What students report

84% recommend

Review sample

  • Freshman431%
  • Sophomore215%
  • Junior323%
  • Senior215%
  • Alumni215%
Career prospects-0.7

0.0/5 here

Lower career outlook here

Elsewhere 4.6Here 3.9
Enjoyment-0.2

0.0/5 here

Lower enjoyment here

Elsewhere 4.1Here 3.9
DifficultySimilar

0.0/5 here

About typical for this major

Elsewhere 3.9Here 4.0

What stands out

  • Lower career outlook. Career prospects is 0.7 points lower than the same major at other schools.
  • Less writing-heavy. Writing & analysis is 0.4 points lower than the same major at other schools.

Student voice

Why students feel that way

Patterns tell us what is happening. Student accounts explain why.

Distinctive themes

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Representative perspectives

Anonymous student
UCLA is a great place to study mechanical engineering, despite it not being one of the top engineering programs in the country. Although many classes are lackluster and projects are rare, UCLA still offers abundant opportunities…

Courses & teaching

Anonymous student
I think the quality of mechanical engineering professors at UCLA vary wildly, from pretty terrible to phenomenal. If classes are the focus, I highly recommend someone to attend a university with better quality teaching that is…

Courses & teaching

Anonymous student
Difficult, there is a lot of theory and not a lot of application, join clubs. They helped me the most.

Courses & teaching

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Complete evidence

Student reviews

13 reviews

Tone
Courses & teachingMixed

UCLA is a great place to study mechanical engineering, despite it not being one of the top engineering programs in the country. Although many classes are lackluster and projects are rare, UCLA still offers abundant opportunities to develop your engineering skills. There are hands-on E1 labs, a complete makerspace and workshop, and tons of amazing clubs with motivated people.

Anonymous studentFreshman
Math
4.0/5
Writing
1.0/5
Apr 2026
Courses & teachingCritical

I think the quality of mechanical engineering professors at UCLA vary wildly, from pretty terrible to phenomenal. If classes are the focus, I highly recommend someone to attend a university with better quality teaching that is more focused on undergraduates. However, the student body is very active and hard working, especially if your goal is aerospace/space industry, where there a lot of connections to be made.

Anonymous studentGraduated
Math
5.0/5
Writing
3.0/5
Apr 2026
Courses & teachingCritical

Difficult, there is a lot of theory and not a lot of application, join clubs. They helped me the most.

Anonymous studentJunior
Math
5.0/5
Writing
5.0/5
Apr 2026
Advice & things to knowPositive

Come in knowing that it is very math and conceptual heavy, but also brush up on your writing and presentation skills! Macbooks not recommended either…

Anonymous studentJunior
Oct 2025
Advice & things to knowMixed

I chose mechanical engineering because i was interested in studying a combination of design and technical skills that could be applied to physical products. I do think are many opportunities to learning technical skills in this major, although not that many are from school courses. I also thought there would be more opportunity to explore the design (including practicality and visual aesthetic), but i realize now that industrial or product engineering may be more focused on that aspect, not mechanical engineering. I think that you can definitely go into something more niche/specific, you just have to take initiative to do it yourself.

Anonymous studentSophomore
Mar 2026
Support & communityCritical

I wish my school had better resources to support this major. We don't have the best equipment or access to machinery, so technical clubs often have to compete for space.

Anonymous studentJunior
Apr 2026
Difficulty & workloadPositive

DA BEST MAJOR like you can literally will anything into existence and learn about the various methods and ways to go about doing so. The workload is heavy and def takes a lot to study the curriculum but the result is supa worth.

Anonymous studentSophomore
Difficulty
5.0/5
Workload
5.0/5
Mar 2026
Courses & teachingMixed

It’s definitely more project based, I wished I had done more projects than classes as I learned much more through doing than lectures.

Anonymous studentSenior
Math
4.0/5
Writing
2.0/5
May 2026
Enjoyment & fitPositive

That it’s definitely a hard major but really fulfilling for those who actually want to do it. It’s also has good career outlooks

Anonymous studentFreshman
Enjoyment
4.0/5
Apr 2026
Courses & teachingPositive

While it may seem like hard work, it definitely has its payout as many times you will be able to build your own technical projects and showcase what you build.

Anonymous studentFreshman
Math
5.0/5
Writing
3.0/5
Apr 2026
Enjoyment & fitPositive

I think mechanical engineering is just a cool major to start with. It introduces you to so many engineering concepts, mainly because mechanical is the most broad in my opinion. Honestly, I just think engineering is awesome, so I might just be biased.

Anonymous studentFreshman
Enjoyment
5.0/5
Apr 2026
Courses & teachingCritical

I think you would learn more doing projects than in class.

Anonymous studentSenior
Math
4.0/5
Writing
2.0/5
May 2026
Courses & teachingCritical

Its a lot of math and lots of boring classes that are tedious

Anonymous studentGraduated
Math
5.0/5
Writing
4.0/5
Apr 2026

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