How long does Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Program last for?

Question

I m high school graduate and going to college..

how long does undergraduate mechanical engineering program last..

i want to finish the program in about 3 years..

Answer 1

Its usually approx. 4 years. Thats not to say 3 years is not possible. If you take a lot of credits in the summer and sit down with your univ. advisor to make sure you can still get all of your Mechanical classes in (some are required before you take others) it would be possible. I would investigate the M.E. curriculum at Universities you are considering and see what the required classes are. Then if you just get a book of all the courses offered at the University, you should be able to tell from the course description what prerequisites there are for each class. And lay out your plan and see if you can get it in 3 years.

Answer 2

All engineering programs are designed as 4-5 year programs, depending whether or not they include a co-op.

To finish in 3 years there are two approaches:

1) Intersession and summer classes

2) Course overloads each semester

By the first approach you can take summer and winter classes to get ahead on your studies.  Winter most likely will only have Gen. Ed. classes offered.  Generally the amount of summer classes offered depends on the size of your university.  The one you attend may not contain any for engineering, and you would have to attend another college that offers them, and where the courses would transfer back to your university.

The second option is to take a large amount of credit hours each semester.  Typically a student takes between 12-18 credit hours (hours may vary because each college designates courses in different manners) a semester.  To take more you probably would have to get special permission from your college of engineering.  However, they may say no because of how demanding taking more than 18 credit hours a semester is.

The problem with trying to finish mechanical engineering early is that every course builds upon previous courses.  300 and 400 level classes are typically based on first completing 3-5 prerequisites courses which each of those have prerequisites themselves.

Your best bet to finish early is to get all of the basic courses out of the way that lead to the higher courses.  These typically include classical physics, E&M physics, 3-4 semesters of calculus, differential equations, statics, dynamics, mechanics of materials, thermodynamics, and 2 semesters of chemistry.  After those fundamental courses classes become more specific to your major.  These are only common courses used by colleges; it may differ for your circumstances.  

In closing I just want to say that finishing mechanical engineering in that amount of time at an accredited school is rare and almost unheard of.  Also, it will be expensive.  Classes outside of normal semester are expensive.  My experience is the cost of summer engineering classes range from 500-2000 per class depending on the college you go to.

Good luck

Answer 3

It's a 4-year degree.  You can probably finish it in 3 years if you are a really sharp student and don't have anything else to work on.