Future First-Year Students

Welcome prospective freshmen! With 57 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

Student who indicate Mechanical Engineering on their University of Utah admissions application are granted Major Status in Mechanical Engineering upon admission to the University.

Students with a different major declared who want to change their major to Mechanical Engineering must have a cumulative University of Utah GPA of 2.500 or higher and schedule a meeting with an ME Academic Advisor to initiate the change. Students who have previously been dismissed from the major can only regain ME Major Status if they are readmitted to the major via the process outlined in the department website: https://www.mech.utah.edu/academics/undergraduate/.

For all students with ME Major Status, catalog year will be updated according to their first semester that an ME EN course (excluding ME EN 1020) was completed for a letter grade.

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.