Program Overview

Introduction to the Undergraduate Program in Mechanical Engineering

The undergraduate program in Mechanical Engineering at Caltech aims to produce graduates who will attain careers and higher education that ultimately lead to leadership roles in academia, industry, and government in areas of rapidly advancing interdisciplinary technology related to fluid, solid, thermal, and mechanical systems.

Program Objectives

The program prepares students for graduate school and professional practice and inspires them to undertake careers that provide an opportunity to address the pressing technological needs of society. Specifically, the program builds on Caltech's core curriculum to combine individual depth of experience and competence in a particular chosen mechanical engineering specialty with a strong background in the basic and engineering sciences.

Program Structure

The program maintains a balance between classroom lectures and laboratory and design experience, and emphasizes the problem-formulation and solving skills that are essential to any engineering discipline. It also strives to develop in each student self-reliance, creativity, leadership, professional ethics, and the capacity for continuing professional and intellectual growth.

Program Outcomes

The outcomes of the undergraduate program are to prepare the student to:

• Build on a fundamental education in physics, mathematics, chemistry, and biology and to apply those principles to the solution of open-ended engineering problems;
• Design, analyze, measure, and evaluate fluid, thermal, and mechanical systems;
• Work effectively as part of a team;
• Communicate effectively;
• Apply ethical considerations;
• Understand the broader impacts of engineering developments, including societal, cultural, and environmental concerns.

Mechanical Engineering Overview

Mechanical engineering is the branch of engineering that is generally concerned with understanding forces and motion, and their application to solving problems of interest to society. The field includes aspects of thermodynamics, fluid and solid mechanics, mechanisms, materials, and energy conversion and transfer, and involves the application of physics, mathematics, chemistry, and increasingly, biology and computer science.

Career Opportunities

Mechanical engineers can be found in many fields, including:

• Automotive
• Aerospace
• Materials processing and development
• Power production
• Consumer products
• Robotics and automation
• Semiconductor processing
• Instrumentation Mechanical engineering can also be the starting point for careers in bioengineering, environmental and aeronautical engineering, finance, and business management.

Accreditation

The mechanical engineering option is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET.

Program Requirements

Attention is called to the fact that any student whose grade point average is less than 1.9 at the end of the academic year may be refused permission to continue work in this option. For specific course requirements and a typical course schedule, please refer to the Caltech Catalog.

Additional Information

For students whose interests relate to mechanical engineering but who wish to pursue a broader course of studies than that allowed by the Mechanical Engineering requirements, the Engineering and Applied Science Option is available. Opportunities to conduct research with a faculty member are also available for interested students.