Mechanical Engineering

College of Engineering and Architecture

The mechanical engineer deals with the broad areas of heat, energy, force and motion, and their effects on a multitude of products. Mechanical engineers may be involved in the design of large industrial machinery, power plants, automobiles and aircraft, robots, biomedical devices and equipment, precision measurement and data acquisition equipment, nanotechnology and new materials, among others. Within these areas, the mechanical engineer enjoys considerable professional flexibility.

The Program

The demand for mechanical engineers with a good technical education has been high for many years. The Department of Mechanical Engineering at North Dakota State University offers an education that enables its graduates to take their places in all facets of the profession. The department has graduated more than 3,200 mechanical engineers who are working throughout the U.S. and many other parts of the world.

Curriculum

The standard curriculum allows students flexibility in choosing courses that reflect their interests within the broad areas of mechanical engineering. These include mechanics, materials and nanotechnology, biomedical engineering, fuel cell and alternate energy sources, among others.

 

The coatings and polymeric materials option is a special program that prepares students for careers that require specialized chemistry and polymers training such as the manufacture of coatings to enhance and preserve vehicles, structures and machines. This program was developed jointly by the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Department of Coatings and Polymeric Materials, and is for students wishing to prepare for a career as a mechanical engineer in the polymers and coatings industry or in a manufacturing industry as a mechanical engineer with a good coatings background. Students completing the option are eligible for a minor in coatings and polymeric materials. NDSU’s Department of Coatings and Polymeric Materials is internationally renowned and the oldest of only three other such departments in the world.

The Faculty and Facilities

The Department of Mechanical Engineering is housed in Dolve Hall, which is part of an eight-building engineering and architecture complex. Laboratories and classrooms are well-suited and equipped for teaching and research. Students have access to PC computer clusters and facilities located in Dolve Hall to assist them in their laboratory and class work. The faculty offers a variety of expertise and extensive experience in teaching and research.

High School Preparation

To enroll in the mechanical engineering curriculum for the freshman year, students should have two years of high school algebra and one year of trigonometry, as well as a year in chemistry and physics. Students without these courses may take them at NDSU to better prepare academically for a specific engineering curriculum.

Selective Admission

The Department of Mechanical Engineering has minimum admission requirements for new freshmen and transfer students. New freshmen must rank in the top one-third of their high school class or have a minimum math ACT of 26.

 

Transfer students must have a minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 2.8. All new students are initially admitted to the basic program in mechanical engineering. After completing 52 credits of specified courses with a minimum GPA of 2.8 and no grade below a C, they are eligible for admission to the professional program.

Career Opportunities

Recent graduates found employment in companies throughout the U.S. The average starting salary was approximately $50,000. A sampling of companies hiring NDSU graduates include the Department of Defense, Fargo Automation, Norton Abrasives, Douglas Machine, Cummins Power Generation America, Cargill, Guidant, John Deere, 3M, Rockwell Collins, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Caterpillar, Bobcat, Xcel Energy, and Case-New Holland America.

Cooperative Education Program

Students in mechanical engineering may participate in the Cooperative Education Program at NDSU. By including industrial experience in the mechanical engineering curriculum, the period of adjustment on the job can be greatly reduced or eliminated. Two or more four-month sessions of work experience after completion of the sophomore year constitute the off-campus part of the Cooperative Education Program in mechanical engineering.

Contact Information

Department of Mechanical Engineering

North Dakota State University
Dolve Hall 111
Fargo, ND 58105

Tel: (701) 231-8671
Fax: (701) 231-8913
Email:Donna.Alby@ndsu.edu
Web: www.ndsu.edu/me

Office of Admission

North Dakota State University
124 Ceres Hall
Fargo, ND 58105

Tel: (701) 231-8643
Fax: (701) 231-8802
Email: NDSU.Admission@ndsu.edu
Web: http://www.ndsu.edu/prospective/students/

(6/07)