About the department

We're a rapidly growing department with a focus on research and education that serves the state of Nevada.

Woman wearing a T-shirt with the words "This is what an engineering looks like," stands in front of a building.

Our mission

  • Provide undergraduate and graduate educational programs which emphasize fundamental mechanical engineering skills, such that:
    • Our graduates are competitive in local, national, and international employment opportunities.
    • The core curricula are broadly based to accommodate a variety of career goals.
  • Provide the faculty and students an environment for scholarly research and innovation.
  • Act as a focal point for engineering practitioners and industry through industry/university cooperative efforts.
  • Develop and cultivate life-long learning opportunities.
Male student wearing a University of Nevada, Reno sweatshirt and holding a backpack stands in front of trees and a walkway, with people in the background.

Our vision

  • Maintain national reputations for student success, impactful research and publications as well as meaningful leadership and service to the mechanical engineering profession.
  • Be a prominent contributor to the educational, research, professional service and economic diversification missions of the College of Engineering and University of Nevada, Reno.
  • Provide a collaborative academic environment in which students, faculty and staff know they can reach their full professional potential by seeking out and being responsive to stakeholder input.
Two students sit at a library table, looking at a laptop.

Our goals

  • Provide undergraduate and graduate educational programs that help students build the foundation for successful careers within and outside of the mechanical engineering profession, and prepare them for further study and growth.
  • Conduct and disseminate impactful, peer-reviewed, sustainably-funded, fundamental and applied, mechanical engineering and multi-disciplinary research that addresses key unanswered scientific questions and societal needs.
  • Provide leadership and service that enhances the mechanical engineering profession, the department's academic and research communities, the economic diversification and growth of the region and the country, and the reputation of the department.

Our educational objectives

Undergraduate program objectives

The program educational objectives are that graduates of our bachelor's degree program in mechanical engineering will be:

  • Proficient in performing entry-level mechanical engineering analysis and design.
  • Able to define, design, execute, and analyze experiments.
  • Able to communicate effectively, verbally, and in writing.
  • Successful in pursuit of graduate studies at UNR or at other institutions.

Graduate program objectives

Our graduate program in mechanical engineering is directed towards preparing motivated students to become professionally competent and capable of independent, self-directed research in one of several sub-disciplines of mechanical engineering, including solid mechanics/design, materials processing and advanced manufacturing, thermo-fluids/energy sciences, and mechatronics/robotics and systems dynamics/controls.

Upon graduating from our program, our students will have:

  • An ability to apply engineering research and theory to advance the art, science, and practice of the discipline;
  • An ability to design and conduct experiments as well as to analyze, interpret, apply, and disseminate the data;
  • An understanding of research methodology.

Are you ready to make a world of difference?

Join the College of Engineering students, faculty and alumni who are developing the ideas, techniques and technologies that change the world.

Learn more today!