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Mechanical Engineering

B.S. Program

Two female students in lab looking up at tube.

A successful career comes from developing the whole person through a balanced program that emphasizes the fundamental nature of engineering as a problem-solving discipline. Individual and group projects, plus exposure to cultural understandings, provide the insights needed to work in our complex modern society. Application of the engineering principles is enhanced by hands-on exercises in energy conversion and transfer, mechanical design, and systems analysis. Most graduates take positions in industry, government, or business. Many, however, continue their formal education in a graduate program.

A Senior Design sequence finishes out the last year of classes with a capstone project. During this course, students are tasked by industry sponsors to invent, design, or improve a problem. They will solve and build a prototype to be presented back to the sponsor.

Undergraduate Mechanical Engineering majors who have completed their junior year with a grade point average of 3.4+ can begin work toward a combined B.S/M.S. in Mechanical Engineering. Students can count up to 12 hours of graduate credit (6000- and 8000-level courses).

Specialize Your Degree

Adding a minor to your mechanical engineering degree can broaden your knowledge and enhance your skill set in a particular area of interest. Popular minors for mechanical engineering students include materials science and engineering, computer science, mathematics, physics, business administration, and technical German. Your academic advisor can help you determine which minors best align with the program's requirements and your overall academic goals. You may need to take additional courses beyond those required for your major. Overall, adding a minor can demonstrate your versatility and breadth of knowledge to potential employers or graduate programs.

Career Outlook

A bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering is often the basis for advanced degrees in various engineering fields, including biomedical, environmental, industrial, automotive, aeronautical and nuclear engineering, and other professions, such as business, law and medicine.

  • Aerospace
  • Propulsion and Transportation
  • Power Generation
  • Defense
  • Robotics
  • Automated Manufacturing
  • Construction
  • Product Development
  • Law
  • Medicine
  • Mechanical Engineering Curriculum

    flow chartAs of Fall 2022, the Mechanical Engineering B.S. now splits the Statics and Dynamics course (ME 2010) into a two-semester series, Statics (ME 2050) and Dynamics (ME 2060).

    The flow chart of the 2022 ME curriculum is a representation showing prerequisites, corequisites, and required courses. More detailed prerequisite and corequisite information can be found in the Academic Catalog and in DegreeWorks (iRoar > Student Self-Service > Student Records > DegreeWorks).

    Solid arrows represent prerequisites, e.g., ME 2050 is a prerequisite for ME 2060, so the arrow connecting the two of them is solid. Dashed arrows represent corequisites, e.g., ME 2220 and MSE 2100, and MATH 2080 can all be taken concurrently with ME 2040. The direction of corequisite arrows indicates corequisite order, e.g., ME 2220 can be taken before or concurrently with ME 2040, but ME 2040 cannot be taken before ME 2220.

    First Semester Curriculum

    All Engineering students begin their first term in General Engineering with the same courses, regardless of their intended major. Coursework in the second term varies.

    • CH 1010 - General Chemistry (3)
    • ENGL 1030 - Composition and Rhetoric (3)
    • ENGR 1020 - Engineering Disciplines and Skills (3)
    • MATH 1060 - Calculus of One Variable I (4)
    • General Education Requirement - (3)

    B.S. Mechanical Engineering credit hours: 127

    Combined B.S./M.S.

    Qualified Mechanical Engineering students can reduce the time to earn a master's degree by applying graduate credits to both the bachelor's and master's program requirements. Undergraduate Mechanical Engineering students who have earned a grade-point average of 3.4 or above and completed their junior year can begin work toward a master's degree. Students are eligible to count up to twelve hours of graduate credit (6000- and 8000-level courses) toward bachelor's and master's degrees. Approval by the department will be needed.

  • Senior Design Capstone

    Program Overview

    Mechanical Engineering Senior Design is a two-semester program made up of ME 4010 and ME 4020. Both of these courses are required to be taken by all ME undergraduate students. During the course of the program, students will work in groups of around 5-7, designing multiple projects. This will allow them to apply knowledge learned throughout their undergraduate career in a real-world scenario. Students will be mentored by both faculty and industry sponsors to understand the full cycle of the design process.

    ME 4010 (Pre-Capstone)

    This course is the first semester of the Senior Design sequence. During this course, students design and build equipment to be used for live demonstrations in classrooms.

    This is a project-oriented course in mechanical engineering emphasizing the role of analysis, synthesis, and evaluation in design and written reporting of design solutions. The influence of economics and optimization, concurrent development, integration of design and manufacturing, and system creation are utilized for engineering design decisions.

    Project Topics
    • Injection molding
    • Sand casting
    • Vacuum casting
    • Thermal forming
    • Vacuum forming
    • Lathe turning
    • Laser etching
    • Stamping

    ME 4020 (Capstone)

    This course is the second semester of the Senior Design sequence. During this course, students are tasked by industry sponsors to invent/design/improve a problem. They will then solve and build a prototype to be presented back to the sponsor.

    Creative application of general engineering knowledge in solving an open-ended design problem provided by a sponsor, typically external to the University. Progress is evaluated by a faculty jury. Students present results to the jury and sponsor through written reports and oral presentations addressing the University's written/oral competency goals.

    Design Innovation Studio - Open Hours

    The studio has open hours of Monday-Friday, 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM and 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM. On Thursdays, the studio opens earlier at 8 AM.

    Design Lab counter station Design Lab work tables Design Lab broad table
    map to innovation lab

    Touch Monitor Software

    PC: SHMirrorOp_Win.exe
    Mac: SHMirrorOp_Mac.dmg

  • Department Honors Program

    Curriculum Planning for Senior Honors

    The Senior Departmental Honors Program in Mechanical Engineering provides exceptional students an opportunity to conduct an in-depth research project under the guidance of a faculty advisor. To graduate with Senior Departmental Honors, all honors students must complete the standard departmental requirements for graduation and have a minimum cumulative GPR of 3.4.

    Junior Year

    Preliminary to the establishment of the senior research program, the student must participate in the Juniors Honors Seminar, ME 3000, typically during each of the semesters in the junior year. This is a zero-credit seminar series that is designed to introduce the student to the spectrum of research activities in the department and permit discussion with faculty concerning areas of mutual interest.

    Senior Year

    The student must satisfactorily complete a senior research thesis while typically enrolled in two semesters of ME 4150 (Honors) for three credit hours per semester. Eleven credit hours of 3000-level ME courses must be completed before taking the first semester of ME 4150 (Honors). A total of six credit hours distributed over at least two semesters are required. Once a student has begun the semester, he/she should not withdraw from ME 4150 without the mutual consent of the faculty advisor and the chairman of the Honors Program Committee. Students wishing to withdraw from the Senior Departmental Honors Program should do so between semesters.

  • Applying to the B.S. or B.S./M.S. Program

    Undergraduate Degree

    Applicants will apply to Clemson as a first-year student if they are a student without college credit or if they earned college credit prior to high school graduation. Completion of the first-year General Engineering curriculum and a cumulative grade-point average of 2.6 or higher is needed to begin the Mechanical Engineering program.

    Bachelors-to-Graduate Program

    Application for this combined degree program should occur at the end of the junior year to meet the academic standing and GPA requirement. Application details are available in the Academic Regulations section of the Graduate Policies and Procedures Handbook.

    How to Apply

    Clemson University offers a Coalition Application, Clemson Application, and the Common Application. To learn more about the application process, deadlines, requirements and what to expect after applying, please review the First-Year Application Process.

    The GS6-Bachelor-to-Graduate Plan form will serve as your application to the mechanical engineering graduate program – no additional application is required. However, while the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) is not mandatory, some fellowship applications may require GRE scores.