Category: Announcements

Announcements

Mechanical Engineering Curriculum Changes

 

Aerospace Engineering Minor Changes

  • Students that have the pre-requisites to take ME 4810 in Fall 2025 – MEEM 2150 and MEEM 3201 – can complete the minor on the 2024-25 (Fall 2024 catalog year) requirements.
    • Minor students that will be in ME 3201 in Fall 2025 and graduating before Spring 2027 should add themselves to the ME 4810 wait list.
  • Fall 2025 is the last time ME 4810 will be offered.
  • Students that cannot take ME 4810 in Fall 2025 will need to move onto the newer 2025-26 (Fall 2025 catalog year) minor requirements.
  • The new minor requirements will have AE 2500 and AE 2550.  These courses must be taken for the minor and represent 3-6 extra credits for BSME students earning this minor.  AE 2500/2550 cannot be counted as ME technical elective credits.
  • Anyone that declares the Aerospace Engineering major (BSAE, alone or as an ME/AE double major) cannot also earn the Aerospace Engineering minor.  Students can drop the minor to add the major or vice versa.
  • Aerospace Engineering majors cannot take ME 4810.
  • See an MAE advisor to discuss your individual situation.

 

Notes on the NEW Aerospace Engineering Major

  • You must be declared as an Aerospace Engineering major to register for AE courses.
  • This includes AE 2500 registration for Fall 2025 and AE 2550 for Spring 2026.
  • Aerospace Engineering majors cannot take ME 4810.
  • You can make curriculum changes – changing majors, adding a double major, dropping a minor, etc – through this process.
  • See an MAE advisor to discuss your individual situation.

 

General Advising Reminders

  • Complete online graduation application during your second to last semester prior to graduation through MyMichiganTech or BanWeb.  Fall grads should submit in January.  Spring/summer grads in September.
  • Graduating next semester? Contact an ME academic advisor to start the process of finalizing your online degree audit.  See FAQ #18 below and watch your email if you are in your last or second to last semester.

Fall 2025 Waiting Lists for MAE Courses

Click on a course below to access a Google Form to create a waiting list entry for a full MAE course/section for the Fall 2025 semester.

  1. Please read the form carefully and complete it as accurately and completely as possible.
  2. We will prioritize the waiting lists firstly based on which students have the greatest need for a required course to maintain feasible graduation timing and/or earn a minor, etc.  We’ll also take the planned graduation semester into account for technical electives (Fall 2025 grads take priority over Spring/Summer 2026 grads, etc).  Then priority will be based on your designated time to begin registration in the priority schedule and/or the time stamp on your waiting list entry.
  3. The department will strive to quickly address the waiting lists to add students to needed courses as soon as possible.
  4. Students will be notified with an email if and when they are added to a course from a waiting list.
  5. Feel free to contact the academic advisors with questions at any time, but you must complete the online form to get on a waiting list.
  6. If you do get into an MAE course, but not in your preferred section, you can use the waiting list form to request a section change also.
  7. Do not complete the online form to get on a waiting list until after your registration time starts according to the published schedule (by earned credits).  If you do submit an entry early, it will jeopardize your priority for getting into the course.

AE2500

AE4570

ME2110

ME2150

ME2201

ME2700

ME2901

ME2911

ME3201

ME3400

ME3601

ME3750

ME3901

ME3911

ME4201

ME4202

ME4210

ME4220

ME4235

ME4295

ME4296

ME4430

ME4640

ME4650

ME4702

ME4707

ME4775

ME4810

ME4901

Full Details on ME Changes for Fall 2025 and Essential Education

BSME students need to be aware of some changes set to take effect in Fall 2025.  There are some slight ME-specific curriculum changes and the implementation of the new Essential Education program by the university.

It is really important that you stop in to see an MAE advisor to review how these changes do/might affect you and determine if you want to move up to the new BSME and/or Essential Ed requirements or not.  Fall 2025 registration begins on March 9th.

First, let’s lay out the BSME changes that will apply to all current students not graduating in Spring/Summer 2025:

  • All MEEM courses will become ME courses.  By and large the course numbers will remain the same and the same number for MEEM and ME will be equivalent courses.
  • MEEM 2901 will increase from 2 to 3 credits.  If you took the 2-cr version of MEEM 2901 already or are in it right now (or take it in the summer), that is fine.  If you take the 3-cr version of the course and stay on the older BSME requirements (prior to Fall 2025), the surplus credit will count towards your total technical elective credits required.
  • MEEM 3901 will increase from 2 to 3 credits.  If you took the 2-cr version of MEEM 3901 already or are in it right now, that is fine.  If you take the 3-cr version of the course and stay on the older BSME requirements (prior to Fall 2025), the surplus credit will count towards your total technical elective credits required.
  • MEEM 3600 (3 cr) will become ME 3601 (4 cr).  And the pre-req for ME 3601 will only be ME 2901.  ME 3601 will remain a concurrent pre-req for ME 4901/ENT 4950.  If you took MEEM 3600 already or are in it right now, that is fine.  If you take ME 3601 and stay on the older BSME requirements (prior to Fall 2025), the surplus credit will count towards your total technical elective credits required.
  • ME 3400 will have some content updates from MEEM 3400 and MSE 2100 has been added as a non-concurrent pre-req to ME 3400.
  • For students that move up to the Fall 2025 Essential Education set of requirements, EC 3400 will no longer be a required course.  It can still be taken/counted towards Essential Education as a SHAPE course if that requirement isn’t already satisfied for you.  If you stay on the older BSME requirements (prior to Fall 2025), then EC 3400 will still be a required course for you.

Example: for a student that stays on the current BSME flowcharts (gold/blue), takes EC 3400, and has the newer versions of all 3 of the other courses above, their technical electives requirement will be adjusted from 15 credits to 12 (12 to 9 for enterprise).

Also, students that do move up to the newer BSME/Essential Ed requirements, but already have a lower-credit version of a course, that credit can be made up with free electives (virtually any credits).  Example: for a student that moves up to Fall 2025 BSME flowcharts (beige/salmon) and has the older 2-cr MEEM 2901 but takes the 3-cr ME 3901 and 4-cr ME 3601, their free electives requirement will be adjusted from 3 credits to 4.

Regarding Essential Education, the structure is similar to the current general education (Core/HASS) requirements, but the names of the lists and the courses on each list are changing and there will be some minors that can be used to help fulfill Essential Ed if desired by the student.  No current students must move onto the Essential Ed requirements, but anyone that wants to can choose to.  Again, it is really important that you stop in to see an MAE advisor. We can mark both an older (gold or blue) flow chart for you and a newer ME flow chart with Essential Ed also (beige or salmon) to map out how each pathway could work for you and determine how many credits remain for either option, etc.

  • General Education Core requirements (UN 1015, UN 1025, Critical and Creative Thinking, Social Responsibility & Ethical Reasoning) are replaced by what Essential Education calls First-Year Experience (Michigan Tech Seminar, Composition, Foundations of the Human World).
    • The seminar is covered by ENG 1101.
    • Composition is still UN 1015.
    • Foundations of the Human World is a list of 3-cr courses to choose from.
    • There are also math, natural/physical science, and STEM requirements, but those are covered by required major courses for ME students.
  • HASS requirements will be replaced by a Distribution Pathway.  One 3-cr course to be chosen from each of these lists instead of the HASS lists.
    • Communication Intensive
    • Intercultural Competency (this list only has 3000+ level courses)
    • Arts and Culture
    • SHAPE (Social Sciences, Humanities, and the Arts for People and the Economy) – a second course taken from these other lists will count towards the SHAPE requirement plus some more choices beyond that.
    • Essential Education Experience (this list only has 3000+ level courses)
    • There is also a second STEM requirement that is covered by required major courses for ME students.
  • Co-Curricular Activities (mostly PE) become Activities for Well-being and Success.  Instead of 3 units of activities outside of the required credits for the degree, these activities become 3 required credit hours and do count towards the 128 total required credits to graduate.  However, for these courses, grades are not counted toward a student’s overall GPA.  Activities courses will become freely repeatable also.
  • An Essential Education minor, if so designated, can replace the Distribution Pathway above.  Interested students should consult with a minor advisor on the those requirements.

Full Essential Education information is here:

https://www.mtu.edu/registrar/essential-education/program-requirements/

Transfer students: if you have satisfied the MTA, then that wipes out all Essential Ed requirements, although free electives may have to be increased to maintain the required 128 total credits to graduate.

Aerospace Engineering majors must complete Essential Education requirements.  The BSAE degree program does not exist before Fall 2025, so the older gen ed is not an option for that degree.  Double major ME/AE students should consult with an MAE advisor to determine if the older gen ed or Essential Ed makes sense for their BSME requirements.

Again, see an MAE advisor to discuss.

Looking for Undergraduate Research?

If you’re are looking for undergraduate research opportunities this file lists areas of faculty expertise to identify possible common interests.

If you identify a ME-EM faculty member that you may want to work with, contact them directly to discuss.

If you identify a possible project with a ME-EM faculty member, please complete this form (instructions on pg. 2).  Typically, this form is for upper-level students to take 1-3 credits of MEEM 4990 in a semester.  If the MEEM 4990 credits are approved as such, they can be used for technical elective credits.

Part-Time Student Status for the Final Undergraduate Semester

If you plan to take less than 12 credits in the semester in which you will graduate, you should consult with Financial Aid about being a part-time student in that final semester. Generally speaking, most student need to be full-time status (12+ credits) each semester while pursuing an undergraduate degree. There are certainly exceptions to that statement though. For most students, if it is your last semester, part-time status is OK, but you may need to have at least half-time status (6-11.5 credits) to receive aid, be eligible for loans, etc. Financial Aid can answer your questions on this in regard to your individual specifics.

Also, students should consult with Financial Aid if the placement of credits into the graduate level via senior rule will drive their undergraduate credits below 12.

Academic Probation & Suspension

Academic Probation

What is it? Academic probation is a strong warning to students that their academic performance is less than that expected by the University. Notices of academic probation are sent to students through email at the end of the semester, when final grades are released.

Please note that probation is retroactive. When a student is notified of academic probation they already have one semester of probation (for the semester that was just completed).

How is this determined? A student seeking an undergraduate degree is placed on academic probation under any of the following three conditions:

  • The University cumulative GPA is below 2.00.
  • The GPA for the most recent semester is below 2.00.
  • The cumulative departmental GPA is below 2.00, based on at least 16 credits. For ME students, this means all MEEM credits taken.

What are the consequences? A student on academic probation is not permitted to register for more than 16 credits per semester unless approval is granted by the Dean of Students Office. Academic probation is also an intermediate step toward academic suspension (see below). Financial aid may be impacted as well, contact Michigan Tech Student Financial Services to inquire about consequences specific to your aid package.

What can be done? When does probation end? See an advisor to develop a plan that may include repeating courses (see FAQ #6).

A student is removed from academic probation (back to good academic standing) when all of the following conditions have been met:

  • The University cumulative GPA is 2.00 or greater.
  • The GPA for the most recently completed semester is 2.00 or greater.
  • The cumulative departmental GPA is 2.00 or greater, based on at least 16 credits.

Academic Suspension

What is it? A specified period of time where a student will not be permitted to enroll at the University

How is this determined? The following are grounds for academic suspension:

  • The student earns a semester GPA of 0.0 while attempting 12 or more credits, or
  • The student’s cumulative GPA is below 2.00 after two semesters of academic probation (remember that this is only one semester after triggering probation status), or
  • The student does not achieve good academic standing (i.e. not on probation) after two semesters of probation (two consecutive semesters of below 2.00 semester GPAs).

What are the consequences? This depends upon how many times the student has been placed on academic suspension and how well the student performs upon return:

  • Upon receiving a first notice of academic suspension, a student may not attend Michigan Tech for at least one semester, plus a summer. That is, a student suspended at the end of a fall semester may not re-enroll until the following fall, and a student suspended at the end of a spring semester may not re-enroll until the following spring semester.  Students may appeal their suspension to avoid being unable to attend Michigan Tech for these time frames (see below).
  • Upon receiving a second notice of academic suspension, a student may not attend Michigan Tech for two semesters, plus a summer.
  • After returning from a second suspension, failure to achieve good academic standing (i.e. not on probation) or show substantial academic progress within one semester will result in academic dismissal. There is no opportunity for reinstatement after academic dismissal; however, a student may request an appeal.

What can be done? The University has a reinstatement process in place for students returning from suspension as well as a suspension and dismissal appeals process.

Suspension appeals must be received prior to the published deadline for each semester. Appeals must be submitted online to the Dean of Students office.

Reinstatement requests must be made 6 weeks in advance of the start date of the planned return semester. To request reinstatement, students must follow the procedure on the Dean of Students office website (date due for each semester published on this page also).  The reinstatement request online form will ask a series of questions regarding goals, previous academic history and future plans for improvement. Students will also be asked to submit a letter of recommendation/performance review from their current employer, a transcript for any courses taken during the suspension period (see FAQ #5 for how to transfer coursework completed at other institutions to Michigan Tech) and a three-semester academic plan developed in conjunction with an ME academic advisor.