Thermodynamics
Covers the principles of energy, heat, and work, and their applications in engineering systems.
Difficulty
Demanding
Students rate Mechanical Engineering 4.1/5 for difficulty across 17 ratings.
Average difficultyBased on 17 students across 4 schools.View review makeup
4.1/ 5
Share of students at each rating
Class-year breakdown needs more responses.It appears after at least two class years have 5 difficulty ratings each.
What makes this major demanding?
Worth it?
82% would recommend it
Based on 17 reviews across 4 schools
What students say about the payoff
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Curriculum and careers
Mechanical Engineering is a versatile field focusing on the design, analysis, and manufacturing of mechanical systems. Students learn to apply principles of physics and materials science to create and improve machines and tools across various industries.
Core course themes
Fluid Mechanics
Focuses on the behavior of fluids in motion and at rest, and their interaction with surfaces.
Dynamics
Explores the motion of bodies under the action of forces, emphasizing Newtonian mechanics.
Mechanics of Materials
Examines the behavior of solid materials under various types of stress and strain.
Machine Design
Teaches the fundamentals of designing mechanical components and systems, ensuring functionality and safety.
Control Systems
Introduces the concepts of feedback and control in dynamic systems, including mechanical and electronic components.
Common roles
- Mechanical Engineer
- Design Engineer
- Project Engineer
- Manufacturing Engineer
- R&D Engineer
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Mechanical Engineering by school
Scores account for sample sizePreparing school differences…
University of California-Los Angeles13 reviews
- Career outlook
- 3.7
- Enjoyment
- 3.8
- Recommend
- 79%
University of Southern California2 reviews
- Career outlook
- 4.0
- Enjoyment
- 3.8
- Recommend
- 85%
Los Angeles City College1 review
- Career outlook
- 4.0
- Enjoyment
- 3.9
- Recommend
- 84%
University of Houston1 review
- Career outlook
- 4.0
- Enjoyment
- 3.8
- Recommend
- 84%
Community
Big questions in Mechanical Engineering
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Student reviews
MixedCourses & teaching
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.
Apr 2026
CriticalCourses & teaching
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.
Apr 2026
CriticalCourses & teaching
Difficult, there is a lot of theory and not a lot of application, join clubs. They helped me the most.
Apr 2026
PositiveAdvice & things to know
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…
Oct 2025
MixedAdvice & things to know
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.
Mar 2026
PositiveEnjoyment & fit
Heavy on hardware stuffs. If you love legos & tinkering, yes! You’re in the right place:))
Apr 2026
CriticalSupport & community
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.
Apr 2026
MixedAdvice & things to know
If you chose ME because you like robotics, I would recommend you do computer or software related engineering instead (unless you like designing the hardware etc).
Apr 2026
PositiveDifficulty & workload
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.
Mar 2026
MixedCourses & teaching
It’s definitely more project based, I wished I had done more projects than classes as I learned much more through doing than lectures.
May 2026
PositiveEnjoyment & fit
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
Apr 2026
MixedCourses & teaching
A LOT OF PHYSICS. be prepared to do physics constantly
Apr 2026
PositiveCourses & teaching
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.
Apr 2026
PositiveEnjoyment & fit
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.
Apr 2026
CriticalCourses & teaching
I think you would learn more doing projects than in class.
May 2026
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