Student riding an engineered bicycle

Mechanical Engineering
BSE

A Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering offers a versatile and impactful career path with strong job security and high earning potential. It equips students with the problem-solving, analytical, and design skills applicable across many industries, from manufacturing and energy to healthcare and aerospace.

A mechanical engineering background can also lead to collaborations with other engineering disciplines and professions, opening doors to a wide range of career paths. 

Milwaukee is home to six Fortune 500 companies, 39,000 businesses, and a broad network of industry partnerships, so our students earning a BS in mechanical engineering have easy access to well-paid internships and co-ops where they can apply the skills they learn in the classroom and earn extra money to supplement their education.

Program Type

Major, Minor

Program Format

On Campus

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Career Outlook

Mechanical engineers with a bachelor’s degree generally enjoy a competitive salary and the field is constantly evolving, making it a dynamic and intellectually stimulating career, especially in these industries:

  • Aerospace
  • Architecture
  • Automotive
  • Biomedical
  • Manufacturing
  • Power Generation
  • Transportation

2024 median pay was $102,320/year*

*U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

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A BS in mechanical engineering is a great choice for individuals who:

  • Want to make a tangible impact on the world
  • Enjoy math and science
  • Are analytical and logical thinkers
  • Have a passion for problem-solving and design

The mechanical engineering curriculum covers a broad range of topics, providing a solid foundation for many different career paths. The foundation of mechanical engineering bachelor’s degree has a core curriculum of:

  • Thermal Fluid Science (including thermodynamics and fluid mechanics)
  • Dynamics (machine design and controls)
  • Material Science (including metallurgy, continuum mechanics and solid mechanics)

You’ll also choose electives based on your area of interest. They allow you to have a broad or more specific spectrum of study. Our electives are flexible, enabling you to change course as you need.

Honors

You will be eligible for these honors in the major during your studies and upon completing your mechanical engineering degree.

Students at UWM have many opportunities to earn honors recognition.

Hands-on learning opportunities for BS Mechanical Engineering students

UWM’s College of Engineering & Applied Science program provides many opportunities for students earning a BS in mechanical engineering to pair classroom learning with hands-on experiences outside the classroom.

The college’s location in Milwaukee, an industrial hub, gives our students easy access to well-paid internships and co-ops, as well as other important opportunities to enhance their resume. 

Did you know? 

  • $76,000 average starting salary
  • Students often earn more than $8,000 in full-time, work-related internships in summer.
  • SOURCE: UWM First Destination Survey for the College of Engineering & Applied Science, 2023-2024

Internships & Co-ops

You’ll have many hands-on opportunities to develop your skills and determine what type of career experience you would like after graduation, with opportunities to earn a significant paycheck in nearby internships and co-ops over summer breaks and even during the academic year.

Here are some of the businesses where our Mechanical Engineering degree students have had internships, co-ops or launched their careers:

  • Briggs & Stratton Corporation
  • Caterpillar, Inc.
  • GE Healthcare
  • Generac Power Systems, Inc.
  • General Motors
  • Harley-Davidson Motor Company
  • HUSCO International, Inc.
  • Milwaukee Tool
  • Rexnord
  • Rockwell Automation
  • STRATTEC Security
Capstones / Senior Design Projects

In your senior year, you’ll team up with other students to complete a Capstone Project, during which you’ll use what you’ve learned in class to complete an experience similar to a real-world employer project.

See some of the senior design projects our students have been working on.

Student Organizations

American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics

AIAA is the largest aerospace professional society in the world, and its members help make the world safer, more connected, more accessible, and more prosperous.

American Society of Mechanical Engineers

ASME promotes knowledge of the theory and practice of mechanical engineering, and offers the opportunity to participate in activities that promote a professional awareness of mechanical engineering.

Prototyping Club

PC provides students the tools, knowledge, and support to develop an idea into an invention.

Society of Automotive Engineers

SAE provides members an opportunity to gain insight into the engineering profession by offering hands on engineering experience through student design competitions like the BAJA vehicle challenge, monthly meetings with engineering professionals, and local industry tours.

Full descriptions of the student organizations active in our college.

Resource Rooms & Teaching Labs

UWM students have a wealth of additional resources available to them within the College of Engineering & Applied Science. From computer labs and tutoring resources to teaching labs and spaces to create or collaborate. A full list of the resource rooms and teaching labs is found at this link.

Research Opportunities

A benefit of attending a top tier R1 research university is the opportunity to work with faculty engaged in cutting-edge research and to participate in the Support for Undergraduate Research Fellows (SURF) program. The SURF program helps you to improve your professional preparation through research by closely working with our faculty to explore, discover, and transform ideas into reality.

SURF students also receive funding for their efforts. Almost $1.5M was awarded to over 700 students from our college over the last decade.

Graduate and undergraduate students also have the opportunity to participate in the annual Poster Competition, providing them with excellent opportunities to share their work with judges from industry.

Student Startup Challenge

Directed by the Lubar Entrepreneurship Center, the UWM Student Startup Challenge is an optional, co-curricular program that fosters our students’ innovative and entrepreneurial ideas. You can work alone or as part of a team as you gain the skills that come from entrepreneurial experience. More detail about the UWM Startup Challenge can be found at this link.

A mechanical engineering bachelor's student with a helmet on is sitting in the drivers seat of a Baja car.
A member of the student chapter of Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) demonstrates the cozy driver’s seat in the group’s Baja car.

We’re here to help

Our dedicated Center for Student Experience & Talent (SET) works with our students to prepare them for a career after graduation.

What you’ll do with a BS in mechanical engineering

  • Analyze problems to see how mechanical and thermal devices might help solve a particular problem
  • Design or redesign mechanical and thermal devices or subsystems, using analysis and computer-aided design
  • Investigate equipment failures or difficulties to diagnose faulty operation and to recommend remedies
  • Develop and test prototypes of devices they design
  • Analyze the test results and change the design or system as needed
  • Oversee the manufacturing process for the device

Student Stories

My Co-op at Harley-Davidson provided me with the opportunity to work on a virtual team and develop foundational skills in Supply Management. This established my leadership and project management skills and increased my communication effectiveness. I also experienced the launch of a new motorcycle that is aiming to enhance the company’s position as the most desirable motorcycle brand in the world!

Grace (paid co-op at Harley-Davidson)Junior, Mechanical Engineering

Advising

Bauski, Megan
  • Academic Advisor, Undergraduate Advising
  • Students with last names M-R
Clark, Brandon
  • Academic Advisor, Undergraduate Advising
  • Students with last names A-E
Current, Tina
  • Senior Advisor, Undergraduate Advising
  • Students with last names beginning F-L
  • Prospective Transfer Student Liaison
Klumpp, Jennie
  • Senior Advisor, Undergraduate Advising
  • Students with last names beginning S-Z
  • Prospective Student Liaison

Tutoring

Anderson, Steven
  • Retention Coordinator, Tutoring
  • Student Support Center Coordinator
  • Freshmen Orientation Instructor

Mechanical Engineering Faculty & Staff

Amano, Ryoichi
  • Professor, Mechanical Engineering
  • Director, Industrial Assessment Center (IAC)
Armstrong, Brian
  • Professor, Mechanical Engineering
Avdeev, Ilya
  • Professor, Mechanical Engineering
  • Director, Lubar Entrepreneurship Center (LEC)
  • Co-Founder and Executive Director, UWM Student Startup Challenge
  • Director (PI), Milwaukee Regional Energy Education Initiative
Chang, Woo Jin
  • Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering
D'Souza, Roshan
  • Richard and Joanne Grigg Professorship
  • Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering
Judes, Avie
  • CEAS Lab Manager
  • Lab Manager, Makerspace
Lim, Saniel
  • Teaching Faculty II, Mechanical Engineering Department
Musinski, William
  • Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science & Engineering
Nosonovsky, Michael
  • Professor, Mechanical Engineering
Pillai, Krishna
  • Professor, Mechanical Engineering
Qu, Deyang
  • Johnson Controls Endowed Professor in Energy Storage Research
  • Department Chair, Biomedical Engineering
  • UWM Distinguished Professor, Mechanical Engineering
Rahman, Mohammad Habib
  • Richard and Joanne Grigg Professorship
  • Professor and Department Chair, Mechanical Engineering
  • Affiliate Professor, Computer Science and Biomedical Engineering
  • Switzer Research Distinguished Fellow
Reisel, John
  • Professor, Mechanical Engineering
  • Secretary of the University
Rohatgi, Pradeep
  • Distinguished Professor, Materials Science and Engineering Department
  • Distinguished Professor, Biomedical Engineering
  • Distinguished Professor, Mechanical Engineering
  • Director, Center for Advanced Manufacture of Materials
Salowitz, Nathan
  • Alan D. Kulwicki '77 Faculty Fellowship
  • Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering
  • Founder, Advanced Structures Laboratory
Schnorenberg, Alyssa Joy
  • Scientist I, Mechanical Engineering Department
  • Associate Director, Mobility Lab
Slavens, Brooke
  • Richard and Joanne Grigg Professor of Mechanical Engineering, EMS Office 1080
  • Affiliate Faculty of Biomedical Engineering and Rehabilitation Science & Technology
Stern, Nathaniel
  • Professor, Mechanical Engineering
  • Professor, Art & Design
  • Director of Academic Engagement & Creative Impact, Lubar Entrepreneruship Center
Sung, Yongjin
  • Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering
  • Associate Professor, Biomedical Engineering
Yahiaoui, Mohamed
  • Teaching Faculty 3, Mechanical Engineering
Zhang, Xiaoxiao
  • Scientist I, Mechanical Engineering Department
Zheng, Dong
  • Scientist III, Mechanical Engineering Department
Academic Catalog
Schedule of Classes
Accreditation
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Mechanical Engineering Program is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET. http://www.abet.org.
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Contact
Mechanical Engineering
Contact Info: ceas-me@uwm.edu

Street Address
College of Engineering & Applied Science
3200 North Cramer Street
Milwaukee, WI 53211

Mailing Address
College of Engineering & Applied Science
P.O. Box 784
Milwaukee, WI 53201-0784