Mechanical engineering covers a wide range of engineering that uses the principles of mechanics and energy in the design, construction and operation of machinery such as automobiles, rocket engines, nuclear reactors, power plants, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning units, and refrigeration systems. It also involves the transfer of energy from sources such as solar, geothermal, and wind, according to the College of New Jersey.
The Accreditation Board For Engineering and Technology (ABET), the organization that accredits U.S. engineering programs has a set of standard requirements that must be fulfilled by all engineering programs. As a result, mechanical engineering programs around the United States are similar in structure regardless of what school you may choose to attend.
" Generally, freshman year is spent completing basic, perquisite courses that have no direct relation to mechanical engineering, such as chemistry or calculus. Specific engineering courses are introduced during the sophomore year and set the groundwork for higher level engineering courses later. Junior and senior years are spent finishing these high-level mechanical engineering courses, and may include a senior engineering project, " explains mechanical engineering sophomore, at the College of New Jersey, Robert Richardson.
Mechanical engineering courses at accredited institutions are generally the same and include, but are not limited to the following courses: A CAD (computer aided design), an engineering seminar,
strength of materials, a mechanical engineering laboratory, numerical analysis, fluid mechanics
thermodynamics, heat transfer, a machine shop laboratory course, statics, stress analysis, manufacturing processes, dynamics, a senior mechanical engineering project, an introduction to engineering course, vibrations, and kinematics.
Some universities and colleges choose to include more specific courses in order to broaden students' engineering knowledge and give them specific situations in which they can practice. Usually these courses accomplish the same goals, but have varied names: robotics, bio mechanics, engineering economy, control systems, circuits analysis, combustion, and various types of energy courses.
Students may expect to take about 18 to 22 credits per semester in order to graduate from an undergraduate mechanical engineering program in four years although the amount of credits may differ from college to college, notes Richardson. He added that although mechanical engineering may be difficult, like any other major, it requires perseverance and a strong work ethic.