[DSRP Evidence](https://dsrpevidence.org/)

# USMA West Point System Engineering Course

## Details

**Authors** USMA West Point

**Year** 2016-present

**Kind of work** course

**Discipline** Systems Science

**Secondary disciplines** Military

**Reading level** intermediate

**Kind of engagement** applications

[Read it](https://catalog.westpoint.edu/part-3-course-catalog/systems-engineering/dse-course-catalog/)

## In authors' words

### What they set out to do (purpose)

West Point’s Systems Engineering curriculum trains cadets to model, analyze, design, and make decisions about complex real-world systems. Courses address system architecture, parts and functions, causal relationships, feedback loops, uncertainty, competing design alternatives, and the broader political, military, economic, social, cultural, and ethical contexts in which systems operate.

### What they found (results)

The curriculum treats complex problems as requiring students to understand system structure, interactions, cause-and-effect relationships, feedback, uncertainty, and context rather than analyzing isolated variables alone. Cadets learn to model systems, identify requirements and functions, examine alternative solutions, trace feedback loops, and evaluate how proposed changes affect system performance within larger operational environments.

## Commentary

### In short

USMA Systems Engineering courses adopt DSRP as foundational elements of study.

### Response

The United States Military Academy selected DSRP among the foundations of its systems engineering curriculum, taught from 2016. The curriculum addresses system architecture, parts and functions, feedback, uncertainty and context, and competing design alternatives.

**Patterns it shows** S, R

## Refers to

- [Systems Thinking for Systems Engineers: A Foundational Skill](https://dsrpevidence.org/element/415)
- [The Dynamics of Trust: Path Dependence in Interpersonal Trust](https://dsrpevidence.org/element/419)

## Questions it bears on

- Referred to by: [Systems Thinking for Systems Engineers: A Foundational Skill](https://dsrpevidence.org/element/415)
- Referred to by: [The Dynamics of Trust: Path Dependence in Interpersonal Trust](https://dsrpevidence.org/element/419)

**How to cite this** USMA West Point (2016-present). USMA West Point System Engineering Course.