About the P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science
The P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science is the engineering college of Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Engineering has been central to Lehigh since the University’s founding in 1865, making it one of the oldest engineering schools in the United States and a center of engineering innovation ever since.
The Rossin College spans eight academic departments and enrolls more than 1,800 undergraduate students and roughly 600 graduate students, split evenly between master’s and doctoral programs. The College employs 155 full-time faculty and nearly 90 staff.
Academically, the Rossin College blends traditional disciplines—such as civil, mechanical, and electrical engineering—with emerging fields like quantum computing, data science and machine learning, biomaterils, aerospace and space systems, and smart infrastructure. Partnerships with organizations such as the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Defense, Meta, Lockheed Martin, and others put students and faculty to work on problems that matter.
Rossin College by the Numbers
1,800+
Undergraduate students
~600
Graduate students
155
Full-time faculty
8
Academic departments
12–14%
Annual research growth (2021–2025)
100%
First-year PhD funding from College sources
Rankings & Recognition
No. 13
Lehigh University, Best Salaries — $81,485 value-added salary impact
Educational Innovation & Experiential Learning
Educational innovation runs through every Rossin classroom. In courses across all eight departments, Lehigh engineering faculty teach the way practicing engineers actually work—project-based coursework, team design work, and lab experience tied to real-world problems—and keep rethinking how that material is delivered, from the first-year sequence through the senior capstone.
First-Year Rossin Engineering (FYRE) is the clearest expression of that approach: every FYRE student builds a foundation in math, science, and engineering through hands-on projects tied to real-world problems. Backed by the Lew and Sherry Hay endowment, FYRE is scaling from its 2025 pilot to full college-wide implementation by 2028–2029.
Beyond the curriculum, the Rossin Research Scholars program pairs undergraduates with PhD student mentors for yearlong, paid research projects. Student teams—Lehigh Racing and its new electric vehicle team, the Lehigh University Rocketry Association, and the aerial-robotics SWARMS Lab Club—give every student a place to find their passion outside the classroom.
Research Leadership & Interdisciplinary Team Science
Lehigh University holds an R1 Carnegie Classification, the designation reserved for universities with the highest level of research activity. Behind it is a Rossin College research enterprise that grew 41% annually between 2021 and 2025, on a path to triple research funding over the next decade.
Three Interdisciplinary Research Institutes—Functional Materials and Devices (I-FMD), Data, Intelligent Systems, and Computation (I-DISC), and Cyber Physical Infrastructure and Energy (I-CPIE)—incubate large-scale, multi-university centers, enabling collaboration in addressing grand challenges.
Research at Rossin College is also organized physically. Research “neighborhoods,” from the Autonomous and Intelligent Robotics Lab in Building C to materials-for-energy work in the HST Building, put collaborators down the hall from one another.
Graduate Program Expansion & Sustainability
The Rossin Doctoral Support Program funds 100% of first-year PhD students from College sources, letting Rossin College recruit top talent independent while keeping doctoral admission under 10% selectivity. More graduate student support is available by department and program.
On the master’s side, matriculation grew 51% year-over-year in 2025, and the College is launching new graduate programs in robotics, biotechnology, aerospace engineering, and polymer science—alongside expanded online, hybrid, and certificate options for working professionals.
Community, Culture & Citizenship
A "citizen-scholar" hiring model evaluates every Rossin College faculty candidate on commitment to community and culture alongside research and teaching, backed by structured orientation and mentoring to support retention.
The College’s Community and Culture Council leads a strategic plan to build an increasingly inclusive environment. The STEM Squad extends that work into the Lehigh Valley, delivering hands-on STEM enrichment to local school districts while giving Lehigh students immersive service-learning experience.
Our Vision for Engineering at Lehigh
Rossin College prepares Future Makers: graduates who combine technical depth with the judgment to lead. Our strategy rests on four pillars—educational innovation, research leadership, graduate program growth, and an inclusive culture—all aimed at the same goal: supporting the development of engineers ready to take on the world’s most challenging problems.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science?
The P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science is the engineering college of Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Engineering has been part of Lehigh since the University’s founding in 1865, and the College today spans eight academic departments across traditional and emerging engineering fields.
What engineering departments does Lehigh have?
Rossin College is organized into eight departments:
How many students are in Rossin College?
Rossin College enrolls more than 1,800 undergraduate students and roughly 600 graduate students, split evenly between master’s and doctoral programs. The College employs 155 full-time faculty and nearly 90 staff.
Is Lehigh a good engineering school?
U.S. News & World Report ranks Lehigh among the top 50 undergraduate engineering programs at doctorate-granting universities. Lehigh University as a whole ranks No. 21 in TIME’s America’s Best Colleges 2026–27, No. 23 in LinkedIn’s 2026 Top Colleges for long-term career success, and in the top 30 of The Wall Street Journal’s 2026 Best Colleges.
Is Lehigh University a research university?
Yes. Lehigh holds an R1 Carnegie Classification, the designation for universities with the highest level of research activity. Research in Rossin College grew 12–14% annually between 2021 and 2025, and three Interdisciplinary Research Institutes—I-FMD, I-DISC, and I-CPIE—organize large-scale, multi-university work.
Are Lehigh engineering PhD students funded?
Yes. The Rossin Doctoral Support Program funds 100% of first-year PhD students from College sources rather than from individual faculty grants, and doctoral admission remains under 10% selectivity. Additional graduate student support varies by department and program.
What is FYRE at Lehigh?
FYRE stands for First-Year Rossin Engineering. It is Lehigh’s project-based first-year engineering experience, in which students build their foundation in math, science, and engineering through hands-on projects tied to real-world problems. FYRE is scaling from its 2025 pilot to full college-wide implementation by 2028–2029.
How do I apply to Lehigh engineering?
Undergraduate applicants apply to Lehigh University through Lehigh Undergraduate Admissions. Master’s and PhD applicants apply directly to the College through Rossin College graduate admissions, where requirements and deadlines are listed by program.