Future First-Year Students

Welcome prospective freshmen! With 53 full-time faculty and 4 professional academic advisors, the Department of Mechanical Engineering is committed to educating tomorrow’s engineering leaders and producing leading edge research. We encourage you to visit the campus, take a tour and meet with an advisor to help you decide if the University of Utah is right for you.  Please feel free to contact us regarding questions you may have related to our degree programs, curriculum, or research.  Please explore the tabs below for more information:

Declaring Mechanical Engineering Major

Any U of U student can take our two introductory courses, ME EN 1000 and ME EN 1010, as long as they meet the math and physics prerequisites. Students must have a declared mechanical engineering major and be in good standing in order to take most other ME EN courses.

Effective Spring 2025, a student can declare their major as mechanical engineering upon admission to the University of Utah.

Students admitted to The University of Utah prior to Spring 2025 should talk with an academic advisor about declaring their major and a path through the degree.

Students dismissed from the mechanical engineering major due to academic standards or academic integrity violations will not be able to continue in the mechanical engineering major. Students dismissed for academic standards violations only may be able to reinstate their eligibility and should discuss with an academic advisor.

College of Engineering Admission and Scholarships

Please visit the Price College of Engineering website for information on Admission and scholarships for incoming students.

Minimum Course Recommendations for Incoming Freshman

The Mechanical Engineering undergraduate program is rigorous and challenging, preparing graduates for a variety of rewarding and meaningful careers. To be adequately prepared for the program, the following high school coursework should be completed:

  • Algebra
  • Geometry
  • Trigonometry
  • Calculus (strongly recommended)*Campus-Fall-Panorama
  • Physics (one year, including laboratory work)
  • Chemistry (one year, including laboratory work)

Beyond these core requirements, high school students are encouraged to take:

  • Biology (one year, including laboratory work)
  • Mechanical drawing/drafting
  • Computer courses
  • Foreign language courses

*ME EN 1000, taken in the first semester of the first year of the ME program, requires MATH 1210/1310 Calculus I as a co-requisite. Therefore, students wishing to complete the ME program in four years must be eligible to take Calculus I during their first semester at the U. To figure out how to be eligible for Calculus I as an incoming student, click here.

College Credit can be awarded for Advanced Placement Exams based on which exam, when it was taken, and the score earned. Scores must be sent from the CollegeBoard to the University of Utah Admissions Office in order to receive the credit.

You may view credit equivalencies, based on when the exam was taken, here.

Students who take AP Chemistry and have their lab notebook can earn credit for CHEM 1215 by submitting their lab notebook to the Chemistry department for review.

See our degree plan flowchart page or the current catalog to see our degree requirements.