Breadcrumb
Baduwa't to Bay
With a focus on engineering toward a greater good, you’ll explore water quality, river restoration, renewable energy, and other local design solutions addressing global issues.
Imagine you are venturing with your team beyond the shadows of the redwoods into a clearing by a bend in Baduwa’t. While one of your friends samples the river’s waters to test for environmental quality, you are finding a place to set up solar monitoring equipment to understand the viability of a remote microgrid. A drone buzzes above, carrying air quality sensors and photographing the site from above. Later your team will be huddled in the computer lab, making sense of the data and coming up with a plan for the site.
Welcome to Baduwa’t to Bay, one of Cal Poly Humboldt’s Place-Based Learning Communities. As a first-year Engineering major, you’ll automatically be part of this year-long program to learn how engineers design solutions to the biggest social and environmental problems. And you’ll build connections with students who are as passionate about engineering and design as you.
Baduwa’t to Bay is for students majoring in Environmental Resources Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Energy Systems Engineering.
At Humboldt,
we learn in and from the environment around us.
Hands-on Learning
Gain practical experience through field trips, projects, and research along Baduwa’t (also known as the Mad River) and Cal Poly Humboldt’s facilities along the shorelines and communities of Humboldt Bay.
Connecting Western Science to Indigenous Cultural and Value Systems
All students will take a Native American Studies course, where they’ll learn how the Wiyot and Yurok tribes have interacted and coexisted on this land for generations. You’ll connect Western scientific perspectives and approaches with Indigenous environmental knowledge and cultural perspective
Classes That Count
Enroll in program-specific sections of major and general education courses. These courses will demonstrate the link between the three engineering majors as well as relate them to the place where you are choosing to live and study for the next four years.
The Specialized Experiences that Make up Baduwa’t to Bay
Join a community of first-year students who are engaged and excited about studying engineering and design, and applying their knowledge and experience to the real world.
You’ll enjoy a support network from day one, working closely with professors, peer mentors, Humboldt staff, and professionals who will help you grow academically and personally.
To start your academic journey right, you’ll take a course that teaches college basics (such as campus resources and study habits) and explore what it means to be an engineer.
You also have the option to live in residence halls with other Baduwa't to Bay students! It’s a great way to meet people and make lifelong connections.
Guided Enrollment
As part of guided enrollment, PBLC students have the opportunity to enroll into a deliberate selection of courses based on their PBLC. Guided Enrollment alleviates the pressure of finding spaces in courses and will set students on the best path to graduation.
Fall Courses for Baduwa’t to Bay
Students in Baduwa’t to Bay will have the opportunity to enroll in:
- ENGR 112 (Selected Topics in Engineering: Baduwa’t to Bay)
- ENGR 115 (Introduction to Engineering)
- CHEM 109 or NAS 200 (General Chemistry or Indigenous Peoples in U.S. History)
- MATH (dependent on preparedness)
- ENGL 102 or ENGL 104 (Fundamentals of Speech)
These courses are selected in collaboration with the Baduwa’t to Bay faculty team and are relevant to Baduwa’t to Bay specific programming.
Spring Courses for Baduwa't to Bay
The courses students enroll in for spring semester will depend on what students enrolled in for fall semester. Students in Baduwa't to Bay will have the opportunity to enroll in:
- ENGR 115 or ENGR 205 (Introduction to Engineering or Introduction to Design)
- CHEM 109 or PHYX 109 (General Chemistry or General Physics A: Mechanics)
- NAS 200 (Indigenous Peoples in U.S. History)
- MATH (dependent on preparedness)
Students will work with their advisor to fill out the rest of their spring schedule.
