The BS in the Mechanical Engineering degree program is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, under the General Criteria and the Program Criteria for Engineering Mechanics and Similarly Named Engineering programs.
The mission of the B.S. in mechanical engineering degree program is to provide a rigorous educational experience that prepares a select group of students for leadership positions in the profession and a lifetime of learning. The faculty is committed to maintaining a modern and flexible curriculum which, building on a foundation of basic sciences and mathematics, develops a solid education in the fundamentals and modern applications of mechanical engineering. The aim of the Mechanical Engineering program is to build competence in the design and development of thermal, fluid, and mechanical systems, and to develop the professional skills necessary to excel as an engineer.
The program provides a basic background in thermal and mechanical systems. Laboratory instruction, as well as the senior design project, gives the student hands-on experience. Each student’s program of study is planned in consultation with their advisor. Students have the opportunity to complete courses and develop depth in areas of focus within mechanical engineering chosen from fluid mechanics and thermal processes, mechanics of solids, heat transfer and energy, mechanical design, robotics, and biomechanics. The student’s advisor can provide guidance on these focus areas.
The information below describes the academic requirements for students entering JHU as degree-seeking students in Fall 2024. Students who entered JHU as degree-seeking students prior to Fall 2024 should view the appropriate archived catalogue.
Students must meet the University requirements and the Whiting School of Engineering requirements (see Requirements for a Bachelor's Degree in this catalogue), as well as the departmental major requirements, to complete a bachelor’s degree.
Students will earn at least 125 credits while completing the Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering.
The Mechanical Engineering department recognizes students with exemplary academic records by awarding Departmental Honors to students with a cumulative Grade Point Average of 3.50.
UNIVERSITY AND WSE SCHOOL REQUIREMENTS
These requirements are described in this section of the catalogue.
First-Year Seminar (FYS)
All students entering Hopkins from high school are required to complete a First-Year Seminar with a Satisfactory (S) grade in their first year of study. First-Year Seminars are offered only with the Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grading system; they are not offered for letter grades.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| One FYS course 1 | 3 | |
| Total Credits | 3 | |
- 1
Mechanical Engineering encourages students to take a 3-credit discussion-based FYS course.
Writing Intensive for BS in Mechanical Engineering
A grade of C- or higher is required. No Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grades will be accepted. Courses must be at least 3 credits each and courses applied here may also be used towards satisfying the Distribution requirement.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Two Writing Intensive (W) courses | 6 | |
| Total Credits | 6 | |
- 1
EN.530.404 MechE Senior Design Project II is a required Senior Design course that can be used to count as one of the Writing Intensive courses.
Distribution for BS in Mechanical Engineering
A maximum of 10 credits of D grades may be accepted; all other credits for this requirement must be C- or above grades. No Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grades will be accepted. Courses must be at least 3 credits each and may overlap with the Writing Intensive requirement. Elementary language courses, which do not carry an area designator, can be used to satisfy the Distribution requirement for engineering students.
Mechanical Engineering majors may count no more than one course taught in the Whiting School (numbered EN.xxx.xxx) with Humanities or Social Sciences area designation toward this requirement.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Six Humanities (H) or Social Science (S) courses that are comprised of the following: | 18 | |
Four H or S courses at any level | ||
Two H or S courses at 300-level or higher 1 | ||
| Total Credits | 18 | |
- 1
Intermediate language courses that are at the 200 level can satisfy the upper-level requirement, even though they are not 300-level or higher.
MAJOR REQUIREMENTS
A grade of C- or higher is required. No Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (S/U) grade will be accepted.
MATHEMATICS
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| AS.110.108 | Calculus I (Physical Sciences & Engineering) | 4 |
| AS.110.109 | Calculus II (For Physical Sciences and Engineering) | 4 |
| AS.110.202 | Calculus III | 4 |
| or AS.110.211 | Honors Multivariable Calculus | |
| EN.553.291 | Linear Algebra and Differential Equations | 4 |
| or AS.110.201 & AS.110.302 | Linear Algebra and Differential Equations and Applications | |
| EN.553.311 | Intermediate Probability and Statistics 1 | 4 |
| Total Credits | 19-20 | |
- 1
EN.553.311 Intermediate Probability and Statistics is preferred. Other Probability and Statistics courses of at least 3 credits will be considered with advisor pre-approval.
BASIC SCIENCES
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| AS.030.101 | Introductory Chemistry I | 3 |
| AS.171.102 | General Physics: Physical Science Major II | 4 |
| or AS.171.108 | General Physics for Physical Science Majors (AL) | |
| AS.173.112 | General Physics Laboratory II 1 | 1 |
| EN.530.123 | Introduction to Mechanics I 2 | 3 |
| EN.530.124 | Introduction to Mechanics II 2 | 2 |
| Total Credits | 13 | |
- 1
Students who obtain credits for AS.171.102 General Physics: Physical Science Major II by exam credit are required to take the lab, AS.173.112 General Physics Laboratory II.
- 2
Students who obtain credits for AS.171.101 General Physics: Physical Science Major I by exam credit are not required to take EN.530.123 Introduction to Mechanics I. However, they must take EN.530.124 Introduction to Mechanics II.
INTRODUCTORY ENGINEERING AND COMPUTING
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| EN.500.114 | Gateway Computing: Matlab 1, 2 | 3 |
| EN.530.107 | MechE Undergraduate Seminar I | 0.5 |
| EN.530.108 | MechE Undergraduate Seminar II | 0.5 |
| EN.530.111 | Intro to MechE Design and CAD 3 | 2 |
| EN.530.115 | MechE Freshman Lab I 3 | 1 |
| EN.530.116 | MechE Freshman Lab II | 1 |
| Total Credits | 8 | |
- 1
EN.500.114 Gateway Computing: Matlab is the strongly preferred computing option. Students may choose to take EN.500.112 Gateway Computing: JAVA or EN.500.113 Gateway Computing: Python instead, which is acceptable. However, all students will be expected to know MATLAB for their future MechE courses. Students who do not take Gateway Computing: Matlab should consider taking the one-credit online course EN.500.134 Bootcamp: MATLAB.
- 2
Students who scored a 5 on the AP Computer Science exam have two options: 1. take EN.500.113 Gateway Computing: Python or EN.500.114 Gateway Computing: Matlab and forfeit the exam credit, or 2. take EN.601.220 Intermediate Programming or EN.601.226 Data Structures or another programming course of at least three credits pre-approved by the student’s advisor. If Option 2 is chosen, then the AP Computer Science credit will count towards the computing requirement and EN.601.220 or EN.661.226 or other pre-approved 3-credit programming course will count as one of the student's Technical Electives.
- 3
If EN.530.111 and EN.530.115 are not taken, students must take one of the introductory engineering courses: EN.500.101 What Is Engineering?, EN.520.137 First Year ECE Design, or EN.570.108 Introduction to Environmental Engineering and Design.
CORE ENGINEERING COURSES
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| EN.530.202 | Mechanical Engineering Dynamics | 3 |
| EN.530.212 | MechE Dynamics Laboratory | 1 |
| EN.530.215 | Mechanics-Based Design | 3 |
| EN.530.216 | Mechanics Based Design Laboratory | 1 |
| EN.530.231 | Mechanical Engineering Thermodynamics | 3 |
| EN.530.232 | Mechanical Engineering Thermodynamics Laboratory | 1 |
| EN.530.327 | Introduction to Fluid Mechanics | 3 |
| EN.530.329 | Introduction to Fluid Mechanics Laboratory | 1 |
| EN.530.334 | Heat Transfer | 3 |
| EN.530.335 | Heat Transfer Laboratory | 1 |
| EN.530.343 | Design and Analysis of Dynamical Systems | 3 |
| EN.530.344 | Design and Analysis of Dynamical Systems Laboratory | 1 |
| EN.530.352 | Materials Selection | 4 |
| EN.560.201 | Statics & Mechanics of Materials | 3 |
| EN.560.211 | Statics and Mechanics of Materials Laboratory | 1 |
| Electronics Courses | 4-5 | |
| Mastering Electronics and Mastering Electronics Laboratory | ||
| Electronics & Instrumentation and Electronics and Instrumentation Laboratory | ||
| Manufacturing Course | 3 | |
| Manufacturing Engineering | ||
| Management and Leadership Course(s) | 3-6 | |
| Engineering Management & Leadership | ||
| Foundations of American Enterprise and Process Innovation and Quality Management | ||
| Total Credits | 42-46 | |
CAPSTONE DESIGN
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| EN.530.403 | MechE Senior Design Project I | 4 |
| EN.530.404 | MechE Senior Design Project II | 4 |
| Total Credits | 8 | |
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING ELECTIVES
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Two Mechanical Engineering courses at 300-level (EN.530.3xx) or higher or any of the following Mechanical Engineering-related courses: 1 | 6 | |
| Spacecraft Instrumentation Project | ||
| Microfabrication Laboratory | ||
| Energy Systems | ||
| Immunoengineering Laboratory | ||
| Cell and Tissue Engineering Lab | ||
| Multidisciplinary Engineering Design 1 | ||
| Multidisciplinary Engineering Design 2 | ||
| Total Credits | 6 | |
- 1
A maximum of six credits of letter-graded Customized Academic Learning (CAL) may be applied towards the Mechanical Engineering Elective and Technical Electives.
- A maximum of three credits of undergraduate research (EN.530.501 Undergraduate Research, EN.530.511 Group Undergraduate Research, EN.530.597 Research - Summer, or equivalent course numbers from other departments)
- A maximum of three credits of independent study (EN.530.526 Undergrad Independent Study, EN.530.527 Independent Study, EN.530.599 Independent Study, or equivalent course numbers from other departments)
- Students may not count six credits of undergraduate research or six credits of independent study toward the electives.
TECHNICAL ELECTIVES
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Three courses that have Engineering, Quantitative, or Natural Science area designations at 300-level or higher 1, 2 | 9 | |
| Total Credits | 9 | |
- 1
One course can be EN.601.220 Intermediate Programming, EN.601.226 Data Structures, or another programming course of at least three credits pre-approved by the student’s advisor.
- 2
A maximum of six credits of letter-graded Customized Academic Learning (CAL) may be applied towards the Mechanical Engineering Elective and Technical Electives.
- A maximum of three credits of undergraduate research (EN.530.501 Undergraduate Research, EN.530.511 Group Undergraduate Research, EN.530.597 Research - Summer, or equivalent course numbers from other departments)
- A maximum of three credits of independent study (EN.530.526 Undergrad Independent Study, EN.530.527 Independent Study, EN.530.599 Independent Study, or equivalent course numbers from other departments)
- Students may not count six credits of undergraduate research or six credits of independent study toward the electives.
TRACKS
A grade of C- or higher is required. No Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (S/U) grade will be accepted.
Aerospace Track
A student may specialize in aerospace engineering once a solid background in the fundamentals of mechanical engineering has been developed through the basic Mechanical Engineering courses. This track requires knowledge and background in several fields including advanced dynamics, flight mechanics, propulsion, aerospace materials and structures, signal processing, control systems, astrophysics, and space systems.
Required Courses
At least five courses are required. These required courses can be counted toward the Mechanical Engineering Elective and Technical Elective requirements. A sixth course is highly recommended, though not required.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Complete five courses from the following: | 15 | |
| Introduction to Space, Science, and Technology | ||
| Remote Sensing of the Environment | ||
| Aerospace Structures | ||
or EN.530.619 | Aerospace Structures | |
| Dynamics of Robots and Spacecraft | ||
or EN.530.624 | Dynamics of Robots and Spacecraft (Graduate) | |
| Mechanics of Flight | ||
| Intermediate Fluid Mechanics | ||
or EN.530.627 | Intermediate Fluid Mechanics (graduate) | |
| Jet & Rocket Propulsion | ||
| Aerospace Materials | ||
or EN.530.638 | Aerospace Materials | |
| Space Vehicle Dynamics & Control | ||
| Applied Computational Modeling in Aerodynamics and Heat Transfer | ||
| Total Credits | 15 | |
Biomechanics Track
A student may specialize in biomechanics once a solid background in the fundamentals of mechanical engineering has been developed through the core Mechanical Engineering or Engineering Mechanics courses. The essence of mechanics is the interplay between forces and motion. In biology, mechanics is important at the macroscopic, cellular, and subcellular levels.
At the macroscopic length scale, biomechanics of both soft and hard tissues plays an important role in computer-integrated surgical systems and technologies (e.g., medical robotics). At the cellular level, issues such as cell motility and chemotaxis can be modeled as mechanical phenomena. At the subcellular level, conformational transitions in biological macromolecules can be modeled using molecular dynamics simulation, which is nothing more than computational Newtonian mechanics; statistical mechanics or using coarse-grained techniques that rely on principles from the mechanics of materials. In addition, much of structural biology can be viewed from the perspective of Kinematics (e.g., finding spatial relationships in data from the Protein Data Bank).
Required Courses
At least four courses are required. These required courses can be counted toward the Mechanical Engineering Elective and Technical Elective requirements.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Complete at least two courses from the following: | 6 | |
| Biomolecular Materials I - Soluble Proteins and Amphiphiles | ||
| Biomechanics of the Cell | ||
| Introduction to Biophotonics | ||
| Introduction to Biomechanics | ||
| Biosolid Mechanics | ||
| Locomotion Mechanics: Recent Advances | ||
or EN.530.669 | Locomotion Mechanics: Recent Advances | |
| Biosensing & BioMEMS | ||
| Complete additional two courses from the following or from the list above: | 6-8 | |
| Microfabrication Laboratory | ||
| Bioinspired Science and Technology | ||
| Fundamentals, Design Principles and Applications of Microfluidic Systems | ||
| Locomotion Mechanics: Fundamentals | ||
| Effective and Economic Design for Biomedical Instrumentation | ||
or EN.530.674 | Effective and Economic Design for Biomedical Instrumentation | |
| Image Processing and Data Visualization | ||
| Cell and Tissue Engineering Lab | ||
| Neural and Rehabilitation Engineering | ||
| Introduction to Rehabilitation Engineering: Design Lab | ||
| Total Credits | 12-14 | |
Sample Program of Study
| First Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| First Semester | Credits | Second Semester | Credits |
| AS.030.101 | 3 | AS.110.109 | 4 |
| AS.110.108 | 4 | EN.500.114 | 3 |
| EN.530.107 | .5 | EN.530.108 | .5 |
| EN.530.111 | 2 | EN.530.116 | 1 |
| EN.530.115 | 1 | EN.530.124 | 2 |
| EN.530.123 | 3 | Writing Intensive (also counted as Humanities/Social Sciences) | 3 |
| First-Year Seminar | 3 | Humanities/Social Sciences | 3 |
| 16.5 | 16.5 | ||
| Second Year | |||
| First Semester | Credits | Second Semester | Credits |
| AS.110.202 | 4 | EN.530.202 | 3 |
| AS.171.102 | 4 | EN.530.212 | 1 |
| AS.173.112 | 1 | EN.530.215 | 3 |
| EN.530.231 | 3 | EN.530.216 | 1 |
| EN.530.232 | 1 | EN.530.241 | 3 |
| EN.560.201 | 3 | EN.530.243 | 1 |
| EN.560.211 | 1 | EN.553.291 | 4 |
| 17 | 16 | ||
| Third Year | |||
| First Semester | Credits | Second Semester | Credits |
| EN.530.254 | 3 | EN.530.334 | 3 |
| EN.530.327 | 3 | EN.530.335 | 1 |
| EN.530.329 | 1 | EN.530.343 | 3 |
| EN.530.352 | 4 | EN.530.344 | 1 |
| EN.553.311 | 4 | Mechanical Engineering Elective | 3 |
| Technical Elective | 3 | ||
| Humanities/Social Sciences | 3 | ||
| 15 | 17 | ||
| Fourth Year | |||
| First Semester | Credits | Second Semester | Credits |
| EN.530.403 | 4 | EN.530.404 (also counted as Writing Intensive) | 4 |
| EN.660.463 | 3 | Technical Elective | 3 |
| Mechanical Engineering Elective | 3 | Humanities/Social Sciences | 3 |
| Technical Elective | 3 | Humanities/Social Sciences | 3 |
| Humanities/Social Sciences | 3 | ||
| 16 | 13 | ||
| Total Credits 127 | |||
- 1
Mechanical Engineering encourages students to take a 3-credit discussion-based FYS course.
Accreditation Statement
The BS in Mechanical Engineering degree program is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, under the General Criteria and the Program Criteria for Mechanical and Similarly Named Engineering programs.
Program Educational Objectives
Our primary objective is to educate an exceptional group of engineers who, after graduation, will be
- successful and on track to become leaders among their peers in industry, government laboratories and
- other organizations, and advanced students in the best graduate programs.
Student Outcomes
Students graduating with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering will have demonstrated:
- An ability to identify, formulate, and solve engineering problems by applying principles of engineering, science, and mathematics.
- An ability to apply both analysis and synthesis in the engineering design process, resulting in designs that meet desired needs.
- An ability to develop and conduct appropriate experimentation, analyze and interpret data, and use engineering judgment to draw conclusions.
- An ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences.
- An ability to recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in engineering situations and make informed judgments, which must consider the impact of engineering solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts.
- An ability to recognize the ongoing need for additional knowledge and locate, evaluate, integrate, and apply this knowledge appropriately.
- An ability to function effectively on teams that establish goals, plan tasks, meet deadlines, and analyze risk and uncertainty.
Enrollments and Graduates
Enrollment*
| Term | Total | First-Year | Sophomore | Junior | Senior |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall 2014 | 250 | 65 | 68 | 55 | 62 |
| Fall 2015 | 247 | 43 | 74 | 69 | 61 |
| Fall 2016 | 219 | 38 | 40 | 74 | 67 |
| Fall 2017 | 197 | 39 | 40 | 38 | 80 |
| Fall 2018 | 173 | 50 | 39 | 44 | 40 |
| Fall 2019 | 182 | 34 | 52 | 46 | 50 |
| Fall 2020 | 191 | 49 | 40 | 48 | 54 |
| Fall 2021 | 193 | 47 | 51 | 37 | 58 |
| Fall 2022 | 204 | 55 | 61 | 44 | 44 |
| Fall 2023 | 224 | 68 | 56 | 52 | 48 |
B.S. Degrees Awarded**
| Academic Year | Total |
|---|---|
| 2013-2014 | 54 |
| 2014-2015 | 55 |
| 2015-2016 | 54 |
| 2016-2017 | 65 |
| 2017-2018 | 75 |
| 2018-2019 | 33 |
| 2019-2020 | 40 |
| 2020-2021 | 45 |
| 2021-2022 | 51 |
| 2022-2023 | 40 |
- *
Based on Fall census each year
- **
Includes, August, December, and May conferrals each academic year