Mechanical Engineering Upper Division Advising & Degree Planning

• Use the ME Flowchart to plan major and elective courses. Try the fillable version of the form, if you prefer!
   
• Review ME Tech Elective Program and the Elective information below for major requirements
  • Students should talk with an ME advisor regarding their plan for their elective courses.
  • See the ME Senior Lab Page for lab course information.
     
• ME Undergraduate Tracks will help students take courses that focus on skills they need to develop to succeed in their desired career field. Current tracks include: The Built Environment, Energy Transition, Power & Propulsion, Product Design, and Robotics, with more to come. Each track is customized to the specific area of mechanical engineering that a student might want to specialize in.
   
• ME Course Information (descriptions, offering schedule, master syllabi)

Please see below for high level information on the elective requirements within the Mechanical Engineering program, for more detailed information please see the Elective Program Guide. 

Resources: 

1. ME Track Guides can help explore what areas of interest each course falls into
2. Talk with an ME Faculty Advisor about what courses might be the best fit for you
3. If you have a course that falls outside the requirements you may submit a petition to the department: z.umn.edu/mepetition (if you are unsure if you should submit a petition, please email [email protected])

Pair a Minor with your Bachelor in Mechanical Engineering!

Note: The process of adding a minor goes through the department that offers the program. Contact your proposed minor's home department for help.

In the past 10 years….

• 20% of ME students have completed a minor
• ME students have completed 31 different minor programs, the most common being management, computer science, product design, mathematics, and Spanish studies
• Other minors have included: Sustainability studies, creative writing, music, economics, astrophysics and more!

Explore the most popular minor options for ME students:

Management | Computer Science | Product Design

Mathematics | Spanish Studies

Students may complete a directed research project (ME 4094: Directed Research) for 2-4 credits. This is an individual project overseen by a faculty member in the department over the course of the semester. Students will also receive instruction on how to present research in a verbal presentation and poster presentation alongside the research project by a faculty member in the department.

Each credit implies 3 hours of effort per week on the project (2 credits for 6 hours a week, 3 credits for 9 hours a week, and 4 credits for 12 hours a week). ME 4094 may be used to fulfill 1 technical elective (recommended 4 credits) or the specialization elective (3-4 credits). 

Students can email [email protected] for questions.

Curricular Practical Training Information

(formerly ME 3990, students now register for OUE 2196)

The ME Department supports ME international students who wish to engage in an internship or co-op placement related to their studies. Students participating in the Co-op Program will register for the CSE co-op courses (see the CSE Co-op Program). International students who find an internship related to their studies must enroll in OUE 2196 in order to obtain CPT work authorization from ISSS. International students should never begin an internship or co-op prior to obtaining work authorization from ISSS. The ISSS website details the process to obtain CPT work authorization here. 

CPT Approval Process

1. Receive a job offer related to Mechanical Engineering
2. Students should complete the CPT online workshop on MyISSS.
3. Students should reach out to the listed instructor for OUE 2196 or OUE 3196 to enroll in the course and secure their signature on the Course Instructor Verification Form.
4. Students need to register for a CPT course option before submitting final paperwork to ISSS.
5. Students complete all three sections of the CPT Request in MyISSS.
   1. Upload CPT supporting documents
   2. Enter CPT employment details
   3. Submit a CPT request to the instructor they contacted for the previous paperwork to complete step 3 above.
       

Optional Practical Training (OPT)

CPT is a separate program from Optional Practical Training (OPT) which can be used after graduation and which does not involve academic credit.

International students who wish to enroll in fewer than 13 credits need to complete two separate requests:

1) ISSS Request: International students are required to maintain full-time enrollment as part of their legal status as international students. Under certain circumstances, international students may request a Reduced Credit Load. Approval will depend on the reason for the request.

F-1 student RCL information

J-1 student RCL information 

2) UMTC Request: All UMTC undergraduates are expected to enroll full-time which is 13 credits or more per term. Students who wish to enroll in fewer than 13 credits should fill out a 13 credit exemption request. More information about the UMTC request for all undergraduates can be found here.

Second semester seniors: All UMTC students in their final term of study at the U will automatically be granted the UMTC 13 credit exemption if fewer than 13 are needed for graduation. However, international students in their final semester of study must still apply for the ISSS RCL using the links above for F-1 or J-1 students. Students on other types of visas should contact ISSS.

The Department of Mechanical Engineering Honors Program is a part of, and affiliated with, the University Honors Program (UHP). The Department of Mechanical Engineering Faculty Honors Representative provides discipline-specific advice about fulfilling the requirements for graduation with Latin honors to students majoring in mechanical engineering.

Information about the University Honors Program and requirements for graduation with Latin honors is available at the UHP website.

A complete description of requirements for graduation with Latin honors is provided by the University Honors Program.

The Honors Thesis is described in the Honors Thesis Guide.

The Department of Mechanical Engineering is committed to ensuring that every one of its graduates is a competent writer. Good writing is critical to mechanical engineering and is highly valued by employers and graduate school research advisors. The ME Writing Program focuses on key characteristics of engineering writing, fostering the writing abilities that every engineer should have, and emphasizing how writing is infused throughout the mechanical engineering curriculum. 

ME Writing Program Overview

The department has developed a series of writing style guides, used in our undergraduate courses, that cover the most important forms of writing used by engineers. We suggest that you make use of these style guides for your writing assignments. 

Writing Problem Sets 

Writing Lab Reports

Writing Design Reports

If you started your freshman year BEFORE June 2018 OR entered ME BEFORE December 31, 2019:

ME Flowchart

ME Tech Elective Program

Please email [email protected] with any questions.