Why Mechanical Engineering at UC Berkeley?
Mechanical engineers serve society by solving problems in transportation, energy, the environment, and human health. The activity of mechanical engineers extends from investigation of physical phenomena governing the behavior of our surroundings to the manufacture and evaluation of products. The technical domain of the mechanical engineering profession encompasses topic areas, including acoustics, automatic control, bioengineering, combustion, cryogenics, design, dynamics, energy conversion, engines, environment, heat transfer, lubrication, mass transfer, manufacturing and sustainability, materials processing, mechanics of solids and fluids, mechanisms, petroleum, plasma dynamics, propulsion, thermodynamics, vibration, and wave propagation.
As a mechanical engineer, you’ll be finding solutions to the world’s most pressing problems — but first, you’ll need to get the finest possible training in your field. Our globally renowned program attracts the best and brightest students to study with top-tier faculty who are making groundbreaking discoveries. We believe in the importance of enriching our rigorous curriculum with research opportunities, support services and team activities. We’re fully invested in preparing our future engineers to meet today’s challenges with creativity and innovation. This program is approved by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET.
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The Department of Mechanical Engineering is a large academic department within the College of Engineering, comprised of approximately 45 faculty, 350 graduate students and 600 undergraduates. We have research laboratories in Etcheverry, Hesse Hall, Sutardja Dai Hall and at the Richmond Field Station. A list of our faculty’s current research projects is a tour through a complex world that spans size scales from the molecular to the global.
You will find projects that include robotics, mechatronics, micro-and-nano-systems, automated manufacturing, automated transportation, biomaterials, computer mechanics, internal combustion and the dynamics and control of vehicles. The department is ranked as one of the top mechanical engineering departments in the world and our teaching facilities, computing and research laboratories are among the finest in the nation. The work undertaken in them ranges from the most fundamental, classical issues in engineering science to the latest cutting edge applications of the world around us. We find this to be intellectually exciting and hope you will feel the same way.

A degree from Berkeley implies a solid foundation in the art and science of mechanical engineering, providing our graduates the assurance that they can successfully compete with the best in the profession. Time and time again, our graduates tell us their Berkeley degrees have opened doors to enriching careers in engineering practice, engineering management, industry, research, academia and government. The University of California at Berkeley offers students one of the most vibrant educational and cultural atmospheres available. In close proximity to northern California’s geographical treasures and stunning landscapes, the Berkeley experience ranks as one sterling opportunity, a chance of a lifetime.