The Department of Mechanical Engineering is one of the largest academic departments in South Carolina and a significant source of engineering graduates for the state and the nation. We prepare our students to become technical leaders who can function as valuable, productive, and responsible members of society.
Information on admission requirements, financial assistance, and academic policies and procedures as a student in ME can be found in the catalog and handbook.
Accreditation
The Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering program is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, https://www.abet.org, under the General Criteria and the Mechanical and Similarly Named Engineering Programs Program Criteria. Visit the Mechanical Engineering program's website to learn about the Program Educational Objectives and Student Outcomes.
B.S. Program
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
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Mechanical Engineering Curriculum
The curriculum for the bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering is changing as of Fall 2022. The main change involves the splitting of the Statics and Dynamics course (ME 2010) into a two-semester series, Statics (ME 2050) and Dynamics (ME 2060). To compare prerequisite and corequisite requirements in the Fall 2017 and Fall 2022 curricula, please view a list of prerequisites for all required courses in both curricula.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.
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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.
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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.
The curriculum for the bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering is changing as of Fall 2022. The main change involves the splitting of the Statics and Dynamics course (ME 2010) into a two-semester series, Statics (ME 2050) and Dynamics (ME 2060). To compare prerequisite and corequisite requirements in the Fall 2017 and Fall 2022 curricula, please view a 