The Indiana University-Purdue University motorsports engineering program is a four-year bachelor's degree program that begins with a year of general education coursework, including calculus, chemistry, elementary composition and an introduction to motorsports. Students continue into motorsports classes such as business of motorsports, motorsports design, vehicle dynamics, fluid mechanics, materials and control systems analysis. Students can get involved with clubs such as the National Society of Professional Engineers, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Society of Automotive Engineers, Tau Alpha Pi (the national engineering honor society) and hear guest speakers such as three-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves.
Applicants must have a high school diploma and rank in the upper half of their graduating class. High school coursework must have included four years of math (pre-calculus or trigonometry), six semesters of science and social science, plus four semesters of a foreign language.
Indiana University-Purdue University
School of Engineering and Technology
799 W. Michigan Street
Indianapolis, IN 46202-5160
317-274-2533
iupui.edu
The University of North Carolina at Charlotte offers an undergraduate major in motorsports engineering. Students must enroll in the mechanical engineering program as freshmen, then apply for a motorsports engineering concentration in their sophomore year (a minimum 2.5 grade-point average is required). Coursework includes road vehicle dynamics, finite element analysis, failure analysis, materials science, motorsports instrumentation, power plants and vehicle aerodynamics. Students in the motorsports program are required to spend at least 40 hours per month in the motorsports laboratory (a reduced number of hours is possible if the student has a motorsports job), attend seminars and participate on a motorsports team or internship.
Real-world experience is available through drag cars, testing equipment, CAD software and challenge cars. Ten percent of the members of the NASCAR engineering team are graduates of the UNC motorsports program. The school is also within an hour's drive of 90 percent of the NASCAR Sprint Cup teams.
The University of North Carolina at Charlotte
UNC Charlotte Motorsports Engineering
9201 University City Blvd.
Charlotte, NC 28223-0001
704-687-8253
uncc.edu
Motorsports enthusiasts may start their engines with a bachelor of science in engineering with a concentration in technology and motorsports from Old Dominion University, housed within the school's General Engineering Technology program. Students take general education coursework such as philosophy and ethics, written communication, language and culture, literature and human behavior, then move into the motorsports concentration with classes in power and energy, race car performance, motorsports vehicle dynamics, ground vehicle aerodynamics, race car analysis, thermodynamics and fluid mechanics. Real-world motorsports experiences are available through a chassis dynamometer, engine instrumentation and driving simulator. The school is also within proximity of the Virginia International Raceway, Virginia Motorsports Technology Center and NASA's wind tunnel.
Applicants must have a letter of recommendation and a resume. Students are classified as general engineering majors, then apply to the motorsports option after completing core classes. Students who have an associate's degree showing completion of core classes may apply to the motorsports concentration.
Old Dominion University
Frank Batten College of Engineering & Technology
108 Alfred B. Rollins Jr. Hall
Norfolk, VA 23529-0050
800-348-7926
odu.edu