Mechanical Engineering, B.S.

First Year

Second Year

Third Year

Please note: The third year of the program varies depending upon which semester the student chooses to take away following The Arch Summer Semester classes. Please note the following differences in curriculum:

• If students are going to be away during the Fall semester of their junior year, they should take the listed courses for each term and any courses under the Fall Away Track for year three of their program.
   
• If students are going to be away during the Spring semester of their junior year, they should take the listed courses for each term and any courses under the Spring Away Track for year three of their program.

Fourth Year

Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences Electives

The HASS Core for engineering students (described under “School/School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences”, elsewhere in this catalog) is based on institute and School of Engineering requirements.  Students must be certain that they understand these graduation requirements.

Beyond meeting these requirements, MANE students are encouraged (but not required) to:

• choose at least one HASS course that further develops their ability to make informed judgements that consider the impacts of engineering solutions in global, economic, environmental, and/or societal contexts; and
• take HASS courses that will improve their communication skills beyond the one required HASS communication-intensive course.

Students desiring minors in Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences must consult the school or department in which the courses are offered to obtain further infomation and specific requirements.

Footnotes

¹ Choice of ENGR 1200  , ENGR 1400  , or CIVL 1200  ; ENGR 1200  is preferred for mechanical engineering majors.

² Students changing majors to MECL and transfer students may use ENGR 1100  to satisfy MANE 1010  and/or ENGR 2530  to satisfy MANE 2010 , respectively.  Consult the MANE Undergraduate Handbook on how to acquire remedial course content.

³ STSO 4100  should be completed before the MANE-4…. Capstone Design Elective.  Students may alternatively choose any 4-credit course indicated as a “PDII Option” in the ‘Attributes’ column in SIS, in which case two credits will satisfy the STSO 4100  requirement and the remaining two credits may satisfy free elective credits.

⁴ Choose from ENGR 2050  and MANE 2220 ; both have ENGR 1010   embedded in them.

⁵ Choice of MANE 4140 , MANE 4240 , MANE 4280 , or MTLE 4500  .  More than one may be taken, and each additional course may apply as a Technical Elective or a Free Elective.

⁶ The three Mechanical Engineering Laboratories are associated with major-defining courses as follows:

MANE 4040  taken during or after MANE 4030  

MANE 4510   taken during or after MANE 4500   

MANE 4740   taken after MANE 2720  and during or after MANE 4730  

The order in which students take the laboratory courses is not important, but students are encouraged to try to take earlier those laboratories that they more closely associate with their engineering identity as mechanical engineering majors.

⁷ Most MECL majors choose MANE 4260  or MANE 4220  for their Capstone Design Elective.  With instructor permission, a few motivated Mechanical Engineering students may be allowed to take MANE 4230  or MANE 4250  to satisfy their Capstone Design Elective.

⁸ Choice of any MANE 4000-level or higher-level course not required for the major, but not including independent studies or undergraduate research projects (URP), for three credits or more (and additional credits may apply elsewhere).

⁹ Choice of any School of Engineering or School of Science 4000-level or higher courses not required for the major, including independent studies and undergraduate research projects (URP), that total three credits or more (and additional credits may apply elsewhere).

^A These courses should be completed by the end of the first year/second semester.

^B These courses should be completed by the end of the third semester.

^C These courses should be completed by the end of the second year/fourth semester (prior to the Arch Summer).

Natural Science and Mathematics Distribution Requirement

In addition to satisfying Rensselaer’s Math/Science Core, undergraduate students in MANE are required to complete a minimum of 30 credits in the natural sciences and mathematics.  These credits must be taken for a grade that contributes to the student’s GPA (not P/NC, not S/U) or be approved applicable transfer credits (including AP and IB credits).  These credits establish a foundation such that further study in the applied engineering sciences stimulates “the application of science to the common purposes of life.”

MANE students who successfully complete at Rensselaer the named courses and electives appearing in the degree template above will meet or exceed both Rensselaer’s Math/Science Core requirements and the Natural Science and Mathematics Distribution requirement.

Students who transfer in courses for fewer credits than the Rensselaer equivalent may be required to make up Math/Science Core and/or Natural Science and Mathematics Distribution credits.  Consult with your advisor and the Degree Clearance Officer for your major to be sure you will satisfy these graduation requirements.

Pass / No Credit (P/NC) and Satisfactory / Unsatisfactory (S/U) Courses

No courses declared P/NC apply to the major other than possibly certain HASS electives and Free Elective courses.  (See the HASS Core requirements and limits on P/NC elsewhere in this catalog.)  In particular, the Engineering Design Elective, Capstone Design Elective, Computation Elective, and Technical Electives may not be P/NC.

Students taking additional courses to satisfy the Math/Science Core or the Natural Science and Mathematics Distribution requirement must take them for a letter grade.  They may not be P/NC or S/U.

The School of Engineering requires that 1 credit courses graded S/U that are not from the School of Engineering may not apply to Free Elective credits.

Catalog Year

Students matriculating at Rensselaer generally follow the currently applicable Academic Year catalog curricula. Students are also permitted to choose to follow a subsequent academic year’s catalog to take advantage of the continuous evolution of Rensselaer’s curricula. 

In MANE, an undergraduate student matriculating as a transfer student may be permitted to follow the School of Engineering catalog curricula from the prior two academic years. This choice will be made by the transfer student’s Degree Clearance Officer for their MANE degree or an Associate Dean of Engineering.