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The Rowan University Mechanical Engineering program is studying the use of a long-term (five semester) design project on student learning and concept retention. The project, a bench-scale hybrid electric powertrain system, is designed, analyzed and fabricated by students in five modules, starting in their sophomore year and culminating in their final semester as seniors (see prior ASEE publication [1]). This complex project has been selected in order to integrate the core mechanical engineering courses: Mechanical Design, Thermodynamics, System Dynamics and Control, and Fluid Mechanics. A bench-scale hybrid-electric vehicle powertrain has sufficient complexity to involve all Mechanical Engineering disciplines and the simplicity to be built by students over the course of five semesters. In addition, hybrid-electric technology is at the cutting-edge of automotive technology, and has been found to hold a special fascination for most mechanical engineering students.