Systems Engineering is a collection of processes and tools to realize a system from a concept into a useful product and support it through production and eventual retirement. Engineered systems integrate a variety of diverse and complex elements that function together with sufficient coherence to satisfy a certain need or objective. Students pursuing this emphasis will navigate the theory and practice of the discipline, including relevant processes such as identifying stakeholder needs, system requirements, building models, planning, testing components and final products, building production systems and documenting all design components, procedures, processes, and areas of concern. Systems engineers help ensure that the system is not only built right, but is also the right system. Successful students will have mastered a collection of industry-relevant practices that enable the concept and development of improved products that are produced cheaper and with fewer errors.
Mechanical engineers play a significant role in designing and manufacturing all of the products and systems essential to everyday modern life: recreational equipment, automobiles, aerospace systems, airplanes, medical devices, robots, industrial equipment, power generation, and sustainable energy systems. The field of mechanical engineering (ME) is concerned with the mechanical, thermal, and fluid-flow aspects of all of these systems, including computer and feedback control of complex systems. As a mechanical engineering student at the University of Utah, you will learn the professional, technical, critical thinking, and communication skills you need to be successful and make meaningful contributions to this exciting field.
Mechanical engineers are prepared to pursue work in a variety of fields using the skills gained from coursework, research, or interning. U alumni have found work as engineers in a number of areas such as product design, aerospace, medical devices, robotics, manufacturing, sustainable energy, hi-tech, and software development including artificial intelligence and machine learning. With additional education at the graduate level, students can become project managers, professors, researchers, lawyers, or doctors.
