There are a lot of differences between classes in high school and classes in the post-secondary system. In general, classes in post-secondary institutions are bigger, harder, and no one takes attendence. To succeed in your undergraduate degree, you have to be self-motivated to learn. You are responsible for your own academic destiny – planning your courses, attending classes, studying and doing suggested problems, and passing the exams. There are people to help – faculty, staff, and other students – but you are the one in control.
What you’ll study
Generally an undergraduate degree begins with broad coverage of basic principles before allowing you to specialize into specific areas. You will likely start with physics, chemistry, calculus, linear algebra, computer science, and basic mechanics (statics and dynamics). You will then take more specific courses in dynamics, mechanics of material, fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, electronics, more calculus, materials engineering, vibrations, manufacturing, statistics and mechanical design. To round out your degree, you will add some complementary courses, such as humanities, English, economics and ethics, and technical electives in areas of particular interest, such as biomechanics, acoustics, aerodynamics of aircraft, modeling, or production.
Each course generally includes a lecture component and either tutorials or labs. Lectures are generally large in the first few years – one hundred or more students is common – but lectures in more specialized courses, like your technical electives, can be as small as fifteen or twenty. Tutorials are often a chance to get more personalized instruction. Class sizes are often around thirty people, and either the professor or a teaching assistant is available to help you work through problems. Labs are also small, and give you a chance to run hands-on experiments and tests.
Design courses are a very special part of a mechanical engineering degree, as they give you a chance to design a mechanical system from start to finish. You begin with an analysis of the problem you need to solve, work through the problem on paper, design a possible solution, and then build a prototype or model. Design projects are a great way to get a real feel for mechanical engineering. They allow you to apply what you are learning in your other courses, and to see for yourself how different principles fit together.
How much time you’ll spend
The amount of time you spend on classes each week can vary, but most mechanical engineering students will take around twenty credits a term. Most classes are three credits, but some are less and some are more. Each credit corresponds to approximately one hour of lecture a week, but many classes also have labs or tutorials attached to them. Common configurations are three hours of lecture and one hour of tutorial a week, or three hours of lecture and two or three hours of lab. In general, you can expect to spend about twenty five to thirty hours a week in class.
Outside of class, you can expect to spend at least that much time again reading the textbook, reviewing notes, doing practice problems, completing assignments, and working on papers or projects.