework Topic

Lecture Topic

Lab Topic

Projects

Quizzes & Exams
No homework due this week
No Lecture This Week
Thanksgiving Break!

Week 14

Homework Topic

Lecture Topic

Lab Topic

Projects

Quizzes & Exams
No homework due this week. Get your C++ Project done! 🎉
Lecture 13: TBD Programming Application C++ Project due
Lab 13: Programming Practice (Ottendorf Cipher)
Lecture reflection due Lab exercises due

Week 15

Homework Topic

Lecture Topic

Lab Topic

Projects

Quizzes & Exams
No homework due this week
Lecture 14: Semester Wrap-up
No lab this week
Last day of class!
Lecture reflection due

Week 16

Homework Topic

Lecture Topic

Lab Topic

Projects

Quizzes & Exams
The Final Exam happens this week

You will be able to select a time slot that fits your schedule!

Interested in Being an IA or GSI?

Interested in being an IA or GSI for ENGR 101? Fill out this "I'm Interested" form and we'll send you an application the next time we are hiring! We do hiring in March for the upcoming fall term, and we do hiring in November for the upcoming winter term.