Future Transfer Students

Welcome transfer students! Did you know that over half of our graduates have at least one semester of credit from a transfer institution? We highly value the differing viewpoints that transfer students bring to our community and we are glad you are considering joining us to complete your Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering. Click on the tabs below for more information.

New transfer students with 30 or more credits must be admitted to the Mechanical Engineering program and accepted to Full Major Status (see below for admission criteria).  Transfer students are reviewed by the Department based solely on the information provided to the University of Utah admissions office and in most cases will not need to fill out a separate major application.  Additional information such as a personal statement or current semester grades may be requested before a decision is made.  You should receive an email decision from our department 2-3 weeks after your admission to the University of Utah.  Transfer students with less than 30 credits will be treated as first-year students for admission purposes and may be directly admitted to our major via the College of Engineering in your first semester at the University of Utah without any additional review.  Contact an advisor for more information.

Admission Process

Step One

Apply to the U
Before you can be considered for the Mechanical Engineering major, you must be admitted as a matriculated University of Utah student.

Step Two

After being admitted to the University, you will automatically be reviewed by our office for admission to the major based on their University of Utah application information but some students may need to provide additional information, if requested. You will receive an email from us letting you know we’ve received your information.

Step Three

Wait for a decision via email regarding your admission to the Mechanical Engineering major (about 2-3 weeks after being admitted to the University).

Step Four

Fill out the admission acceptance form in the acceptance email so your advisor can give you full major status.

Our holistic review process is based on a collection of factors that may include:

  • Cumulative post-secondary GPA (including concurrent or dual-program credits)
  • Grades in post-secondary technical courses
  • Personal statement (only if requested by our office via email)
  • AP credit

While a specific post-secondary GPA will not guarantee admission to the program, in the absence of other information, students must have a minimum GPA of 3.0 (both cumulative and technical) to be considered. Acceptance to the major requires placement into MATH 1210/1310 Calculus I or higher.  Students not eligible to enroll in MATH 1210/1310 or higher in the fall of the upcoming academic year must first complete Calculus prerequisites and wait until they are eligible to apply for admission to the Mechanical Engineering program.  Students accepted to the major will be given full major status and may take any ME EN course (all pre/co-requisites must also be satisfied).

After being admitted to the major, students must maintain a cumulative University of Utah GPA of 2.5 or higher to remain in the Mechanical Engineering program. In addition, students must earn a C or better in major courses, with only one repeat allowed per course.  Transfer courses count as one attempt.

How will my credits transfer?

The short answer is: “it depends!”

If you transferred from a State of Utah school:

If you attended a State of Utah school and took Mechanical Engineering (not Mechanical Engineering Technology) courses, they will likely be accepted for credit towards major requirements. See our current Transfer Articulation Chart (2023) for lists of approved courses by school.

If you have completed an Associates of Science degree from a state of Utah school, all of your general education requirements will be waived.  An Associates of Pre-Engineering does not usually cover all of the general education requirements unless you also completed all of the Associates of Science requirements for general education or receive a “letter of completion” or “interstate passport” indicating the general education requirements at your previous institution were completed.

If you took a course that is not on the articulation guide, you may submit a syllabus to see if the course would be approved as equivalent to a major requirement through our Course Articulation Form.

If you transferred from outside the state of Utah:

If you took a course from out of state that you think should fulfill a Mechanical Engineering major requirement, you may submit a syllabus to see if the course would be approved as equivalent to a major requirement through our Course Articulation Form (you can use that form for Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, and Electrical Engineering courses);  Math, Physics and Chemistry have their own articulation forms: Math Articulation Form;  Physics Articulation Form; Chemistry Articulation Form

An Associates of Science from out of state may clear all or most general education requirements, depending what classes you took.

We recommend you contact an Academic Advisor before filling out any of those forms.

All transfer students:

All transfer students will need to complete the Bachelor’s Degree requirements not covered by your major (an A.S. or A.A. degree from SLCC waives the Diversity requirement).  See the Graduation Requirements Worksheet for more information about general education and bachelor’s degree requirements and see an advisor with any questions.

For Advanced Placement Scores and what requirements they will fulfill, please see the “Advanced Placement Scores” tab above.   Advanced Placement scores must be sent from College Board directly to the University of Utah even if you had already sent them to another institution if you wish to receive credit for them.

Upper Division Transfer Course Policy

The Department of Mechanical Engineering accepts AP test scores for Math, Physics and Chemistry requirements. See below for test and score requirements to see what course would be waived:

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AP Scores for Math Placement

See our Math Flowchart for more details on which math paths you can choose based on your AP scores if you haven’t taken any college-level math classes yet.

AP Scores for General Education

Some of your general education requirements may also have been completed by Advance Placement (AP) classes you took in high school if you scored high enough on the exam. See the Advance Placement Credit page for scores and requirements fulfilled by each exam.

Advanced Placement scores must be sent from College Board directly to the University of Utah even if you had already sent them to another institution if you wish to receive credit for them.

Students must complete these major requirements to graduate:

  1. Maintain a cumulative University of Utah GPA of 2.5 or higher;
  2. Complete the following technical coursework (all courses must be taken for a letter grade and passed with a grade of ‘C’ or higher):
    1. MATH 1210, 1220, 2210, 2250, 3150 (traditional calculus track) OR MATH 1310, 1320, 2250, 3140 (engineering calculus track)
    2. PHYS 2210, 2220; CHEM 1210, 1215
    3. ME EN 1000, 1010, 2010, 2030, 2450, 2550, 2650, 3000, 3220, 3230, 3300 OR 3310 and 3315, 3400, 2300 OR 3610, 3710, 3650 OR 4610, 4650, 4000, 4010;
    4. ECE 2210; MSE 2160.
  3. Earn a ‘C+’ (2.3) average in the following upper division core ME EN classes: ME EN 3000, 3220, 3230, 3300 or 3310 and 3315, 3400, 3710, 3650 or 4610, 4650
  4. Complete twelve technical elective credit hours
  5. Complete all general education and bachelor’s degree requirements required by the major:  Graduation Requirements Worksheet