Engineering Fundamentals

Engineering Bachelor’s Degree

Pursue your own unique career pathway in engineering, or enter an emerging field.

With the Bachelor of Science in Engineering (BSE) degree, turn your ideas into a reality. Customize this engineering degree to fit your interests. The BSE curriculum includes courses fundamental to all engineering disciplines. It offers a multitude of elective courses for flexibility. Customize up to 40 percent of your degree path. Select any area of study to blend with an engineering focus. You are free to reflect on your own interests.

  • No. 13
    Best Public College for Engineering in America (Niche)
  • No. 2
    Best Public School for Internships (The Princeton Review)
  • No. 3
    Best Public College in the US for High Salaries (The Wall Street Journal)
  • No. 9
    for Career Placement (The Princeton Review)

Tomorrow Needs Teams That Communicate and Solve Engineering Problems

An engineering degree teaches analysis and design. It allows you to find solutions in public and global sectors. Learn to interpret data, perform experiments, and communicate in complex engineering projects. The BSE degree program at Michigan Tech offers unparalleled opportunities in undergraduate education:

  • A personalized engineering degree with the option of adding a minor
  • A solid education in basic engineering principles
  • The ability to customize your engineering degree
  • New and innovative course work

Four Pathway Options

EngineeringPlus

Discover your path! EngineeringPlus starts with a broad foundation in math, science, and general education. The curriculum stands upon a strong engineering base. Select upper level engineering courses in your area of interest. The program has integrated space to tailor your degree with one of 80 minors. Choose from Business, Law and Society, Public Health, ROTC Leadership, and many more. EngineeringPlus gives you flexibility. Personalize your career path and still stay within 125 total credits.

Engineering with Business

Engineering with Business has the same broad foundation. Math, science, general education, and a strong engineering base combine with a business emphasis. This path allows you to personalize your degree. Select upper level engineering and business courses in your area of interest. The program has integrated space to tailor your degree with one of 80 minors.

Systems Engineering

Systems engineers apply low-fidelity modeling to test ideas and user flows. They use this method to understand, design, and manage complex systems. Analysis takes place over a system life cycle. As management leaders, systems engineers use systems thinking and interdisciplinary skills. Their knowledge spans all areas of engineering and management. At Michigan Tech, you will complete courses in the systems engineering core. You will move on to a diverse range of engineering, science, and business topics. Threaded through the entire program is an emphasis on a systems dynamics approach. You will form an understanding complex, multi-disciplinary systems, and systems of systems.

The Systems Engineering Program aims to develop graduates who can cross disciplinary boundaries. Develop agile learning skills for new topics. Social and natural systems embed complex, engineered networks. You will manage those networks and systems. If you have an interest in both engineering and business, Systems Engineering may be for you.

Customize Your Degree with an Individualized Plan

Design roller coasters. Use nanoparticles to treat cancer. Design underwater habitats for humans. At Michigan Tech, you can create your own path by customizing your engineering degree. We will help develop a curriculum to meet your focus. We combine faculty expertise from across campus to prepare you. You are free to pursue your chosen field or continuing education.

Be Career-Ready

Explore career opportunities for engineers.

Earn an engineering degree from Michigan Tech. Apply engineering skills to interdisciplinary areas. The engineering field projects to have employment growth of 6 percent from 2020 to 2030. Nearly 146,000 new engineering jobs will emerge over the next decade.

  • Systems
  • Technology
  • Social
  • Natural
  • Business
  • Science
  • Law
  • Health
  • Leadership

$91,420 median annual wage
Figures from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), dated May 2024.

Engineering Salaries

My Story: Nick McCole, MTUengineer

This choice has opened many doors for me. Systems Engineering is a field I plan on staying in for the foreseeable future. This summer I worked as an electrical/systems engineer intern at Milwaukee Tool. In addition to Milwaukee Tool, I’ve been fortunate to have internships at Ford, Mercury Marine and Boss Snowplow.

Nick McCole
Nick McCole ’23
systems engineering

Ready to take the next step?

Learn more about studying engineering at Michigan's flagship technological university.

 

Systems Engineering Advising and Careers
Watch the Video
"An ecosystem is a great example of a system. Engineered systems can have that same approach applied to them, except that the goal is to alter the system to make it better."Jon Sticklen, associate professor and former chair of engineering fundamentals

MTU engineering

Real Engineering. Meaningful Work.

We are committed to inspiring students, advancing knowledge, and innovating technological solutions to create a sustainable, just, and prosperous world. With an entering engineering class of about 1,000 students, 18 degrees to choose from, and 160+ faculty in the College of Engineering alone, we provide a world-class education with the trusted reputation of Michigan Tech.

As a student at Michigan Tech you’ll work closely with faculty mentors, immerse yourself in experience-powered learning, and gain a thorough understanding of engineering practice. Collaborate and innovate in laboratories, coursework, Enterprise, and Senior Design—you'll work with industry partners on real engineering projects and develop strong skill sets for your future.

You could study abroad, with engineering opportunities ranging from a few weeks to one full year. Or focus on problems facing disadvantaged communities in countries around the world. Michigan Tech’s Global and Community Engagement program offers you a range of options.

More than 400 employers regularly recruit our students for internships, co-ops, and full-time employment. Engineering students average seven interviews, and 98 percent are employed within their field of study, enlist in the military, or enroll in a graduate school within six months of graduation. A degree in engineering from Michigan Tech can take you anywhere.

Tomorrow Needs You

Engineers do a lot of things, but there's one thing we do first and foremost: we help people. We use creative ideas and technologies to solve problems in health care, energy, transportation, hunger, space exploration, climate change, and more—much more. Become an engineer who is ready for what tomorrow needs.

Student Stories

Be an MTUengineer

Join the LEAP leaders, wow the elementary students, and attend the AIPG National Conference.

Teach coding and circuitry. Research combustion and nanotechnology. Do a co-op with Kimberly-Clark. Show us how to slurry sand and complete miners training.

Tell us how important wetland mitigation is to you.

This is what we're all about.

Read Student Stories

A Professional Start

Engineering majors have great peers.

  • American Indian Science and Engineering Society
  • MTU Society of Women Engineers
  • National Society of Black Engineers
  • Engineers Without Borders

Participate in National Engineers Week. Become a LEAP leader.

Begin your networking journey here.

Join clubs and groups.

Beyond Engineering

Engineering majors cultivate their interests and talents at Michigan Tech. Join Superior Wind Symphony, follow military service, and be active in local politics.

Dive into Yucatan Culture.

Attend GeekU.P., become a lifeguard, and do a Canal Run. Be a musher. Set a Guinness World Record. Take part in Parade of Nations.

Let yourself shine.

Go Beyond

The EF Department

At Michigan Technological University, the Department of Engineering Fundamentals is where future engineers build the foundation for lifelong success. We offer an innovative, hands-on first-year engineering program designed to help students explore disciplines, strengthen core skills, and prepare for upper-level coursework. Our dedicated faculty provide personalized academic advising and guidance to help you choose the engineering major that best fits your goals. For students interested in flexible, interdisciplinary pathways, we administer the Bachelor of Science in Engineering degree—ideal for emerging or non-traditional fields. Our department is also a hub for educational research, service courses, and outreach that connects engineering with the broader community. Whether you're sure of your path or still exploring—tomorrow needs every engineer—and we are here to help.

  • Faculty are experts in engineering education.

  • The BSE degree program is highly customizable.

  • The department offers pathways to non-traditional engineering degrees.

  • The first-year engineering program offers students innovative fundamentals courses and exploration.
"I’ve never been at a place where every single person around you wants you to succeed in the way that you want to succeed."Anna Browne '21, BS Electrical Engineering