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Mechanical Engineering Elective Program
Updated 9/14/23
(Applies to students starting their Freshman year after June 2018 or students entering
the Mechanical Engineering Program after January 1, 2020)
Background
All students in the mechanical engineering
program are required to take a set of “core”
classes to ensure that they have a solid
grounding in the fundamentals of mechanical
engineering . However, as you approach 1
graduation, you are encouraged to take courses
that address your special interests. These are
the “elective” classes.
Three elective classes are required for
graduation. Two are termed “technical
electives”: specialized engineering classes that
go beyond the core . The third is a
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“specialization elective”, which may be taken
from any department . Students are also 3
required to take a senior lab course “major
course elective”.
The intent of including elective classes as
part of your graduation requirements is to
enable you to customize your program to best
match your personal career goals. For example,
say you would like to work in the field of
biomedical devices. In that case, you might
choose two ME 5XXX classes that are useful
toward that goal as Technical Electives plus a
class from the Biomedical Engineering or
Physiology department as your specialization
elective.
3 A specialization elective is precisely defined in Requirement 3
on page 2.
2 Note that technical elective classes are typically not more
difficult than the core classes; rather, they are more specialized.
1 The core classes are ME 2011, AEM 3031, EE 3005/6, IE
3521, ME 3221, ME 3222, ME 3281, ME 3331, ME 3332, ME
3333, ME 4031W, ME 4053 and ME 4054W.
We recommend that you take the classes that
will best prepare you to obtain the job that you
most want when you graduate. If you are instead
planning to attend graduate school, choose classes
that will best prepare you to work on your ideal
graduate research topic. The Mechanical
Engineering faculty advising team is available to
make suggestions to best meet your needs.
Procedure
1. Develop your elective program in
consultation with a mechanical engineering
advisor. (Appointments are scheduled at:
http://meadvising.appointments.umn.edu.)
2. Technical electives are taken after
completing most or all of the 3XXX level
core classes, as they build on the foundation
of knowledge acquired in those classes. As
with any class, you must complete all
prerequisites before taking an elective class.
3. Due to their specialized nature, technical
elective classes are typically offered only
once a year, or once every two years. As a
result, plan ahead to enable you to take the
technical elective classes that you most
want.
4. Discuss your intended elective choices with
your advisor in advance of taking them to
ensure that no surprises arise when seeking
your advisor’s approval of your program.
5. Your electives will be updated in your
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APAS report. This is the source of truth for
fulfilling the ME degree requirements.
Requirements
1. You must take a minimum of 8 credits of
technical electives and a minimum of 3
semester credits of specialization electives.
Most students will take a total of 11-12
credits of electives.
2. A technical elective is any 4XXX or 5XXX
class taken from the University of
Minnesota Mechanical Engineering
Department that is not a core class nor a
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senior lab .
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Students may request, by petition , to use
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4XXX or 5XXX classes from other
departments in the College of Science and
Engineering (CSE) as technical electives.
Such classes must have technical depth
comparable to technical elective classes in
mechanical engineering to be considered.
The petition must be submitted no later
than two weeks prior to the beginning of
the semester that the student intends to take
the class. The petition should state all
courses that the student intends to use as
technical electives.
3. A specialization elective is any 3 or 4
credit class offered at the University of
Minnesota at the 3XXX level or above
which (1) complements your career goals
in mechanical engineering in some way, (2)
is substantive , (3) has content which is not
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overly redundant with any of your other
classes, and (4) is not being used to fulfill a
liberal education core or theme
requirement.
A current list of classes that are accepted as
7 A good measure of substance is whether the class has a
prerequisite.
6 The petition form is available at: z.umn.edu/mepetition.
Questions should be directed to meundergrad@umn.edu
5 See Requirement 4 for conditions for which senior labs may be
counted as Technical Electives.
4 The core classes are listed in Footnote 1.
specialization electives is available from
your APAS report.
Alternatively, you may request to use a
class outside of this list, including classes
outside of CSE, as a specialization elective
if it meets the four constraints listed above.
If you would like to make such a request,
you must provide a brief explanation of
how your specialization elective choice
will enhance your career in mechanical
engineering.
All courses used as electives must be taken
on an “A-F” grading scale.
4. All ME students must take one Senior Lab
4x3x Course in addition to Technical and
Specialization Electives. A current list of
classes that are accepted as Senior Lab
courses is available in your APAS under
"Major Elective Course". You are allowed
to take additional Senior Labs as technical
electives.
Special Cases
1. Students may take a third technical elective
class to fulfill the specialization elective
requirement.
2. The elective program of students who
complete the CSE co-operative program
will consist of CSE 4896 & CSE 4996, plus
one 4 credit technical elective class from
the University of Minnesota Mechanical
Engineering Department and one
specialization elective.
3. Internships with companies may not be
used for elective credit.
4. The ME 4090 “Advanced Engineering
Problems” class may be used as a technical
elective if it meets the following
requirements:
(a) The project must be advised by a regular
faculty member of the Mechanical
Engineering Department or a graduate
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affiliate faculty member.
(b) The student must register for 3-4 credits of
ME 4090. (This implies 9-12 hours of
effort per week on the project for the 15
week semester.)
(c) No later than the second week of the
semester in which they enroll for the
course, the student must submit a one page
proposal of what they intend to do for
their project. The proposal must be
submitted to the ME Undergrad Program
4090 Google form (email
meundergrad@umn.edu for the form
submission link). The proposal must be
written and submitted by the student and
approved by their course advisor via
signature or email approval.
(d) The student must write a final report for
their project. The final report must be
approved by the student’s course advisor.
A document must be submitted via Google
Form to the Undergrad Program (link
provided by Undergrad Program
Coordinator at the end of the semester).
(e) The total elective package proposed by the
student, which includes ME 4090, must be
approved by an ME faculty advisor (see
Requirement 1).
5. Global seminar classes of 3 or more credits
may be used as specialization electives,
even if they do not require a prerequisite.
Global seminars do not qualify as
Technical Electives.
6. ME 3990 (Curricular Practical Training)
may not be used as an elective.
7. Only Honors students are allowed to use
8XXX classes as electives. An Honors
student must obtain the permission of the
instructor to register for an 8XXX class.
8. Students who study abroad for one
semester or one academic year may be
allowed to utilize some classes taken
abroad as electives. Potential elective
classes from international institutions must
be approved by the Director of
Undergraduate Studies. These students
must take at least one technical elective
class from the University of Minnesota
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Mechanical Engineering Department.
9. Students who study abroad, complete a
CSE co-operative experience or petition a
course outside of Mechanical Engineering
are required to take at least 1 Mechanical
Engineering technical elective course in the
Mechanical Engineering department.
Resources
Advising & Academic Planning
cse.umn.edu/me/academics/undergraduate/
current/advising-planning
ME Track Guides:
cse.umn.edu/me/me-undergraduate-tracks
ME Course Descriptions & Schedule:
cse.umn.edu/me/academics/courses
8 ME 4090 may not be used as a Technical Elective for students
for which Special Case #9 applies.
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