Undergraduate Students
The Mechanical Engineering Department offers three majors. Students can earn an ABET-accredited Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering (BSME) degree majoring in Mechanical Engineering, Robotics & Mechatronics, or Automotive Engineering (click on the links above for more information about each major).
The requirements for graduation for each major are summarized in formal checksheets that are maintained by the Registrar. Our latest approved checksheets are located on the Registrar’s website. Note that prerequisite and course offering information on checksheets is for reference only and is subject to change.
The ME department makes unofficial degree path sheets to summarize the requirements contained in the formal checksheets in a flow chart. The degree path sheets summarize prerequisite and corequisite requirements, which may change without notice. These are available for each major and are only for reference only to aid you in planning your courses.
Please consult your ME advisor if you choose to deviate from the semester-by-semester plans outlined in the graduation checksheets and degree path sheets. Dropping the wrong course can cause a 1 year delay in graduation, as senior courses are only offered once per year. Some courses must be completed before a set number of attempted required credits to avoid academic probation and should be considered a priority. Your undegraduate advisor is there to help you if you need to make modifications to the suggested course plans
Students entering Fall 2018 or later are required to satisfy a University-wide set of general education requirements. The requirements not automatically covered by the ME curriculum are:
- 6 credits Pathways Concept 2 (Critical Thinking in the Humanities)
- 6 credits Pathways Concept 3 (Reasoning in the Social Sciences)
- 3 credit Pathways Concept 6A (Critique & Practice in the Arts (NOT Critique & Practice in Design, which is covered by ENGE1215/1216) , and
- 3 credits Pathways Concept 7 (Critical Analysis of Identity & Equity in the US).
Note that all Pathways courses must be taken in the A/F grade mode to satisfy graduation requirements.
Students can view the elective options available in the Pathways Guides maintained by the Provost's Office. They can also view available options by filtering the Timetable of Classes by Pathways Concept number (top right).
Students who earned an AS degree through a Virginia Community College System (VCCS) school may not be required to take Pathways general education electives per the matriculation agreements - see the VT Transfer Guide for more information.
Some students have a strong interest in an area outside of the ME Department that they wish to pursue as a minor or as a second major. To sign up for a minor or major, please visit the website for the department offering that program. Note that you need to either complete all requirements for that major/minor or drop the major/minor in order to receive your ME degree.
Some of the more common minors earned by ME students are:
- Nuclear Engineering
- Biomedical Engineering
- Industrial Design (requires 18 credits total including a 6 credit summer studio
- Green Engineering (requires 18 credits which can count towards technical electives and Pathways electives
- Engineering Science & Mechanics (requires 9 credits of additional ESM courses)
- Computer Science
- Math (requires 9 credits of math courses beyond the required courses for an ME degree
To access the checksheets for all minors offered at VT, please visit the Registrar's website (date of entry prior to Summer 2024) or the course catalog (date of entry Summer 2024 or later). Engineering minors can be added during the change of major application window using the College of Engineering Add Minor form. Students adding minors outside of the College of Engineering should see the Registrar's website for more information and fill out that College's form to add the minor.
Students can double major in any two majors as long as they meet the requirements for both degrees. Please see the Graduation Requirement listings (date of entry prior to Summer 2024) or the Undergraduate Catalog (date of entry Summer 2024 or later) summarizing graduation requirements for any major at Virginia Tech. Students wishing to double major in two similar majors (like Mechanical Engineering and Aerospace Engineering) should consider a bachelors (BS) degree in one major and a masters degree (MS) in the second major.
If a student meets the requirements for two majors and also earns 30 more credits beyond the credits required for the for the primary major, they can earn a double degree (two separate degrees rather than one degree with both majors listed). For more information about degrees and second majors, please see the Registrar’s website.
The Nuclear Engineering minor requires 6 courses (18 credits), which includes MATH2214 (Differential Equations) plus 15 credits of nuclear engineering courses, which will count as technical electives for ME students. Non-ME students should contact their departmental advisor to find out about the possibility of counting the nuclear engineering courses towards their department’s technical elective requirements.Students considering employment in the nuclear industry should consider concentrating their technical electives in the nuclear engineering area. Suggested courses include:
- NSEG 3145/NSEG 3146 – Fundamentals of Nuclear Engineering – Parts I (Fall) and II (Spring)
- NSEG 3604 – Radiation Detection and Shielding
- NSEG 4214 – Nuclear Power Plant Operations
- NSEG 4204 – Nuclear Fuel Cycle
- NSEG 4214 – Nuclear Power Plant Operation
- NSEG 4424 – Reactor Thermal Hydraulics
- MSE 4384 – Nuclear Materials
- NSEG 4974/NSEG 4994 – Independent Study/Undergraduate Research on a nuclear-related project (requires college and departmental approval on an individual basis).
Mechanical engineering students can also choose to work on a nuclear engineering-related senior design project (ME 4015/ME 4016).
The Nuclear Engineering minor can be added during the change of major application window using the College of Engineering Add Minor form.
Engineering science and mechanics at Virginia Tech offers a unique route to students’ academic and career objectives. The program’s small class size, close interaction with faculty, hands-on experience with laboratory equipment, and in-depth study of fundamental engineering principles provide an ideal environment for career preparation in fields such as modern machinery, automotive and aerospace engineering, and biomedical equipment design.
Graduates with a minor in engineering science and mechanics are prepared to assume and successfully carry out any engineering assignment. Additionally, this strong background in the fundamentals is excellent preparation for graduate work.
The flexible curriculum can also be used to give tailored, focused instruction in mechanics of materials, vibrations and controls, kinematics and dynamics, thermal sciences, the dynamics of fluids and gases, biomedical engineering, computer applications, and business.
The Engineering Science and Mechanics minor can be added during the change of major application window using the College of Engineering Add Minor form.
Military students who have additional course requirements above the 129 credits required for a BSME degree often spread their schedules out to 5 years. Sample 5-year plans are included on the pages for the AUTE, ME, and RBMT majors on the individual major pages.
Some students may wish to spread out their schedules and delay their graduation. An excellent way to lighten semester course loads while getting engineering work experience is to accept a full-time, paid engineering co-op position.
Students can work for virtually any company as a co-op as long as the company agrees to the meet the employer requirements set by Career Services. Signing up for a formal co-op position through Career & Professional Development allows the student to be considered as a full time student for insurance and other purposes.
Sample co-op plans with either 8 or 9 semesters of classes are included on the pages for the AUTE, ME, and RBMT majors on the individual major pages.
Sample plans for students who have not completed the suggested freshman-level courses as outlined in the graduation checksheets are shown for the ME major, but can be followed by students intending to major in AUTE or RBMT.
Plan for Rising Sophomores Missing Linear Algebra Only - 4 year graduation
Plan for Non-Math Ready Rising Sophomores - 4 year graduation with summer courses
Plan for Non-Math Ready Rising Sophomores - 5 year graduation without summer courses
Plan for Students Entering ME with the Minimum Required Entrance requirements - 5 year graduation
Please consult your academic advisor if you need help making a personalized schedule or if you are planning to drop a course and would like to know how this may impact your schedule.
Please consult with an ME advisor as early as possible if you are entering as a General Engineering freshman with lots of AP credit; it may be possible to graduate in 4 years while squeezing in a co-op work term during the academic year if you plan early.
Students can participate in undergraduate research or independent study projects for credit. For more information and instructions on how to find and enroll in undergraduate research or independent study for credit, please visit this independent study/undergraduate research page for engineering students.
Since it takes time to get projects approved, students should not wait until the first week of classes to seek opportunities. Students must submit the final portion of the application by the add deadline. To participate in undergraduate research or independent study, ME students must have a 2.5 overall and 2.0 in-major cumulative grade point average.
All students participate in a 2-semester capstone design project. They start on a project during a Fall semester and continue on the same project during Spring with the same team. For more information, please see our Senior Design page. Most students will select their design project during the first week of classes during Fall semester of their senior year.
The Transfer Guide includes information on course equivalencies for transfer and AP, IB, CLEP, and Cambridge exams. For more information on transferring courses to Virginia Tech, please see the College of Engineering's Transfer Credit Information page.
For current students interested in taking transfer courses over the summer through a Virginia Community College School System (VCCS) school, please see the combined timetable for the VCCS colleges.
Transfer credits are not awarded until after the Registrar’s Office receives an official transcript from your transfer school showing a final grade of C or higher.
Information on reasonable progress towards degree requirements can be found on our Policy 91 information page. We encourage you to meet with one of our undergraduate advisors anytime you have questions about Policy 91.
Please see our undergraduate advising page for information on our undergraduate advisors and how to meet with us. You can meet with any of our undergraduate advisors, regardless of who your officially assigned advisor is.
We prefer to meet with students through drop-in advising hours Monday-Friday (typically 8:30-11:30am and 1-4:30pm in 112, 113, or 113A Randolph) rather than through appointments, because we want you to feel free to stop by whenever you have questions or concerns. The Navigate platform makes you schedule your appointment at least 24 hours in advance, and we don't want you to have to wait that long to get advice.
We are also happy to answer simple questions through e-mail, but please don't panic if we don't respond to your e-mail immediately. We're trying to limit our time answering e-mails during the evenings and weekends so we can maintain a healthier work-life balance. If we haven't answered your e-mail within 2 business days and you didn't get an out-of-office message from us, please feel free to resend your e-mail.