Program Offerings
• Bachelor of science degree in Mechanical Engineering
• Accelerated master’s in Mechanical Engineering (earn your bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in as little as five years)
• Master of science degree in Mechanical Engineering
• Doctorate degree in Mechanical Engineering
• Minors: Robotics, Sustainable Engineering, Computer Science, and Petroleum Systems
• Certificates: Engineering Management and Leadership, Six Sigma Greenbelt, Technology Innovation, Petroleum Systems, and Esports
What is Mechanical Engineering?
Engineers are problem solvers seeking to make the world a better place for everyone. Mechanical engineers focus on solving problems that involve motion. These problems could involve any form of movement; moving people and goods, moving energy, to moving heat and fluids. The designs of mechanical engineers include cars, robots, and fighter jets or how the body moves and how blood flows. As a result, mechanical engineering remains one of the most diverse of the engineering disciplines, requiring a deep understanding of the concepts of mechanics, thermodynamics and materials science.
Mechanical engineering focuses on creating technologies that meet the needs of humanity. Nearly every product or service in our modern world has been affected by mechanical engineering, from the sensors in your car to the satellites in the sky.
What does a mechanical engineer do?
Mechanical engineers design, develop, build and test mechanical systems, ranging from individual components in small devices to large pieces of equipment on machines as large as NASA's next generation Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. Mechanical engineers use their individual creativity, their knowledge base and the ability to analyze systems to create and maintain the devices and machines found throughout society. Individual tasks undertaken by a mechanical engineer might include:
• Analyzing a problem to see how mechanical and thermal devices might solve the issue
• Designing or redesigning devices using analysis and computer-aided design
• Developing and testing prototypes
• Developing custom medical devices
• Overseeing the manufacturing process
First-Year Courses
The SD Mines undergraduate mechanical engineering program offers project-based engineering design curriculum which provides students with an educational experience through teaching and learning, research and development, and service and social responsibility.
Students choose an emphasis in one of the three areas in mechanical engineering: thermal science, solid mechanics and controls or robotics.
Required first-year courses for Mechanical Engineering students include:
• Introduction to Mechanical Engineering
• Design for Manufacturing
• Calculus
• Physics
• Chemistry
• Programming for Engineers and Scientists
Course Curriculum
Link to Catalog
Internships and Co-ops
On average, 77 percent of mechanical engineering students have applicable work experience when they graduate, thanks to internships and co-ops. For these co-ops and internships, students receive an average salary of $18.45/hour. Mines mechanical engineering students have worked co-ops and internships with some of the following companies:
• NASA
• Caterpillar
• Garmin
• Bobcat
• Kiewit
• LafargeHolcim
• Boeing
• John Deere