The Mechanical Engineering faculty is committed to providing a supportive student-centered environment for their students. All Mechanical Engineering majors at CSUN meet with their assigned faculty advisors for academic advisement. Students need to be advised once each semester until they complete all requirements.

Mechanical engineers design automobiles; aircraft and space vehicles; power plants; heating and cooling systems; gas and steam turbines; servomechanisms; transmissions; engines for rockets, aircraft and ground vehicles; robots; and manufacturing production lines. They use scientific knowledge to create new and useful designs and to harness various types of energy, such as chemical, solar or thermal.

Mechanical Engineering is the broadest engineering specialty. A company that employs any engineer is likely to hire some mechanical engineers. Those companies include power-generation and public utility companies, transportation companies, construction firms, airlines, missile and spacecraft companies, electronics companies and the manufacturing companies that produce all forms of machinery, vehicles, aircraft, appliances and many other products used by industry and/or consumers.

Most CSUN Mechanical Engineering graduates become practicing engineers in industry. Others, however, choose to pursue careers with government agencies or educational institutions. The degree also can be a stepping stone to law school for a career as a patent lawyer, or to business school for careers in technical management, marketing or sales, or even to medical school.

Many employers in our local geographic area have CSUN graduates working for them and look forward to hiring more of our graduates.

The B.S. in Mechanical Engineering program is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, www.abet.org.

Honors Cooperative Internship Program

The College offers an opportunity for highly qualified students to work in local industry throughout an entire calendar year. Students work full-time during the summer and half-time during the academic year. Students receive 6 units of academic credit in conjunction with this experience. The program is open to undergraduates who are nearing their senior year, have a minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA and have passed the Upper Division Writing Proficiency Exam. Graduate students who wish to participate must have a minimum 3.5 cumulative GPA. Applicants are matched to employer-supplied job descriptions and scheduled for interviews with prospective employers. The competitive nature of the program usually generates more applicants than available positions. The application period begins in early March and the period of employment is typically from July 1 through June 30.

Mechanical engineering is a very broad field and is represented by a number of professional organizations. The Department supports student chapters of two national organizations: the Society of Automotive Engineers and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, which provide opportunities for students to know more about the field and each other outside of class.

Community Relations and Industry Liaison Council

The Department maintains strong relations with the community. We continuously review our Programs with students, alumni and employers of our graduates. The Department’s Industry Liaison Council consists of members in the professional community to ensure that we receive a breadth of information on future engineering trends that would affect our programs.