No. Since there is a common first year (year and a half) program, all engineering students, regardless of their major, will take the same classes during the first year. In addition, the advisors in Engineering Fundamentals meet with students throughout the year to discuss selecting courses and selecting an engineering major.
If you are a new student at Michigan Tech, contact Admissions (mtu4u@mtu.edu, G29 Administration Building) before Wednesday, second week of classes. After Wednesday second week of classes, you must meet with the academic advisor of your new department. For some majors, you will also need to meet the GPA or course requirements for that department.
The College of Engineering at Michigan Tech offers the following degrees:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Chemical Engineering
- Civil Engineering
- Computer Engineering
- Electrical Engineering
- Environmental Engineering
- Geological Engineering
- Materials Science & Engineering
- Mechanical Engineering – Engineering Mechanics
- Bachelor of Science in Engineering (BSE) – The BSE degree program consists of courses fundamental to all engineering disciplines and a large number of elective courses built in to provide flexibility. You can customize your degree to fit your career goals, or select from two defined paths
- Geospatial Engineering
- Industrial and Service Systems Engineering
- Mining Engineering
The first year or year and a half is common for all engineering programs depending on math readiness (see semester schedules above). With the help of an academic advisor in Engineering Fundamentals (efadvise@mtu.edu), students that still have not decided by the time they complete the first year program, may be able to take common classes for another one or two semesters. Note: this may extend the date of graduation depending on which major is finally chosen.
Possibly, but not always. If you meet the Chemistry readiness guidelines and take Chemistry I (CH1150/1) your first fall semester, then all of the credits you take that semester will count towards graduation (MA1032-PreCalculus can count as free electives in any engineering program). If you start out in Preparatory Chemistry, then those credits will not count towards graduation. If you plan your pre-requisite courses with your academic advisor and take one or two summer courses either at Michigan Tech or at a community college near your home, you should be able to “catch up” and still graduate in four years’ time.
No. Students with Advanced Placement (AP) and/or dual enrollment credits will be placed into the next appropriate class. Any students with AP and/or dual enrollment credits should meet with their advisor to confirm their semester schedule and discuss creating a graduation plan.
If you have advanced placement (AP) and/or dual enrollment credit, you will be placed into the next appropriate course. For example, if you have credit for Calculus I, you will be placed into Calculus II.
Michigan Tech will register all freshman engineering students for their classes in mid-July. Then, during orientation, students will have the opportunity to add or switch classes as needed.
All engineering majors take the Spatial Visualization Test during Orientation. This test measures the ability to visualize a three-dimensional object from different perspectives, and it identifies students who could benefit from additional instruction to improve their spatial visualization skills. Students who do not pass this test will be enrolled in a one-credit course, ENG1002 – Introduction to Spatial Visualization, to help them further develop these skills. For these students, ENG1002 is a required supplemental course that may be taken concurrently with ENG1001 or ENG1101. ENG1002, or a passing grade on the Spatial Visualization Test, is a prerequisite for ENG1102.
Michigan Tech has a common first-year engineering program. Every engineering student at Michigan Tech takes the same foundational courses in this program: math, engineering, chemistry, physics, composition, and global issues. A student’s mathematics placement is determined by the Mathematics Department. Based on math placement, there are two course pathways through first-year engineering, as shown in Figure 1. Students who are calculus-ready (i.e., they are placed into Calc I – MA1160 or MA1161 – or higher) upon enrollment have a two-semester sequence consisting of ENG1101 – Engineering Analysis and Problem Solving and ENG1102 – Engineering Modeling and Design. Students who are pre-calculus-ready (i.e., they are placed into MA1032 – PreCalculus) upon enrollment have a three-semester sequence consisting of ENG1001 – Engineering Problem Solving, ENG1100 – Engineering Analysis, and ENG1102 – Engineering Modeling and Design. Students place into MA1030 will start the two semester sequence when they begin Calculus I (MA1160).
