Clarkson University

Leading Innovation. Benefiting Humanity.

Clarkson is a private, national research university and proven leader in technological education and sustainable economic development. STEM intersects with our scholarship, research, innovation and teaching through more than 90 rigorous programs of study in engineering, business, arts, education, sciences and health professions. With our 4,800+ students, we ignite connections across disciplines, industries and social cultures to create the entrepreneurial mindset, knowledge and intellectual curiosity needed to innovate world-relevant solutions and prepare the leaders of tomorrow. Alumni earn salaries that are among the top 2% in the nation and realize accelerated career growth. Clarkson’s main campus is located in Potsdam, New York, and additional graduate programs, online networks and research facilities are based near industry partners in Saranac Lake, Schenectady, Beacon and New York City.

The favorite verse of our namesake Thomas S. Clarkson, “the workman that needeth not to be ashamed,” was the motto chosen by the founders when our doors opened in 1896 as a new kind of school that blended a technology-rich curriculum with other disciplines, and compelled faculty and students to always seek out the real needs of the American people. Today, we continue to defy convention by going beyond the status quo of deep disciplinary knowledge. Everyone has opportunities and hands-on access to build the practical skillsets to stretch boundaries. Clarkson graduates emerge with the entrepreneurial competence to make sense of complex systems and forge connections across people and fields. One in five alumni already leads as a CEO, senior executive or owner of a company. 

Clarkson’s globally oriented faculty pursue interdisciplinary research focused on rapidly solving real world problems for a better future. Example signature areas of research include healthy global solutions, advanced materials development, computational and data-enabled discoveries, next generation medicine and healthcare, and STEM and entrepreneurial education. Our external network engages 380+ active partners in industry, government agencies, chambers of commerce and research organizations affording students access to world relevant problems to pursue with their professors as well as a direct pipeline to internships and careers after graduation. In addition to an engaged 44,000+ strong alumni community living in 87 countries, our global reach extends through the networks of our schools, ROTC command, research centers and institutes.

Coulter School of Engineering
Our undergraduate and graduate engineering programs in the Wallace H. Coulter School of Engineering prepare you for tomorrow's challenges in two distinctive ways. First, our curriculum is team-based and interdisciplinary, just like today's workplace. Since engineers don't work in isolation, we don't believe they should learn in isolation either. To build entrepreneurial competence and learn how to forge relationships across disciplines, our engineering programs provide opportunities for every student to do hands on projects at the intersections of science, engineering, technology, arts, and business.

Second, we emphasize innovation in the development of technology that serves humanity. We don't pursue engineering for the sake of engineering. We encourage students to consider the social consequences of projects by looking at the economics, ethics, and environmental impact of every engineering decision. 

Learn more about the Wallace H. Coulter School of Engineering at Clarkson University.

SPEED - Undergraduate Engineering Project Teams
Most colleges and universities across the country that have engineering degree programs, have engineering project teams. But none of them have a project teams program like Clarkson. Here at Clarkson, we differentiate ourselves by bringing all of our unique engineering project teams under one roof—literally and figuratively. Our 12 competitive student teams come together under a unifying department: SPEED, which stands for Student Projects for Engineering Experience and Design. 

Whether you’re interested in race cars or robotics, bridge design or aeronautics, joining one of the SPEED teams gives you the competitive edge for your future career while building lifelong friendships at the same time. Teams compete in national engineering competitions, and members don’t need engineering prowess to participate. Anyone interested can join a team and bring their own expertise—in business, accounting, engineering, building, research, creativity, and more.

Learn more about SPEED.