Student working on a CAD drawing on a computer.

Drive Innovation. Create a Better Tomorrow.

Mechanical Engineering Bachelor's Degree

Design devices, systems, components, and processes that help solve today's biggest challenges in healthcare, transportation, world hunger, climate change, and more. At Michigan Tech, gain the skill set necessary for driving technological innovation.

Michigan Tech has a long-standing reputation of offering unparalleled excellence in mechanical engineering education. That includes digital mechanical engineering—big data, AI, machine learning, and industry 4.0 principles.

You'll challenge yourself in a highly collaborative environment, embracing hands-on, project-based opportunities. Even in the midst of change, you'll be ready on day one. A bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Michigan Tech prepares you to create a better tomorrow.

2

student-built satellites launched into space (plus two more now in the works)
50,000+

square feet of labs and computer centers
8th

largest BSME enrollment in the US

Tomorrow Needs Mechanical Engineering in Motion

As a mechanical engineer you will apply the principles of motion, energy, force, and materials to design products that are safe, efficient, reliable, and cost-effective. In addition to design, you could work in research and development, testing, or manufacturing. Mechanical engineers work in diverse areas, including the aerospace, automotive, biomedical, chemical, computer, communications, nanotechnology, and power-generation industries.

As a mechanical engineer, determine the direction of your career. Pathways are far-reaching and include:

Developing a safe and reliable autonomous vehicle
Using machine learning to make cooling systems more affordable and sustainable
Designing advanced nanosatellites smaller than a deck of cards
Working with computer software to design and develop new machinery
Studying auto aerodynamics using powerful supercomputers
Inventing an ultrasonic device that deters whales, dolphins, and seals from swimming into fishing nets
Designing a rocket engine to withstand the subzero temperatures of outer space
Developing a microprobe small enough to dissect a single nerve cell under a microscope
Analyzing machinery such as gas turbines, control devices, and jet engines, with the goal of improving performance
Designing prostheses or biomedical devices

Engineering Enterprise Concentration

Pursue an Enterprise concentration as part of your degree by taking part in Michigan Tech's award-winning Enterprise Program. It's a great way to enhance your undergraduate degree with client-based teamwork. 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 any one of 20-plus Enterprise teams on campus to invent products, provide services, and pioneer solutions. Apply the skills learned in your major and gain some valuable new skills. Tackle real-world design projects for industry sponsors or take part in a national competition (or both). This concentration adds courses in business and entrepreneurship.

Aerospace Engineering Minor

The aerospace engineering minor is most suitable for undergraduate mechanical engineering majors and pairs with Aerospace Enterprise. Gain a background for careers in aerospace engineering through coursework in structures, materials, gas dynamics, space science, and orbital mechanics.

Be Career-Ready

When you graduate with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Michigan Tech, you'll be well prepared to transition directly to an entry-level job in industry. Our degree provides excellent preparation for law school, as well. An advanced degree is desirable for mechanical engineering research positions. Considering an advanced degree? Explore our graduate education options.

Career Opportunities for Forward-thinking 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

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

Earn an ABET Accredited Engineering Degree

Our program is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, https://www.abet.org. With ABET accreditation, you can be sure that your Michigan Tech degree meets the quality standards that prepares you to enter a global workforce.

And, because it requires comprehensive, periodic evaluations, ABET accreditation demonstrates our continuing commitment to the quality of your program—both now and in the future.

Sought Worldwide

ABET's voluntary peer-review process is highly respected. Its criteria are developed by technical professionals and focuses on what you, as a student, experience and learn. It adds critical value to academic programs in technical disciplines—where quality, precision, and safety are of the utmost importance.

Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics

The Mechanical Engineering Program is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, https://www.abet.org.

ABET logo

Accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, https://www.abet.org.

The ME–EM Department

Discover and design innovative solutions.

In the Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics 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 ME-EM 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.

"When getting ready to teach, I put myself in my students’ shoes, making sure I’m getting the information across in a way that is meaningful and helpful to them."Professor Gordon Parker

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, 17 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 D80 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

"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, mechanical engineering graduate