A framework for a junior level design course

Engineering design courses' content and timing have been the subject of debate for a long time. What is the appropriate content of an engineering design course and when is the appropriate time to introduce it in the curriculum? In this paper we present a look at a one semester junior level design course offered at New Mexico Tech, in which we propose a framework for introducing design in an engineering curriculum at that level. Furthermore, we present three years of system of systems projects within this framework.