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Department of Mechanical Engineering
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Degree Planning

Flowcharts are provided as a visual example for how the 129-credit Mechanical Engineering (ME) curriculum can be sequenced. Students’ plans will vary greatly depending on their initial placement in math and science courses, transfer/AP credits, and semester work load (credit) comfort.

The Basic Program is a set of courses (i.e., ENGR 1010, MATH 1650, MATH 1660, CHEM 1670, PHYS 2310, ME 1600, ENGL 1500, ENGL 2500, LIB 1600) that provides a foundation common to all engineering curricula. Students normally enroll in most of the Basic Program courses during their first year. Before enrolling in engineering courses at the 2000-level and above, students enrolled in the College of Engineering must do the following:

  • Complete the Basic Program with a Basic Program grade point average (GPA) of at least 2.00.
  • Earn an ISU cumulative GPA of at least 2.00.

A grade of C or better is required for any transfer credit course applied to the Basic Program. Grades from transfer courses will not be used in computing the Basic Program GPA. Students enrolled in the College of Engineering who have not met the above requirements may enroll for no more than two semesters in 2000-level engineering courses. For full details on the Basic Program, please see the Catalog and the College of Engineering’s Academic Policies.

Foundations is a second set of courses (i.e., MATH 2650, MATH 2670, PHYS 2320 + 2320L, MAT E 2730, C E 2740, ME 2310, and EM 3240) that ME students must complete in a timely manner. Students must complete all Foundations courses with a Foundations grade point average (GPA) of at least 2.00 before enrolling in select ME Core classes (i.e., ME 3320, ME 3700, ME 3350, ME 3250, EM 3240, ME 4210). Transfer course grades will not be calculated into the ME Foundations GPA. For full details on Foundations, please see the Catalog.

The Core is a third set of courses (i.e., ME 2700, EE 4420, EE 4480, ME 3320, ME 3450, ME 3240L, ME 3700, ME 3350, ME 3250, ME 3240, ME 4210, ME 4360, Capstone Design) that ME students must complete with a grade point average (GPA) of at least 2.00 prior to graduation Transfer course grades will not be calculated into the ME Core GPA. For full details on the ME Core, please see the Catalog.

ME students are required to take 15 credits in the humanities and social sciences for a well-rounded undergraduate education. General education courses (“gen eds”) help students develop communication, critical thinking, and interpersonal skills that are important to employers. See this document for full details on general education requirements and for which courses are approved:

Technical electives (“tech electives”) allow students to tailor their ME degree to their personal academic and career interests. Technical electives are generally 3000+ level STEM or business courses and 15 credits of technical electives are required. See this document for full details on technical elective requirements and for which courses are approved:

The ME Undergraduate Handbook contains details for students, staff, and faculty on departmental structure, policies, procedures, and degree requirements.

  • Catalog – comprehensive guide to all courses, degree programs, and policies at Iowa State
  • Schedule of Classes – up-to-date list of course offerings for current and upcoming semesters
  • Course Equivalency Guides – comprehensive conversion tables for course offerings at Midwestern community colleges
  • TRANSIT – transfer course translator
  • Transferology – an external database to help locate colleges and universities that offer a course that transfers back to meet a specific Iowa State course (always fact check against TRANSIT)
  • GPA Calculator – calculator to help determine cumulative, term, and/or course group (e.g., Basic Program, Foundations) grade point average (GPA)
  • Program of Study Template [downloadable Word doc] – modifiable template to help students map out their curricular plan
  • Graduation Checklist – Iowa State’s Graduation & Commencement website with a checklist, instructions to apply to graduate, and ceremony details
  • ME Academic Grievance Process – flowchart explaining process for filing a formal grievance about an ME course’s structure or grading
  • ME Academic Grievance Form – form for filing a formal grievance about an ME course’s structure or grading
  • 2023 Advising Syllabus – A helpful “to do” for the beginning of your time here at Iowa State!

Questions? We are here to help!

Want to learn more about our department and programs? Just have a few questions you’d like to run by our staff? We can help!

Undergraduate Independent Study

The Independent Study (i.e. ‘4900’) Proposal Process

An independent study proposal must be submitted no later than the end of the third week of the semester in order for the proposal to be considered for the current semester.

Because ME 4900 automatically counts as a technical elective, the Department of Mechanical Engineering requires all Mechanical Engineering students to complete a proposal prior to enrolling in a 4900 course, regardless of whether it is within or outside of Mechanical Engineering. This proposal is a project and assessment plan that the student develops with their Faculty Supervisor. Students requesting to complete an independent study must follow the guidelines below for the respective workflow. Please complete the form that is applicable to your request.

Independent Study Contact Information

Breanna Helfrick
Undergraduate Services Specialist
515.294.0368
2045B Black Engr
helfrick@iastate.edu

Independent Study with the Department of Mechanical Engineering

If you are a student, requesting to complete an independent study with the Mechanical Engineering Department, you must complete the ME 4900 Independent Study Proposal.

If you are a student that is Majoring in a different department and you are wishing to complete a 4900 with a faculty member in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, please complete the ME 4900 Proposal form in addition to following the process outlined by your Major Department.

Contact Information

Undergraduate Program Assistant, Department of Mechanical Engineering
isume@iastate.edu

Proposal Guidelines

1. 4900 Projects must be technical in nature and require the use of knowledge gained in the ME curriculum. They cannot have significant overlapping outcomes with required ME courses. This is the baseline requirement for all technical electives.

2. Projects must have ‘demonstrable’ learning outcomes that can be directly assessed such as ‘apply the second law of thermo to …’, ‘determine the strength of …’, ‘calculate the uncertainty of …’, etc.

Outcomes such as ‘understand how to …’, ‘research the ways to …’, and ‘know how to …’ are not acceptable.

3. Projects must have a clear work description with specific tasks listed.

4. Projects must have specific and tangible deliverables to demonstrate mastery of the outcomes. Weekly meetings, a powerpoint, oral presentation to a grad student, etc. are not acceptable on their own.

4a. A completed prototype from a design activity is not acceptable as a 4900 deliverable. A final report demonstrating how the student attained the learning outcomes to complete the prototype is a great way to structure this type of work.

5. Projects must have specific and clear criteria for how the semester grade will be determined in light of the outcomes and using the deliverable(s). There needs to be some possible scenario where a student can get something other than an ‘A’ or ‘F’.

6. The faculty member must directly supervise and assign the grade to the student. It is not acceptable to have all work and assessment performed by a grad student or post-doc.

Independent Study Outside the Department of Engineering

The Department of Mechanical Engineering has requirements for its students requesting to complete an independent study. ME students working with faculty outside of the Department of Mechanical Engineering need to work with their proposed Faculty Supervisor to ensure that the Non-ME 4900 Approval process is followed. This process is through an online workflow.

Note: Faculty members advising ME students may have different requirements than other 4900 students, so be sure they are aware of the project and assessment requirements below.

The Non-ME 4900 Technical Elective Proposal is a study plan that must be submitted to the Mechanical Engineering Department prior to a student enrolling in a non-ME 4900 course to count towards tech elective credit. The proposal needs to have sufficient detail so that the Academics Standards Committee can evaluate the relevance of the independent study as a ME Tech Elective and determine if the planned effort justifies the number of proposed credits.

If you are a Mechanical Engineering Student requesting to complete an independent study outside the Mechanical Engineering Department, you must complete the Non-ME 4900 Tech Elective Proposal.

Reminder: If you are looking for technical elective credit for AER E 4940, please refer to the ME Make to Innovate Technical Elective Request or contact Matthew Nelson.

Contact Information

Undergraduate Program Assistant
Department of Mechanical Engineering
isume@iastate.edu

Proposal Guidelines

1. 4900 Projects must be technical in nature and require the use of knowledge gained in the ME curriculum. They cannot have significant overlapping outcomes with required ME courses. This is the baseline requirement for all technical electives.

2. Projects must have ‘demonstrable’ learning outcomes that can be directly assessed such as ‘apply the second law of thermo to …’, ‘determine the strength of …’, ‘calculate the uncertainty of …’, etc. Outcomes such as ‘understand how to …’, ‘research the ways to …’, and ‘know how to …’ are not acceptable.

3. Projects must have a clear work description with specific tasks listed.

4. Projects must have specific and tangible deliverables to demonstrate mastery of the outcomes. Weekly meetings, a powerpoint, oral presentation to a grad student, etc. are not acceptable on their own.

4a. A completed prototype from a design activity is not acceptable as a 4900 deliverable. A final report demonstrating how the student attained the learning outcomes to complete the prototype is a great way to structure this type of work.

5. Projects must have specific and clear criteria for how the semester grade will be determined in light of the outcomes and using the deliverable(s). There needs to be some possible scenario where a student can get something other than an ‘A’ or ‘F’.

6. The faculty member must directly supervise and assign the grade to the student. It is not acceptable to have all work and assessment performed by a grad student or post-doc.

Majoring in Mechanical Engineering Only

All Mechanical Engineering students requesting to get technical elective credit for AER E 4940 need to submit the ME Make to Innovate Tech Elective Request. Be mindful that this request form has set deadlines that need to be met. If you do not submit the technical elective request and get it approved, you will not receive technical elective credit.

Contact Information

Matthew Nelson
Program Coordinator, Department of Aerospace Engineering
mnelson@iastate.edu
515-294-2640