Mechanical Engineering Curriculum Changes Fall 2024
The Mechanical Engineering curriculum is undergoing significant changes for Fall 2024, providing opportunities for students to adapt to a revised program. Changes include an improved design sequence, condensed math courses, and enhanced professional preparation with added elective options and a new EIT Exam Preparation course. Students have the option to switch to the new curriculum to benefit from these updates, aligning with industry demands and enhancing their engineering skills.
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Mechanical Engineering Curriculum Changes for Fall 2024
First of all Don t Panic! The new curriculum takes effect for incoming students in Fall 2024. You all have the option to change to the new curriculum
Why did we make changes now? The physics department is changing PHYS 2100 + 2200 from 5 units to 4 units each This gives us 2 extra units to add to our curriculum There are many other changes we ve wanted to make for a long time, and this is a good opportunity to make these changes. Major Changes, explained in the next slides: Improved Design Sequence Condensed Math Courses Better professional preparation
Improved Design Sequence To allow ME 2030 (Intro to Mechanical Design) to spend more time focusing on design, we ve added a 1-unit prerequisite course, ME 1030 Graphics and CAD. If you already took ME 2030 and switch to the new curriculum, we ll give you credit for ME 1030 To give you more design experience, ME 4140 (Machine Design II) is now a required course, instead of ME 4110 (Vibrational Analysis) If you don t switch to the new curriculum, we ll allow you to choose ME 4140 in place of ME 4110 To give you more hands-on design experience, we are requiring ME 3140 (Machine Design Lab) These changes add 2 units to the curriculum, replacing the two units removed from physics ME 4140 Machine Design II 3 units ENGR 1030* Graphics and CAD 1 unit ENGR 2030* Intro to Mech Design 3 units ME 3230* Machine Design I 3 units ME 3140 Machine Design Lab 1 unit
Condensed Math Courses To make your math courses more engineering-focused, and to remain consistent with many other colleges and universities, we are creating a new course, MATH 2190 (Linear Algebra and Differential Equations), to replace MATH 2150 and MATH 2550. This takes 3 units out of the major If you switch to the new curriculum and already took MATH 2150 & MATH 2550, you ll get credit for MATH 2190 MATH 2130 Calculus III 3 units MATH 2110 Calculus I 4 units MATH 2120 Calculus II 4 units MATH 2190 Linear Algebra and Differential Equations 3 units
Better Professional Preparation The change to the Math sequence gives us 3 more units. We are using this to add another upper-division ME elective. In the new curriculum, you will need three elective courses. This allows you to specialize in the field you are most interested in We want to encourage and prepare you for professional licensing through the Engineer-in- Training (EIT) certification exam. We re introducing a new required 1-unit course, ME 4960 (EIT Exam Preparation). You ll take this course during Senior Design I or II This course is graded just like the real Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam. There is a in-class mock FE exam, and you ll get a Pass/Fail grade based on that exam. If you pass the real FE exam, you pass the course. Even if you don t switch to the new curriculum, we recommend this course To make room in the schedule, we are combining ME 3039 (Fluids lab) and ME 4069 (Thermal Systems lab) into ME 4079 (Thermal-Fluids Lab)
California State University, Los Angeles Mechanical Engineering, B.S. Degree Requirements Flow Chart (Fall 2024 Curriculum) Refer to the catalog for more detailed information ME/CE 2800* Numerical Methods I ME/CE 3800* Numerical Methods II CHEM 1040* Chem for Engineers Prerequisite ME 2070* Materials Science Pre- or co-requisite MATH 2130* Calculus III ME 3270* Manufacturing Proc. MATH 2110* Calculus I Color Key: MATH 2120* Calculus II MATH 2190* Diff. Eq. and Lin. Alg. General Education ME 3040* Exp. Methods PHYS 2100* Physics I Lower Division ME 2050* ME/CE 2010* Statics Strength of Materials Upper Division PHYS 2200* Physics II ME 3230* Machine Design I ME 4140 Machine Design II Additional GE Courses AM1 - US History AM2 US/state/local government A1 Oral Communication C1 Arts E ENGR 1500 F Ethnic Studies Note: All upper-division GEs are met by ME courses GE Overlays Your courses must also include one (re) and one (d), or two (re) s. (re) = race/ethnicity (d) = diversity ME 3200* Dynamics ME 2040* Circuit Analysis - - ENGR 1030* Graphics and CAD ME 3210* Kinematics of Mechanisms ME 4960 EIT Prep - - - - - ENGR 2030* Intro to Mech Design ME 3030* Fluid Mech. ENGL 2030* Technical Writing ME 4061* Heat Transfer ME 4971* Senior Design I ENGL 1010 ME 4972* Senior Design II Labs Take as soon after prerequisite as you can. Don t leave them all for your last semester. ME 3260* Thermodynamics ME 2050* ME 3120 All courses with a * require a C or better Additionally, three upper-division ME electives are required. Some arrows are colored for clarity Red courses represent longest chain ME 2070* ME 4310 ENGR 3010* Ethics & Professionalism ME/CE/EE 3000* Econ for Engr ME 3230* ME 3140 ME 4061* ME 4079
Summary Why is the new curriculum better? Improved Design Sequence One more lecture course, two more lab courses. These will prepare you for your senior design projects and careers. Condensed Math Courses We will focus on the applied math you need in engineering, and remove much of the pure math Better professional preparation By taking three electives, you can concentrate in your chosen field. You ll learn more content that s relevant to your career, and improve your job prospects and performance Getting certified as an Engineer in Training (EIT) will improve your job prospects, help you retain your knowledge from all courses, and put you on the track towards a Professional Engineer (PE) license. Caveat this change is still working its way through the approval process. There is a very small chance that it is rejected
Should you switch to the new curriculum? Will you take ME 4971 during or before Fall 2024? Do not switch to the new curriculum Start Here Yes If you switch, you can take the other math course (2150 or 2550), or MATH 2190 No Will you take MATH 2150 and MATH 2550 before Fall 2024? One of them There isn t a clear right answer. It s probably better for your education to switch to the new curriculum, but you ll need to take additional 4 units if you switch. Both of them No If you took ME 2030 before Fall 2024, you ll be given credit for ME 1030. Otherwise, you ll need to take ME 1030 first (another extra unit). If you took ME 3039 but haven t taken ME 4069, you should take ME 4069 (another extra unit) We recommend you switch to the new curriculum. This switch will require you to take 1 extra unit. If you decide to switch to the new curriculum
How does this affect my courses for next semester? If you plan to switch to the new curriculum If you haven t taken MATH 2150 or MATH 2550, we recommend you switch to the new curriculum, and take MATH 2190 when it is offered in the Fall. Do not take MATH 2150 or MATH 2550 next semester (Spring 2024). If you haven t taken ME 2030 yet, but have taken PHYS 2100, take ME 2030 next semester (Spring 2024) to avoid the new prerequisite (ME 1030) Otherwise, this doesn t affect you yet.
Final Notes To help you make your decision, fill out the survey here The new curriculum and new courses become active in Fall 2024 If you stay on the current curriculum, but you want to take ME 4140 instead of ME 4110, we will allow that. Email an advisor for help after you take ME 4140. If you stay on the current curriculum, it s still a good idea for you to take ME 4960 - Engineer-in-Training (EIT) Certification Exam Preparation. We will continue to offer ME 3039 and ME 4069 for those who stay on the current curriculum. Right now (Fall 2023), if you haven t taken MATH 2150 or MATH 2550, you should not take them in the Spring. Instead, switch to the new curriculum in Fall 2024, and you can take the combined math class. This change does not affect General Education (GE) courses. Stick with your current GE course plan.
Q&A To make it easier to answer questions, split into groups based on class year First years (currently taking ENGR 1500) Sophomores (currently taking ME 2010, ME 2030, or ME 2070) Juniors (currently taking only 3000- level ME courses) Seniors (currently taking Senior Design)
