Bachelor degree in Mechanical Engineering at Boston University

 

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Bachelor Degree in Mechanical Engineering at Boston University

Boston University - Bachelor degree - Mechanical Engineering Boston University
Bachelor degree
Mechanical Engineering

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Mechanical Engineering is the largest and broadest of the mechanically oriented engineering disciplines. Mechanical engineers are concerned with the analysis and design of structures and mechanisms, such as robots or the International Space Station. Mechanical engineers are also concerned with the flow of fluids, such as air and water, and the transfer of heat as in the air conditioner in your car or in the engine of a jet plane. Our program strives to give our students the basic skills, understanding, and knowledge they will need in order to become successful engineers in this rapidly advancing field.

Students completing the undergraduate program in mechanical engineering will have developed competence or acquired knowledge in the following areas:

-Engineering tools, including a strong background in engineering science and mathematics, experience with engineering computation using current software tools, and hands-on experience with measurement and instrumentation systems
-Professional skills, including communication skills such as writing and public speaking, and team dynamics skills
-Modeling, including modeling and formulation of engineering problems, finding the required solutions using appropriate combinations of analytical, numerical, and experimental tools, and utilizing physical insight to check for realistic results
-Design, including both the design of individual components and a major design of a multi-component system, incorporating realistic constraints
-Professional practice, including self-study skills; professional ethics; and an awareness of contemporary issues, business practices, and of the impact of engineering solutions in a societal context
-Mechanical Systems, including the ability to design both themal/fluid systems and structural/dynamical systems.

In order to achieve the above program outcomes, students in the Mechanical Engineering Program receive a strong background in the fundamentals of mechanical engineering science and substantial exposure to engineering applications and design, as well as intensive training in two other areas indispensable to modern engineering practice: laboratory experimentation and computer usage.

Most of the engineering science courses come from the two major stems of mechanical engineering: (1) energy and fluids, and (2) structures and motion in mechanical systems. During their sophomore and junior years, students take four first-level courses from the structures/motion stem (including two courses in engineering mechanics, mechanics of materials, and materials science) and three first-level courses from the energy/fluids stem (including fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, and heat transfer). In their senior year, students take two additional advanced-level engineering science courses as concentration electives in only one of the two stems. Seniors also have the opportunity to broaden and deepen their technical background through two advanced-level elective courses, the technical elective and mechanical elective.

The required mechanical engineering design experience is integrated throughout the curriculum, beginning in the sophomore year and increasing in scope in each subsequent year. In the sophomore year, one engineering science course per semester requires a design project. In the junior year, major design projects are required in two courses (one from each engineering-science stem) as well as in a special 2-credit design course each semester. The special design courses introduce students to formal design methodologies, the use of CAD systems, and the professional aspects of engineering, including safety considerations and professional ethics. In the senior year, design projects are required in one of the courses in either concentration stem, as well as in the instrumentation course. Also in the senior year, the design experience culminates in a two-semester capstone design sequence in which small student teams work on major individual design projects. As part of the design experience, the professional aspects of engineering are stressed, including professional ethics, teamwork, and oral and written communications.

Students in the Mechanical Engineering Program gain experience in laboratory experimentation through experiments associated with all of their natural science courses (in the freshman and sophomore years) and with most of their engineering science courses (in their sophomore and junior years). Laboratory experience culminates in the senior year with an intensive mechanical measurements and instrumentation course.

Computer experience for mechanical engineering students begins in the freshman year with the required College-wide introductory computer course. It then continues throughout the curriculum, being required for some homework, projects, or laboratories in most subsequent engineering courses. Students gain experience in programming in C++; and using commercial software packages for CAD, spread sheet analysis, finite element analysis, symbolic manipulation, and graphical-interface-driven laboratory systems for data acquisition, data analysis, and instrument control.

A total of 134 credits is required for graduation.

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