Program Requirements

Program credit requirements

The Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in mechanical engineering requires at least 132 credit hours.

You must earn a grade of “C” or better in all mechanical engineering courses.

The 132 required credit hours are in addition to credit received for algebra, trigonometry and basic ROTC courses.

Note: Some of the non-engineering courses you take at MSU (like physics and calculus) count for more credit hours than the same courses at Missouri S&T.

Thus, the total required credit hours at MSU (132) and Missouri S&T (128) are slightly different for mechanical engineering, but you’ll still take the same amount of courses.

General education requirements

Your program of study must contain a minimum of 21 credit hours of course work in general education and be chosen according to the following rules:

  • You are required to take one American history course, one economics course, one humanities course and English 110. The history course is to be selected from History 121, History 122 or Political Science 101. The economics course must be Economics 155. The humanities course must be selected from the approved list for art, English, foreign languages, music, philosophy, speech and media studies or theater.
  • Depth requirement: Three (3) credit hours must be taken in humanities or social sciences at the 200 level or above and be selected from the approved list. You may receive humanities credit for foreign language courses in their native tongue only if the course is at the 300 level or higher. All courses taken to satisfy the depth requirement must be taken after graduating from high school.
  • The remaining two (3 credit hour) courses are to be chosen from the list of approved humanities/social sciences courses and may include one communication course in addition to English 110.
  • Any specific departmental requirements in the general studies area must be satisfied.
  • Special topics, special problems and honors seminars are allowed only by petition to and approval by your department chairman.

Choosing your emphasis area

If there’s a specific area of mechanical engineering you enjoy, we can help you go further.

With nine hours of technical electives in your classes, you can pursue an emphasis area.

These include:

  • Dynamics and controls
  • Heat transfer
  • Fluid mechanics
  • Manufacturing automation
  • Solid mechanics
  • Vibrations and design

Interested in a career with aerospace, petroleum or nuclear engineering?

With help from your advisor, you can choose your desired technical electives in those fields as well.

Adding a minor

You’re not required to have a minor for this degree. If you’d like to add a minor, talk with your advisor.

Program outcomes and accreditation

Consistent with the educational objectives listed in the catalog, the cooperative mechanical engineering program meets all ABET requirements.