Swarthmore College Engineering Department records

The history of engineering at Swarthmore began in 1870 (soon after the college opened in 1869), when the college began to offer courses in mechanical drawing and surveying. Swarthmore’s 1871-1872 catalog established a degree of civil engineering under Joseph B. Davis, the college’s sole teacher of civil engineering. In 1872, Arthur Beardsley was also appointed as a professor of applied mechanics and physics, and became the college’s first professor of engineering. By 1883, Beardsley held the title of professor of civil and mechanical engineering.

From 1870 to 1885, the college’s engineering courses focused solely on civil and mechanical engineering. Students studied drawing, railroads, bridges, windmills, and water wheels. Engineering labs remained in Parrish basement until 1882, when they moved to the newly-constructed Trotter Hall.

Dr. Wilbur M. Stine arrived at Swarthmore in 1897, and established the college’s electrical engineering program. From 1910 onward, the Engineering Department advanced, and developed specialized work for students in civil, mechanical, chemical, and electrical engineering. The college’s programs for civil, mechanical, and electrical engineering became accredited in 1936, as the general engineering program was dropped.

During World War II, 49 Chinese military officers came to Swarthmore to both improve their grasp on English and study engineering fundamentals in civil, mechanical, and electrical engineering. World War II also brought a V-12 Navy College Training Program in engineering to the college. Swarthmore was one of only two colleges selected to give a Navy Civil Engineering program.

In 1958, the Engineering Department began to offer an Honors version of its program, aimed at providing an interdisciplinary base of engineering sciences, physics, and mathematics.

In the early 20th century, the Engineering Department gradually moved from Trotter Hall to spaces in Beardsley Hall (built 1904) and Hicks Hall (built 1919 and named after the Hicks family who attended Swarthmore). The Engineering Department moved into newly-built Maxine Frank Singer ’52 Hall (also known as B.E.P., or “the Bep”) in the summer of 2019.