Penn State Mechanical Engineering to innovate curriculum

In its educational mission to prepare students for an impactful and successful career in a rapidly changing technological landscape, the Penn State Department of Mechanical Engineering (ME) has announced several curriculum changes to be implemented in the fall of 2020.   

Eric Marsh, the Glenn Professor of Engineering Education and undergraduate program coordinator, said, “We are advancing the curriculum to make better use of the computing power that only in recent years has caught up with an engineer’s imagination.” 

Two new courses, which have been offered previously as pilot programs, will become required for all mechanical engineering undergraduate students. The first is ME 454, a 3-credit course in mechatronics, which will focus on the integration of mechanical hardware, sensors and actuators and computer control. The second, ME 330, is a 3-credit computer engineering salary and simulation course. While the required number of credits will remain the same, some courses were eliminated and others were tailored to include core topics important to a mechanical engineering degree.