CURRICULUM IN MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
154 Mechanical Engineering Building
1206 West Green Street
Urbana, IL 61801
(217) 333-0366
Fax: (217) 244-6534For the Degree of Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering
Mechanical engineering may be the most diverse of the engineering fields, embracing many subfields and affecting all aspects of our lives. Mechanical engineers work on new machines, products, and processes that hold the promise of better lives for all of us. They are concerned with both technological and economic aspects in the design, development, and use of their products. Today one of the challenges is to design efficient, low-cost machines and processes that use the fewest possible natural resources to improve the lives of people throughout the world.
The technical portion of the mechanical engineering curriculum is designed as a sequence of increasingly specialized experiences. The entering student's first year is spent mastering the basics of science: math, chemistry, and physics. Building on this base, in the second year students begin to take fundamental engineering courses such as statics, dynamics, basic circuits and electronics, thermodynamics, and strength of materials. By the third year students are taking specialized mechanical engineering courses in the subfields of fluid mechanics, heat transfer, dynamic systems and controls, materials, mechanical design, and manufacturing. Finally, during the senior year, students have the opportunity to both broaden and deepen their knowledge of the field through technical elective courses. At the end of the curriculum, students take the "capstone" senior design course (M E 280), in which all the knowledge and skills they have learned are applied to projects submitted to the department by industrial firms.
The mechanical engineering curriculum emphasizes engineering design, hands-on laboratories, computer skills, and written and oral communication. Mechanical engineering students can expect these elements to be woven throughout their major course work, beginning with the introductory freshman course and concluding with the capstone design course. The technical aspects of a mechanical engineering student's education are complemented by the humanities and social sciences courses and by material on leadership, ethics, and team-building that are distributed throughout the curriculum.
To qualify for registration in the mechanical engineering courses shown in the third (junior) year of the curriculum, a student must have completed the mathematics, chemistry, physics, computer science, and engineering courses that are shown in the first (freshman) and second (sophomore) years of the curriculum with a combined grade-point average of at least 2.25 (A=4.0). To remain in good academic standing or to graduate from this curriculum, a student must have a grade-point average of at least 2.0 in all 200- and 300-level required engineering courses and technical elective courses taken on this campus.
The curriculum requires 132 hours for graduation.
First year
HOURS
FIRST SEMESTER 4
CHEM 101-General Chemistry 0
ENG 100-Engineering Lecture 5
MATH 120-Calculus and Analytic Geometry, I (1)
M E 199-Undergraduate Open Seminar1 4
RHET 105-Principles of Composition 3
Elective in social sciences or humanities2 16
Total HOURS
SECOND SEMESTER 4
CHEM 102-General Chemistry (Biological or Physical Version) 3
G E 103-Engineering Graphics and Design 3
MATH 130-Calculus and Analytic Geometry, II 4
PHYCS 111-General Physics (Mechanics) 3
Elective in social sciences or humanities2 17
Total Second year
HOURS
FIRST SEMESTER 3
C S 101-Introduction to Computing with Application to Engineering and Physical Science 3
MATH 242-Calculus of Several Variables 4
PHYCS 112-General Physics (Electricity and Magnetism) 2
T A M 150-Introduction to Statics 3
Elective in social sciences or humanities2 15
Total HOURS
SECOND SEMESTER 3
ECE 205-Introduction to Electrical and Electronic Circuits 1
ECE 206-Introduction to Electrical and Electronic Circuits Laboratory 3
M E 205-Thermodynamics 3
MATH 285-Differential Equations and Orthogonal Functions 2
PHYCS 113-General Physics (Fluids and Thermal Physics) 3
T A M 212-Analytical Mechanics, II (Dynamics) 3
T A M 221-Elementary Mechanics of Solids 18
Total Third year
HOURS
FIRST SEMESTER 3
M E 211-Introductory Gas Dynamics 4
M E 231-Engineering Materials 4
M E 240-Modeling and Analysis of Dynamic Systems 2
PHYCS 114-General Physics (Waves and Quantum Physics) 3
Math elective3 16
Total HOURS
SECOND SEMESTER 3
M E 213-Heat Transfer 3
M E 261-Introduction to Instrumentation, Measurement, and Control Fundamentals4 4
M E 270-Analysis and Design of Machines 3
M E 285-Design for Manufacturability 0
M E 291-Seminar 2
M E & I E elective4 3
Elective in social sciences or humanities2 18
Total Fourth year
HOURS
FIRST SEMESTER 2
M E 250-Thermal Science Laboratory 3
M E & I E elective4 6
Technical electives5 3
Elective in social sciences or humanities2 3
Free elective 17
Total HOURS
SECOND SEMESTER 3
M E 280-Senior Mechanical Engineering Design Project 3
M E & I E elective4 3
Technical electives5 3
Elective in social sciences or humanities2 3
Free elective 15
Total
1. This course is highly recommended for freshmen. It may be used to help meet free elective requirements.
2. Each student must satisfy the social sciences and humanities requirements of the College of Engineering, including ECON 102 or 103. Students entering in fall 1994 and later must also satisfy the campus general education requirements for social sciences and humanities.
3. Math elective-3 hours required. Choose from a departmentally approved list.
4. M E & I E electives-8 hours required. Choose from a departmentally approved list.
NOTE: MATH 361/STAT 351 or MATH 363/STAT 310 or I E 230 must be taken as a MATH, M E & I E, or technical elective.
5. Technical electives-9 hours required. Choose from a departmentally approved list.