Student working on a CAD drawing on a computer.

Wide-ranging Options for Innovation

Mechanical Engineering Bachelor's Degree

Mechanical engineers use their creativity and passion to develop vital solutions. They tackle problems in diverse areas, including energy, mobility, and space exploration. Other areas include health care, hunger, and alternative energy.

Earn your bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Michigan Tech. Our supportive learning environment provides many possibilities for your future. Benefit from individual attention and guidance. Experience hands-on learning in our classrooms and labs. Dive into life-changing projects here at home and around the world.

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)

Aerospace Engineering Minor

With an aerospace engineering minor, prepare for a career in aerospace engineering through coursework in structures, materials, gas dynamics, space science, and orbital mechanics. Combine your minor with the hands-on experience of the Enterprise Program or Senior Capstone Design. Build satellites with Aerospace Enterprise, design robotic technologies for extreme environments with Multiplanetary Innovation Enterprise (MINE), compete in rocketry and aircraft competitions with Aeronautics and Rocketry Enterprise (AERE), or explore other Enterprise teams and senior design projects.

Engineering Enterprise Concentration

You can pursue an Enterprise concentration by taking part in Michigan Tech's award-winning Enterprise program. It's a great way to enhance your undergraduate degree. Enterprise is when students work in teams on real projects, with real clients, in an environment that's more like a business than a classroom. Choose from among 25 Enterprise teams on campus to invent products, provide services, and pioneer solutions. Tackle real-world design projects for industry sponsors or take part in a national competition (or both). This concentration can add courses in business and entrepreneurship.

Tomorrow Needs Mechanical Engineering

As a mechanical engineer you will design sustainable components, machines, and systems. You’ll analyze your designs using the principles of motion, energy, and force, to ensure safety, efficiency and reliability. You’ll incorporate digital engineering—big data, AI, machine learning, and industry 4.0 principles.

You’ll also design your career. Mechanical engineering career pathways are far-reaching, and include:

Developing safe and reliable electric and autonomous vehicles
Making cooling systems more affordable and sustainable
Building advanced nanosatellites smaller than a deck of cards
Inventing an ultrasonic device to protect dolphins from fishing nets
Designing a microprobe for use under a scanning electron microscope
Creating new materials for prosthetic limbs using nanotechnology
Harnessing alternative energy—including solar, wind, hydrogen and ocean waves

At Michigan Tech our strong industry partnerships and programs make all the difference. Collaborate with industry on real engineering problems through Enterprise and Senior Design. Distinguish yourself with industry co-ops and internships. Employers will value your ability to perform on the job from day one.

Be Career-Ready

Graduate with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Michigan Tech. You will be well prepared to transition to an entry-level job in industry. Our degree provides excellent preparation for graduate school. An advanced degree is desirable for mechanical engineering research positions.

Explore career opportunities for mechanical engineers.

Automotive engineer
Aerospace engineer
Robotics engineer
Test design engineer
Systems engineer
Product engineer
Biomedical engineer
Controls development engineer
Mechanical development engineer
Manufacturing engineer
Service engineer
Foundation brake engineer
Powertrain engineer
Nuclear engineer

$69,925 mean entry-level salary
Figures from payscale.com, accessed April 2025.

Engineering Salaries

My Story: Sophie Bollin, MTUengineer

Michigan Tech was honestly my dream school. I knew I wanted to work in the automotive or related industries and Tech had great opportunities to work in these fields. They also had one of the best mechanical engineering programs, so for me it was a perfect fit.

Sophie Bollin ’24

mechanical engineering

Ready to take the next step?

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

Preview image for My Michigan Tech: Tyler Strauss (ME) video

"At Michigan Tech I'm working toward the future that I want."Tyler Strauss, undergraduate mechanical engineering student

The MAE Department

Discover and design innovative solutions.

In the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering our challenging coursework, wide-ranging options, and state-of-the-art facilities will provide you with an experience like no other. Once you graduate, you'll have hands-on abilities and the capacity to hit the ground running.

We focus on giving students the personal attention and support necessary for not only academic success, but also a positive undergraduate experience overall. And we encourage students to take advantage of our faculty's open-door policy.
We limit our class sizes to allow for meaningful student-faculty interaction. The average class size is 31, and the average lab size is 12. Every class is taught by faculty.
Department labs and computer centers occupy over 50,000 square feet and 12 stories in the R. L. Smith Building. Within our department, you’ll have the opportunity to experience four semesters of engineering in our ME Practice courses. These courses involve open ended experiences using the same tools as industry uses to test, model, and simulate real world systems.
Learn how to be an effective engineer and further expand your toolbox of capabilities by joining an Enterprise team at Michigan Tech. Our department hosts and advises ten different Enterprise teams who work on designing, building, and testing engineering systems for industry clients. As early as your freshman year, you could be creating competition vehicles, nanosatellites, or snowboards. You could develop new ways to mine on the moon and Mars, or focus on Navy projects in all domains: space, air, land, sea, and undersea.
You can get involved in world-class engineering research, too. Our students work side by side with our faculty on robotics, autonomous vehicles, alternative energy, materials in medicine, controls, and alternative energy, including energy from ocean waves. Undergraduate research opportunities are plentiful, often in multidisciplinary teams.
During your senior year, you'll join a design team to work on industry-sponsored projects for 2 semesters–much like your first job as an engineer. Project sponsors include over 50 companies so nearly anything is a possibility! Some examples include developing a wireless car door opener, designing a quiet, green snowmobile, and creating power tool testing machines. You will take an idea from concept to working prototype.

All of this takes place in one of the biggest mechanical engineering departments in the nation. Michigan Tech is consistently ranked 8th for the total number of mechanical engineering bachelor's degrees granted in the United States.

MTU engineering

Real Engineering. Meaningful Work.

Michigan Tech’s College of Engineering is 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+ engineering faculty alone, our students take part in a world-class education with the trusted reputation of Michigan Tech.

Collaborate and innovate as part of Michigan Tech’s discovery-based learning environment. Explore the endless possibilities of your engineering education in Engineering Fundamentals. Work closely with world-renowned faculty as a research assistant or develop real solutions with industry partners on an Enterprise team or Senior Design capstone project.

Join the pack and find the support you need. Map your academic career with the help of an academic advisor. Transition to University life with the support of the Waino Wahtera Center for Student Success or receive academic support in any of the Learning Centers across campus.

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

A degree in engineering from Michigan Tech can take you anywhere. After graduating, 95 percent of our alumni find successful employment within six months. Tech engineers work at NASA, Whirlpool, General Motors, Dow, Lockheed Martin, and beyond. With multiple annual Career Fairs and one-on-one advising from Career Services, you can find an internship, co-op, or full-time job where your engineering expertise can make a difference.

Tomorrow Needs Every Engineer

Michigan Tech engineers are at the forefront of change. Using creative ideas and technologies to solve problems in healthcare, energy, transportation, space exploration, climate change, and beyond, Tech engineers are prepared to help people and their communities adapt toward an equitable future. Become an engineer who is ready for what tomorrow needs.

College News

"My time at Tech not only gave me technical skills, but provided me with opportunities to learn about cross-skill collaboration, project management, leadership, and conflict management—which gave me a significant leg up in my full-time role."Amanda Moya '20, BS Mechanical Engineering