Engineering Minors

Bulletin/Undergraduate Education/Degree Options/Engineering Minors

College of Engineering Policy for Engineering Minors

Undergraduate students enrolled in a College of Engineering (CoE) degree program can often benefit from study and practice at some depth outside of their major. An Engineering minor is a coherent program of study, but with requirements far less comprehensive than those of a BS or BSE degree. Engineering minors can be sponsored by CoE departments, programs, or, for the purpose of supporting cross-departmental programs, sponsored by the Office of the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education. An Engineering minor is not intended to provide specialization within a student’s major field.

Rules:

  1. Completion of an academic minor is optional; no student can be required to complete an Engineering minor.
  2. A student can complete one or more Engineering minors, along with one or more LSA minors. However, a minor is not intended to provide specialization within a student’s major field. Therefore, the posted rules for each minor will outline any restrictions on the availability of a minor for students in a particular program, e.g. “A student seeking a BSE in NERS cannot earn the minor in NERS.”
  3. Advanced Placement credits may not be used to meet the requirements of an academic minor, but may be used to meet the prerequisites to a minor.
  4. Transfer credit may not be used to fulfill the requirements of a minor unless specifically stated in the minor.
  5. Courses taken to satisfy the requirements of a minor must be taken for a grade, unless the course was specifically approved as Pass/Fail within the requirements of that minor.
  6. A student must earn an overall GPA of at least 2.0 in courses taken to meet the requirements of an academic minor.
  7. Students are responsible for notifying both the sponsoring program and their major department of their intention to pursue a minor. Such notification should take place prior to enrollment in the upper-division courses for the minor.
  8. The advisor for each minor is responsible for approving any variance in course requirements for a minor.
  9. Responsibility for auditing completion of requirements for a minor lies within the sponsoring unit.
  10. Students will always be allowed to count courses towards an approved minor retroactively, as long as the minor is approved before the date of their graduation.
  11. Engineering minors will be noted on a student’s academic transcript, but not on their diploma.
  12. Students may not add, complete, or declare a minor after graduation.

Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering Minor

The primary goal of the Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering (Climate and Space) Minor is to provide exposure to research opportunities in atmospheric, climate and space science and engineering for those students who wish to work in the geoscience or space industry but are not majoring in Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering. The secondary goal is to increase awareness of the Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering and the educational and research opportunities within Climate and Space within the College of Engineering as a whole. This program is for undergraduate students in the College of Engineering and the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts.

Students must have:

  • Registered no later than the last day to add courses for the semester in which they complete the last courses for the minor
  • Submitted their program of study for the minor to the Climate and Space undergraduate advisor
  • Attained a minimum GPA of 2.0 in the designated courses
  • Completed the Climate and Space Minor as part of a degree program

Requirements:

  1. Prerequisite coursework:
    • Math (8 Credits)
      • MATH 115, and
      • MATH 116
    • Physics: (10 Credits)
      • PHYSICS 140, 141, and
      • PHYSICS 240, 241  
  2. Required Coursework (6 credits)
    • One course from SPACE 101 (Introduction to Rocket Science – 3 credits), CLIMATE 102 (Extreme Weather – 3 credits), SPACE 103 (Introduction to Space Weather – 3 credits) or CLIMATE 105 (Our Changing Climate – 3 credits)
    • CLIMATE 320/SPACE 320 (Earth and Space System Evolution, 3 credits)
  3. Core Focus Courses (minimum 9 credits)
    • At least three courses from one of the following tracks:
      • Meteorology
      • Climate Science and Impacts Engineering
      • Space Sciences
      • Space Engineering

International Minor for Engineers

The engineering field of today and the foreseeable future requires engineers that combine technical acumen with intercultural understanding. Engineers now work in multinational teams, create products for a global marketplace and solve problems that cross national borders and cultures. The International Minor for Engineers enables CoE students to develop their core set of skills and experiences necessary to meet challenges of the global engineering profession and to have this focus recognized on their CoE transcript.

  • Foreign Language Requirement
    • Language proficiency (cannot be English or ancient/extinct language) equivalent to fourth-semester college-level (max of 6 language credits can be counted towards the Minor).
    • May be satisfied by U-M courses, transfer credit, or intensive language programs abroad.  
  • International Courses (7-13 credits of graded coursework)
    • This requirement includes non-U.S. cultures or societies, including one comparative perspectives course (min. 1 credit). At least three credit hours of coursework must be listed at the 300-level or above.
    • Courses to meet the international coursework requirement may be taken abroad; pre-approval of these courses is required.  
  • ENGR 260: Engineering Across Cultures (1 credit)
    • This course explores the role of local culture in identifying and solving engineering problems and assists students in identifying and planning for their international/intercultural experience. Lectures, guest speakers and group discussions will focus on intercultural knowledge and case studies of engineering projects in a global context.
  • ENGR 460: Engineering Across Cultures II (1 credit)
    • This course is designed to help students un-pack their international/intercultural experience leveraging discussions, assessment of skills and learning to synthesize past experiences and intercultural skills toward the global engineering profession.
  • Required International or Intercultural Experience
    • Students may satisfy this requirement through study, work, research, or organized volunteering, spanning a minimum of six weeks interacting with a culture other than the one they grew up in. Students will explore and make a plan for their experience as part of ENGR 260. International students may not satisfy this requirement through programs in their home countries.

In total, the minor requires a minimum of 15 graded credit hours to complete beyond the two-semester (or equivalent) foreign language prerequisite needed to declare the minor. More information can be found at the IPE International Minor for Engineers website.

Minor in Electrical Engineering (EE)

A Minor in Electrical Engineering (EE), offered through the EECS Department, is open to College of Engineering, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, and School of Music, Theatre & Dance students. LSA requirements are described in the LSA Bulletin and interested students should consult with both LSA and CoE Electrical Engineering Advisors. CoE students may declare the EE minor provided they have met the following eligibility requirements:

  1. Students must have an average of 2.0 or higher at time of declaring the EE minor.
  2. Students must have completed all Math and Physics prerequisites with a grade of C or better.
  3. Students pursuing a major in Electrical Engineering (EE) and Computer Engineering (CE) are not eligible for the EE minor.

The EE minor is completed in 15 credit hours; at least one elective must be at the 400-level. All courses for the EE minor must be completed with a grade of C or better.

  • EECS 215
  • One of the following program core courses: EECS 216, 230, 270, 320
  • Two electives from among the following courses: EECS 216, 230, 270, 320, 311, 312, 330, 334, 351, 370, 373, 411, 413, 414, 418, 419, 420, 421, 423, 425, 427, 429, 430, 434, 452, 455, 460, 461, 463, 470, 530

Suggested Program Options

  1. Systems: Communications, Control, Signal Processing
  2. Electromagnetics and Optics
  3. Circuits and Solid State

Sample Paths

Paths OptionRequired CorePath Preparation CoreElective 1Elective 2

Systems

215

216

351, 455, 460

351, 452, 455, 460, 461 (no duplicates)

Electromagnetics and Optics

215

230

330,334

411, 430, 434, 438, 530

Circuits & Solid State

215

216

311, 312, 320

411, 413, 414, 420, 421, 423, 425, 427, 429

Minor in Environmental Engineering

Administered through the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, the minor in Environmental Engineering provides students with a basic background in the tools environmental engineers use to assess environmental impacts, model contaminant fate, and perform sustainable engineering decision making. CoE students may declare the minor provided they meet the following eligibility requirements:

  • Students must have a grade point average of 2.0 or higher at the time of declaration.
  • Students must have completed the prerequisite coursework for the “core” minor courses with a C or better.
  • Students pursuing a major in Civil or Environmental Engineering are not eligible for the minor.

A minimum of 16 credit hours, three core courses and two electives, is required to complete the Environmental Engineering minor. All courses for the minor must be completed with a grade of C or better as follows: Required core courses (10-11 credits):

  • CEE 265 Sustainable Engineering Principles or ME 499: Sustainable Engineering and Design
  • CEE 325 Fluid Mechanics (or equivalent from: MECHENG 320, CHE 341, NERS 344, NAVARCH 320, BIOMEDE 331, MATSCIE 335)
  • CEE 365 Environmental Engineering Principles

Two electives (6 credits) from the following courses:

  • CEE 482 Groundwater Hydrology
  • CEE 480 Design of Environmental Engineering Systems
  • CEE 465 Environmental Process Engineering
  • CEE 481 Aquatic Chemistry
  • CEE 482 Environmental Microbiology
  • CEE 563 Air Quality Engineering Fundamentals

For additional information, please visit the Civil and Environmental Department website.

To declare, please visit the advising calendar.

Minor in Materials Science and Engineering

The understanding and selection of materials is a common requirement in many science and engineering disciplines. To help serve this need, the Department of Materials Science and Engineering is offering science and engineering undergraduate students whose major is outside of Materials Science and Engineering a minor in Materials Science and Engineering.

To complete the minor, the student is required to take a minimum of five courses, entailing a minimum of 17 credits. The five courses required should be distributed as follows:

  • MATSCIE 220 Introduction to Materials and Manufacturing or MATSCIE 250 Principles of Engineering Materials (4 credits)
  • MATSCIE 350 Structures of Materials (4 credits)
  • Two MSE courses from the following “Electives” list (3 credits each, and the prerequisites for each include MATSCIE 220/250 and in many cases, MATSCIE 350):
    1. MATSCIE 400. Electronic, Magnetic and Optical Materials for Modern Device Technology (Prerequisite: MATSCIE 242)
    2. MATSCIE 410 Design and Applications of Biomaterials
    3. MATSCIE 412 Polymeric Materials (Prerequisite: CHEM 210)
    4. MATSCIE 440 Ceramic Materials
    5. MATSCIE 454 Computational Approaches in MSE (Prerequisite: MATSCIE 330, 335, and 365)
    6. MATSCIE 465 Structural and Chemical Characterization of Materials (Prerequisites: MATSCIE 242 and MATSCIE 360)
    7. MATSCIE 470 Physical Metallurgy
    8. MATSCIE 514 Composite Materials
  • One more MATSCIE course, other than lab research or special studies (3 or 4 credits)

Minor in Civil Engineering

Any student pursuing an undergraduate degree at the University of Michigan, excluding the BSE degree in Civil Engineering, may pursue a minor in Civil Engineering.  To be eligible, a student must be in good academic standing (with a GPA of 2.0 or higher), and must have completed all course prerequisites with a grade of C or better.  All courses counted toward the minor must be completed with a grade of C- or better, and the overall GPA for the courses pursued for the minor must be a 2.0 or higher.  Students pursuing a Minor in Civil Engineering must choose from one of three tracks, shown below.

  • Track 1:  Structural, Geotechnical, and Materials Engineering
    • Prerequisites:  MATH 115, MATH 116, CEE 211, and CEE 212, or equivalents
    • Required Core Courses:   CEE 312, CEE 345 and CEE 351
    • Elective Courses (must take at least one):  CEE 413, CEE 415, CEE 545, CEE 546, CEE 547
  • Track 2:  Construction Engineering and Management
    • Prerequisites:  MATH 115, MATH 116, CEE 211 and CEE 212, or equivalents
    • Required Core Courses:  CEE 331, CEE 351 and either CEE 312 or CEE 345
    • Elective Courses (must take at least one):  CEE 435, CEE 534
  • Track 3:  Mobility Systems Engineering
    • Prerequisites:  MATH 215, MATH 216, and PHYSICS 240, or equivalents
    • Required Courses:  CEE 373 (can substitute MATH 425 or STATS 425), CEE 375, CEE 450, CEE 551 and CEE 552

Multidisciplinary Design Minor

The Multidisciplinary Design Minor is built upon participation in multi-term, on-campus, immersive design team experiences for academic credit. This minor is not completed via a list of required courses; but is earned through a set of four experiences that can be tailored to a student’s interests. Note: this minor is also open to students from outside the College of Engineering.

The minor in Multidisciplinary Design is comprised of 15 total credits across four experiences:

  1. Introductory “Design, Build, Test” Experience
  2. Multi-Term Design Project Work
  3. Connections Course
  4. ENGR 456: Leadership/Mentorship Course

Introductory “Design, Build, Test” Experience (at least 2 credits)

Must include a team-based, complete Design/Build/Test process. For Engineering students this is most often fulfilled through ENGR 100. For non-Engineering students, other design-based courses or an introductory/extra semester on the design project team may also be allowed to fulfill this requirement.

Multi-Term Design Project Work (at least 7 upper-level design credits over at least 2 semesters)

The Multidisciplinary Design Program offers various team-based, multidisciplinary engineering design project options, including:

  1. MDP-organized* partner-sponsored industry/government/non-profit projects
  2. MDP-organized* faculty-based research teams
  3. Significant work on student organization project teams (Solar Car, MRover, M-HEAL, etc.) with permission from the team’s faculty advisor and MDP

The Multi-term Design Project can yield degree credit utilizing the ENGR x55 course sequence, departmental design courses and/or independent study courses (all credits must be earned at the 300-level or higher). The project must span a minimum of two consecutive semesters of in-depth work; the credits cannot all be earned in the same semester.

*Recruitment for MDP-organized projects occurs annually in October.

Connections Course (3+ credits)

A Connections Course is required to support the Multi-Term Design Project: providing additional breadth or depth in specific skills relevant to the project, but outside of the student’s major coursework. This requirement can be met with any course outside of a student’s required classes for their major. This course is taken prior to or during the final semester of project work.

ENGR 456: Leadership/Mentorship Course (2 credits)

Students study models of leadership and mentorship while participating in reflective and integrative learning exercises based on previous design team experience. Simultaneously, students take on mentorship/leadership roles within a design team to offer technical, professional, and interpersonal guidance. Students must have significant previous multidisciplinary design project experience to enroll.

Completing the minimum credit hours for the above list adds up to 14 credit hours; therefore the student needs at least one extra credit hour in any one of the first three components to meet the minimum of 15 required credits. The following rules apply to the Multidisciplinary Design Minor:

  1. Transfer credit may not be used to fulfill requirements of this minor.
  2. Only the 2-credit mentorship and leadership requirement (ENGR 456) can be taken Pass/Fail.
  3. The academic advisor of the Multidisciplinary Design Minor Program is responsible for approving any variance in course requirements for the minor.

For more information, please visit the MDP website.