Mechanical Engineering (ME)

Department Administration

Department Chair

Ellen Arruda, Tim Manganello/BorgWarner Department Chair, Mechanical Engineering; Maria Comninou, Collegiate Professor of Mechanical Engineering

2370 G.G. Brown

For more specific information on contacting people, go to our Contacts page.

Mission

To prepare graduates for diverse careers in both mechanical engineering and related fields.

Goals

To have students graduate with outstanding problem-solving skills and knowledge of mechanical engineering, that allows them to continue their education throughout their careers and to become leaders in their fields.

Program Educational Objectives

The Mechanical Engineering Program is designed to prepare students for successful careers having positive societal impact in industry, government, academia, and consulting. Within three to five years after graduation, our alumni are expected to:

• Apply their engineering knowledge, critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving skills with integrity and inclusivity in professional engineering practice or in non-engineering fields, such as law, medicine, or business.
• Continue their intellectual development through graduate education, professional development courses, self-directed investigation, and/or on-the-job training and experience.
• Embrace leadership and collaborative roles in their careers.

Outcomes

Our graduates demonstrate:

• An ability to identify, formulate, and solve complex engineering problems by applying principles of engineering, science, and mathematics.
• An ability to apply engineering design to produce solutions that meet specified needs with consideration of public health, safety, and welfare, as well as global, cultural, social, environmental, and economic factors.
• An ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences.
• An ability to recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in engineering situations and make informed judgments, which must consider the impact of engineering solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts.
• An ability to function effectively on a team whose members together provide leadership, create a collaborative and inclusive environment, establish goals, plan tasks, and meet objectives.
• An ability to develop and conduct appropriate experimentation, analyze and interpret data, and use engineering judgment to draw conclusions.
• An ability to acquire and apply new knowledge as needed, using appropriate learning strategies.

Enrollment and Graduation Data

The University Registrar publishes the number of students enrolled annually in this program, and the number of degrees granted each term by this program. Additionally you can see recent degrees granted below:

Level	2021	2022	2023
Bachelors Degrees	317	275	239
Masters Degrees	110	128	144
Doctoral Degrees	35	58	42

Accreditation

The Mechanical Engineering program is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, https://www.abet.org, under the General Criteria and the Program Criteria for Mechanical and Similarly Named Engineering Programs.

Program Outcomes

The matrix maps how each course in our curriculum addresses our program outcomes. Only the outcomes tracked are noted below. 

Course	Student Outcomes (Black – High)
Fall 2020	Problems	Design	Communication	Ethics	Teams	Data	New Learning
MECHENG320
MECHENG335
MECHENG350
MECHENG360
MECHENG382
MECHENG395
MECHENG450
MECHENG455
MECHENG495

Undergraduate Degree Program

Sample Schedule

B.S.E. in Mechanical Engineering

Please see the sample schedule and additional information on the Mechanical Engineering Department Advising website.

ME Program-Specific Course Requirements

Within the ME Program, there are five categories of program-specific courses. These include ME Core Courses, Technical Electives, Specialization Elective, Advanced Math, and EECS 314/215.

ME Core Courses

The ME Core Courses consist of five categories: Design and Manufacturing, Mechanics and Materials, Dynamics and Controls, Thermal Sciences, and Laboratories and Technical Communication. In total, there are 45 credits of required ME Core courses and together these subjects represent the fundamental technical competencies every mechanical engineering student must learn. A minimum letter grade, as noted on the Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree website, must be obtained in each course, and it cannot be taken as Pass/Fail. The list below outlines the courses from each of the core categories:

• Design and Manufacturing: ME 250, ME 350, ME 450/455 (4 credits)
• Mechanics and Materials: ME 211, ME 382
• Dynamics and Controls: ME 240, ME 360
• Thermal Sciences: ME 235, ME 320, ME 335
• Labs and Technical Communication: ME 395, ME 495

Technical Electives (TEs)

All ME students are required to complete 9 credits of Advanced Technical Electives to deepen their knowledge within Mechanical Engineering. For ME course descriptions, visit the ME Course List. A grade of at least a “D” must be obtained in each course.

The 9 credits of advanced TEs required must be taken in the ME Department via these 2 categories:

1. 400-level Technical Elective: One upper-level elective must be a 400-level or higher ME class (at least 3 credit hours). This may include 400-level classes off the core TE list but does not have to. Note that ME 490 or ME 491 can fulfill this requirement.
2. Core Technical Elective: Two ME elective classes (totaling at least 6 credit hours) having a mechanical engineering prerequisite. See the following list for Core Technical Electives. 
3. Note: The MECHENG 500- and 600-level courses can also qualify as a Core Technical Elective if they have a MECHENG prerequisite. Please check the MECHENG Course Listing to see a list of MECHENG 500- and 600-level electives. If you would like to take one of these courses, please consult with the instructor of the course, as these are graduate-level courses. 

• Solid Mechanics and Materials: ME 305, ME 311, ME 406, ME 412, ME 451, ME 456 
• Design and Manufacturing: ME452, ME 458, ME 481, ME 482, ME 483, ME 487, ME 489
• Dynamics, Systems, and Controls: ME 424, ME 440, ME 461/EECS 460*
• Thermal Sciences: ME 336, ME 420, ME 432, ME 433, ME 438, ME 476
• Other: ENGR 350**, ME 400 

*Students may not take both EECS 460 and ME 461 for Technical or Specialization Elective credit.

**ENGR 350 is offered at Technical University of Berlin during the summer only. For ENGR 350 to be counted as an ME Technical Elective, the required sophomore-level ME courses (ME 211, ME 235, ME 240, & ME 250) must be taken before ENGR 350. Otherwise, ENGR 350 counts as a General Elective.

Specialization Elective

All ME students are required to complete 3 credits of a Specialization Elective. A grade of at least a “D” must be obtained. A Specialization Elective is a course intended to allow students to explore deeply a dimension of intellectual endeavor of their choosing, in both technical (including engineering) and non-technical fields across the University.

1. Have a 300 level or higher enforced prerequisite  
2. Be any 300 level or higher ME course outside of the required ME program courses (ME 320, ME 335, ME 350, ME 360, ME 382, ME 395, ME 450, ME 495)

Note: ENGR, ENTR, practicum, and seminar courses will not be accepted as a Specialization Elective. Students may use any 3 or 4 credit course from the approved Advanced Math list to count as a Specialization Elective. This can count after completing the 3 credit Advanced Math requirement.

Advanced Math

In addition to the CoE Core math courses, the ME department requires students to complete at least 3 credits of Advanced Math. Students must earn a “D” grade or better to receive credit for the Advanced Math requirement, and it cannot be taken Pass/Fail. See the Approved Advanced Math List.

Electrical Circuits

As part of the undergraduate ME degree, students must complete EECS 314 (4) – Electrical Circuits, Systems and Applications. Students must earn a “D” grade or better in EECS 314, and cannot take it Pass/Fail.

Students that wish to complete an Electrical Engineering Minor should enroll in EECS 215 (4) – Introduction to Electronic Circuits, which will count in place of EECS 314 and follow the same grading rules. Students who are interested in the Electrical Engineering Minor should contact the EE Department for more information.

Economics

The ME department requires each student to take at least 3 credit hours of an economic or financial course as part of their Intellectual Breadth requirements. The approved list of economic/financial courses recommended for ME students is provided in the Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Handbook on the department website. Most courses on the supplied list can fulfill some Intellectual Breadth requirements.

General Electives (GEs)

As part of the ME BSE degree, 119 required credits come from the CoE Core, Intellectual Breadth, and ME Program Specific categories. General Elective credits are the remaining credits needed to reach the minimum 128 total credits toward the program (CTP) required for graduation, which usually amounts to 9 to 12 credits of GEs. A grade of at least a “D-” must be obtained, and can be taken Pass/Fail.

For transfer students that received credit by exam, or students that transferred one or more courses from another institution, your total number of credits from the other categories may not equal 119 credits. As a result, you may have to enroll in more or less than 9 general elective credits, depending on how many credits are needed to reach the 128 credits required for graduation.

For the description of what courses count as General Electives, please visit the CoE Bulletin, and scroll to the bottom of the Core Requirements section.

Sequential Undergraduate/Graduate Study (SUGS)

The ME SUGS Program makes it possible for students to pursue a five-year sequential Bachelor of Science in Engineering (BSE) and Master of Science in Engineering (MSE) by taking four years of BSE work and one year of MSE work. ME SUGS is only for ME undergraduate students enrolled at the UM Ann Arbor campus. Prior to applying to the SUGS Program, students should meet with a ME Undergraduate Advisor to discuss the application process and create a plan of study.

Applicants for the ME SUGS Program must have a 3.6 GPA or better to be considered for admission. ME SUGS students may pursue a coursework, research, or thesis track Master’s degree. The ME SUGS Program allows students to double-count a maximum of 9 credits and transfer a maximum of 3 credits from their Bachelor’s degree toward the 30-credit Master’s degree. This leaves 18-21 credits required to complete the Master’s degree, which can be accomplished in two semesters of graduate coursework. All SUGS students are required to complete two full terms as graduate students and cannot delay their enrollment. Contact [email protected] to learn more or request a meeting.

Joint Institute – Sequential Undergraduate/Graduate Study (JI-SUGS)

This program is designed for students who receive an undergraduate ME BSE degree from the UM – Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s Joint Institute and wish to pursue a Mechanical Engineering Master’s degree at UM. Students that participate in the joint undergraduate program and receive two undergraduate degrees from UM and SJTU are not eligible for this program. Requirements for admission include: (1) a ME BSE degree from SJTU and (2) a minimum undergraduate grade point average of 3.6. The GRE is waived for JI-SUGS students, but the TOEFL is not. A maximum of 6 credits of approved coursework may be double counted from the undergraduate degree. Contact [email protected] to learn more or request a meeting.

Graduate Degrees

• Master of Science in Engineering (M.S.E.) in Mechanical Engineering
• Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Mechanical Engineering

M.S.E. in Mechanical Engineering

The M.S.E. program is designed for students looking to develop a personalized academic program to strengthen their knowledge of mechanical engineering fundamentals in a specific area. Research areas include automotive, biomechanics and biosystems, controls, design, dynamics and vibrations, energy, fluids, manufacturing, mechanics and materials, mechatronics, robotics, micro/nano engineering, multi-scale computation and combustion mechanics, and thermal sciences.

There are three separate M.S.E. degree program options in ME: (1) coursework only, (2) coursework with an individual research project, and (3) coursework with an M.S.E. thesis. All program options require 30 credit hours for completion, including ME, cognate, and advanced math coursework.

Details of degree requirements may be found on the Mechanical Engineering Master’s Degree and SUGS website.

Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering

The Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree is the highest degree awarded by the Mechanical Engineering Department and is recommended for students who are interested in leadership careers in academia (e.g. as a faculty member of a university), industry, or government. The major ME program milestones all Ph.D. students complete are:

1. Research and coursework
2. Qualifying examination (RCC & RFE)
3. Advancement to candidacy
4. Dissertation proposal examination
5. Thesis dissertation (written) and defense (oral)

A research advisor and doctoral committee is formed by each student to supervise investigative work and election of graduate courses. Candidacy is achieved when the student demonstrates competence in their field of knowledge through completion of courses and passing the qualifying examination (RCC & RFE).

The doctoral degree is conferred after the student presents the result of their investigation in the form of a dissertation, demonstrating marked ability and scholarship in a field of knowledge. Details of degree requirements may be found on the Mechanical Engineering Doctoral Degree website.

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