Undergraduate Degree Program

Sample Schedule

B.S.E. in Mechanical Engineering

Accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission(s) of ABET, https://www.abet.org, under the General Criteria and the Mechanical Engineering Program Criteria. 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: ME395, ME495

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 ME490 or ME491 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, ME481, ME 482, ME483, ME487, ME 489
  • Dynamics, Systems, and Controls: ME 424, ME 440, ME 461/EECS 460*
  • Thermal Sciences: ME336, ME420, ME432, ME433, ME 438, ME 476
  • Other: ENGR350**, 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 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.