Clemson celebrates nation’s first undergraduate degrees in automotive engineering

Clemson University has made history by awarding the nation’s first-ever Bachelor of Science degrees in automotive engineering.

A brick-laying ceremony held this week at the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR) honored the inaugural graduating class — four students whose names are now permanently engraved in a brick pathway at CU-ICAR, symbolizing their role in paving the way for future automotive engineers.

This milestone comes more than two decades after the Clemson University Board of Trustees approved the creation of an automotive engineering degree program — the first, and still the only, academic program of its kind. Initially established as a graduate-level initiative, the program began enrolling students in 2006 and awarded its first master’s and Ph.D. degrees in 2009. Since then, over 1,110 graduate degrees have been conferred.

In 2022, guided by input from leading industry partners, Clemson expanded its program to the undergraduate level, aiming to meet the growing demand for engineers with specialized automotive training.