BS in Engineering Mechanics

Program Overview

Mechanics is the study of forces that act on bodies and the resultant motion that those bodies experience. With roots in physics and mathematics, Engineering Mechanics is the basis of all the mechanical sciences: civil engineering, materials science and engineering, mechanical engineering and aeronautical and aerospace engineering. Engineering Mechanics provides the “building blocks” of statics, dynamics, strength of materials, and fluid dynamics. Engineering mechanics is the discipline devoted to the solution of mechanics problems through the integrated application of mathematical, scientific, and engineering principles. Special emphasis is placed on the physical principles underlying modern engineering design.

Engineering Mechanics students are also encouraged to engage in undergraduate research with a faculty member. As a result, Engineering Mechanics students are prepared for careers at the forefront of a wide variety of fields, including the aerospace, electronics, automotive, manufacturing, software, and computer industries. Our ABET accredited curriculum also provides excellent preparation for graduate school in many different engineering disciplines.

To learn more about our Engineering Mechanics program check out our Engineering Mechanics brochure!

EM Curriculum Requirements

The flowsheets below are a semester-by-semester visual outline of the courses required within the Engineering Mechanics curriculum. These flowsheets are provided to enable students and advisors to visualize pre-, co-, and post-requisites associated with specific courses within the curriculum. This is a tool to enable you to understand how courses are connected throughout our curriculum to provide guidance regarding course registration and scheduling.

Please start by choosing the curriculum flowsheet corresponding to your entering Academic Catalog Year. With departmental approval, students may change to a newer catalog year if the degree requirements change. Students may not move to an older catalog year and may not mix and match requirements between catalog years. Students may request to change catalog years by completing the Academic Catalog Year – Request to Change form.

Academic Catalog Year 2022 - 2023

Visualization of pre-,co-, and post-requisites

Course prerequisite chain
Immediate prerequisite
Credit or concurrent registration required
Concurrent registration required
Postrequisite course sequence

First Year		Second Year		Third Year		Fourth Year
Fall	Spring	Fall	Spring	Fall	Spring	Fall	Spring

Notes

Before reviewing the links, students should find their effective Academic Catalog Year. When clicking any links referenced below that take students to the Academic Catalog Year pages, they should be mindful of which Academic Catalog year is displayed.

MATH 220 may be substituted. MATH 220 is appropriate for students with no background in calculus. 4 of 5 credit hours count towards degree.
RHET 105 (or an alternative Composition I sequence) is taken either in the first or second semester of the first year, according to the student's UIN (SP if UIN is odd). ME 170 is taken the other semester. Composition I guidelines can be found at Degree and General Education Requirements under Written Communication Requirement.
External transfer students take ENG 300.
Additional coursework, subject to the Grainger College of Engineering restrictions to Free Electives, so that there are at least 128 credit hours earned toward the degree.
CS 124 or ECE 220 may be substituted.
General Education: Students must complete the Campus General Education requirements including the campus general education language requirement. ME 470 and TAM 324 will each satisfy a core course requirement and the Campus General Education Advanced Composition requirement.
ECE 110 and either ECE 210 or ECE 211 may be substituted.
ME 470 is taken either the first or second semester of the fourth year, according to the student's UIN (FA if UIN is odd, SP if UIN is even). Secondary Field Elective is taken the other semester.
Secondary Field Electives totaling 12 hours, selected from department approved list or pre-approved by your departmental academic advisor.

The code used to present this flowsheet is based on original work shared by the University at Buffalo School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

EM Secondary Fields

One unique aspect of the Engineering Mechanics program is that students can focus their studies through a Secondary Field. Secondary Fields are often built around a student’s long-term career interests, integrating their Engineering Mechanics curriculum with another area of specialization.

Secondary fields come in two varieties, pre-approved or customized. There are seven pre-approved secondary field options listed below that specify required courses and provide a list of approved courses from which the student may choose. Alternatively, with departmental approval, the student may create their own, individualized secondary field option. For both the pre-approved and customized secondary field options, the secondary field will need to be formally declared using a secondary field declaration form.

To create your own secondary field, courses chosen must:

be related to mechanics,
form a coherent and cohesive group,
include at least two engineering courses,
include at least 6 hours of 400-level coursework,
have a maximum of 6 hours of 300-level coursework, unless otherwise approved, and
total at least 12 hours of advanced-level* coursework distinct from required courses in the EM curriculum.

MechSE 2.25 GPA and TGPA Requirements

The MechSE Department maintains a cumulative 2.25 grade-point-average (GPA) requirement for lower-level technical courses. In order for a student to move onto upper-level (generally 300/400-level) ME or TAM courses, the 2.25 GPA requirement must be met. Failure to meet the 2.25 GPA will require students to retake previous coursework and potentially reduce course loads to meet the 2.25 GPA requirement.

Once students gets into their upper-level, more specialized coursework, a cumulative technical GPA (TGPA) requirement is implemented in addition to the traditional cumulative GPA requirement (>2.0 GPA to remain clear of probationary status). Students who do not have a TGPA of atleast 2.0 will be subject to probationary rules and will not be able to graduate. For more information on probationary rules, please see the Student Code, Article 3 - Academic Policies and Regulations.

The back of the EM flowsheet indicates courses in the EM curriculum subject to 2.25 GPA and TGPA rules.