Mechanical Engineering, Bachelor of Science

Major Requirements

• This major requires 103 units distributed as follows:

  • Engineering Requirements: 60 units
  • Mechanical Engineering Common Course Requirements: 31 units
  • Mechanical Engineering Depth Requirements: 6 units
    • Mechanical Design
    • Fluid and Thermal Sciences
  • Mechanical Engineering Breadth Requirements: 6 units

  
  Take the following 103 units:
  
  Engineering Requirements (60 units)

  • Mathematics and science courses (27 units):
    • CHM 151*, CHM 151L* (5 units)
    • MAT 136*, MAT 137*, MAT 238*, MAT 239* (15 units)
    • PHY 161*, PHY 262* (7 units)
  • Computer science and engineering courses (33 units):
    • CENE 225*, CENE 251* (6 units)
    • CS 122*, CS 122L* (3 units)
    • EE 188*, EE 188L* (4 units)
    • EGR 186*, ME 286* (6 units)
    • ME 180*, ME 252*, ME 291* (9 units)
    • (ME 476C* and ME 486C) together meet the senior capstone requirement (5 units)

• 
  Mechanical Engineering Requirements (43 units)
   
  Take the following 31 units, which provide an overview of the two branches of mechanical engineering - solid mechanics and thermal and fluid sciences - and give you background for further specialization:

  • CENE 253*, CENE 253L* (4 units)
  • MAT 362 (3 units)
  • ME 240*, ME 365*, ME 392, ME 395*, ME 450, (ME 440 or ME 465), ME 495 (21 units)
  • ME 386W* which meets the junior-level writing requirement (3 units)
  
  *Prerequisities and/or corequisites to Engineering coursework that must be completed with grades of "C" or better. In addition, ENG 105 must be completed with a grade of "C" or better.
   
  You must achieve a cumulative GPA of 2.65 in MAT 136, MAT 137, CS 122, PHY 161, PHY 262, CENE 251, MAT 238, and ME 240, in order to enroll in 300-400 level courses.  The calculation of this GPA will include any transferred coursework from other institutions.
      
  Mechanical engineering undergraduate students who have completed all required foundational courses with a "C" or better, but have a GPA in those courses that is below the acceptable GPA for enrollment in upper divisional courses may repeat up to two of the foundational courses in which they earned a "C" to meet the minimum GPA requirement. Students may only repeat a required course in which they earned a grade of "C" one time for it to count toward the foundational coursework GPA.
      
  Any ME course required for the Mechanical Engineering major may only be repeated one time. Petitions for second repeats presented to the ME department will typically be denied and may be considered only in very rare and exceptional cases such as death in the family or extended illness.

   

• For mechanical engineering depth (6 units):
  
  Select coursework from either the courses listed here or from other 300, 400, or 500-level mechanical engineering courses with approval from your advisor and department. We encourage you to gain expertise in one of the two primary branches of mechanical engineering, by means of the following groupings (6 units):
     
  • Mechanical design:
    • CENE 376, CENE 477
    • EE 458
    • ME 286L, ME 454, ME 455, ME 456, ME 463, ME 467, ME 473, ME 475, ME 482, ME 484
  •  Fluid and thermal sciences:
    • CENE 430, CENE 480
    • EE 458
    • ME 358, ME 423, ME 425, ME 435, ME 441, ME 442, ME 451, ME 454, ME 456

  Generally these courses have the ME prefix; the only exceptions allowed are the listed EE and CENE courses due to their significant ME content. You can also use ME 500-level courses as depth electives, as a qualified senior with departmental approval. 
  
  To gain breadth in fields related to mechanical engineering (6 units):
  
  Select upper-division (300-400 level) courses in engineering (including any course listed above as a depth elective), natural sciences, business, or mathematics. No more than one lower division course (100-200 level) can be used as a breadth elective. You must get approval from your advisor and department for these courses. (6 units)
  
  
  Please note that you can't have more than two grades of "D" in your engineering and computer science courses. Furthermore, all prerequisite and corequisite courses for your engineering courses must be completed with grades of "C" or better.

General Electives

• Additional coursework is required, if, after you have met the previously described requirements, you have not yet completed a total of 125 units of credit. 

  You may take these remaining courses from any academic areas, using these courses to pursue your specific interests and goals. We encourage you to consult with your advisor to select the courses that will be most advantageous to you. (Please note that you may also use prerequisites or transfer credits as electives if they weren't used to meet major, minor, or liberal studies requirements.)

Additional Information

• Be aware that some courses may have prerequisites that you must also take. For prerequisite information, click on the course or see your advisor.

• Accelerated Bachelor's to Master's Program
  
  This program is available as an Accelerated Undergraduate/Graduate Plan wherein a student may start a Master's degree, while simultaneously completing their Bachelor's degree. Departments may allow students to complete both degrees in an accelerated manner by approving up to 12 units applicable to both degrees.