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Department Facts
Enrollment (Fall)
| Undergraduate Degrees | Graduate Degrees | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| School Year | Engineering Mechanics | Mechanical Engineering | Master of Science | Doctor of Philosophy |
| 2007-08 | 49 | 858 | 143 | 184 |
| 2006-07 | 62 | 843 | 127 | 188 |
| 2005-06 | 78 | 829 | 147 | 178 |
| 2004-05 | 72 | 772 | 116 | 146 |
| 2003-04 | 65 | 706 | 150 | 122 |
Degrees Granted
| School Year | Bachelor of Science | Master of Science | Doctor of Philosophy |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007-08 | 195 | 35 | 40 |
| 2006-07 | 191 | 59 | 37 |
| 2005-06 | 194 | 70 | 22 |
| 2004-05 | 180 | 55 | 25 |
| 2003-04 | 132 | 64 | 16 |
Faculty
MechSE's 53 full-time faculty are all active in research and publish in high-impact journals, such as Science, Nature and Applied Physics Letters. On average, 20 or more of the papers written by senior professors are cited more than 10 times. More than half have received young investigator awards from the National Science Foundation (NSF) or Department of Defense.
Research
Research expenditures of $24 million allow faculty and students to advance knowledge in key fundamental areas such as biomechanical sciences, fluid mechanics, solid mechanics, thermodynamics and heat transfer, applied physics, chemistry, dynamics and controls, computational science and applied math.
Rankings
In their current rankings, US News and World Report placed our graduate program in mechanical engineering 6th in the nation; the undergraduate program in mechanical engineering is currently ranked 5th. The rankings also placed the University of Illinois College of Engineering at #5 among all undergraduate engineering programs at doctoral degree-granting institutions.
Placement
In 2007-2008, the College of Engineering Career Services Office scheduled more than 1,000 interviews for the 195 seniors graduating in mechanical engineering and theoretical and applied mechanics. MechSE students were recruited by 707 companies. BS students received average salary offers of $57,821, while MS students had an average salary offer of $63,487. Both figures exceed the national average as reported by the National Association of Colleges and Employers.
Other Statistics
The median ACT composite score of undergraduate students entering the department is 30; their average high school percentile rank is 91. Graduate students enrolling in 2007-2008 had average GRE scores of 526 Verbal and 770 Quantitative. Fifty B.S. graduates of the department received National Science Foundation Fellowships during the period of 1991-2007.
For more information, please download the official fact sheet and informational brochure about the MechSE Department.

