MME Admission Requirements

For students preparing to take upper division (300 and 400-level) ME courses:

 

Timeline

• Students should request approval to take upper division ME courses once within 6 courses of completing all required lower division courses: https://www.pdx.edu/engineering/mechanical-engineering/upper-division-approval. 
• Students should submit their requests by April 15th.
• Students receive feedback from the Mechanical & Materials Engineering Department by May 15th.
• Students complete any outstanding required lower division courses prior to the start of Fall Term.
• Approved students start in Fall Term.

Requirements

• Students must be formally admitted to Portland State University: www.pdx.edu/admissions/undergraduate-admissions

• All required lower division courses must be completed prior to Fall Term with a grade of C or better. A C- will not be counted toward a student's required lower division courses. First Year Inquiry (for those who began PSU as freshman) or Wr 121Z and Comm 111Z (for transfer students) must be completed prior to Fall Term.

• Students must have a Selective GPA of 2.25 or higher.

 

Note: The Mechanical & Materials Engineering Department makes no distinction between students who have completed their lower division requirements at Portland State University and students who have taken equivalent courses outside of Portland State University in evaluating requests for approval.

Outstanding Courses

 

Students with no more than 6 required lower division courses outstanding as of April 15th will be considered for approval. After approval, any outstanding required courses must be completed prior to the start of Fall Term.

 

Selective GPA

• Selective GPA is calculated by the Mechanical & Materials Engineering Department using only required lower division courses (excluding First Year Inquiry, or Wr 121Z and Comm 111Z for transfer students).

• Transfer students who have taken required lower division courses outside of Portland State University must provide the Mechanical & Materials Engineering Department with their unofficial transcripts for GPA calculation.

• Students with a Selective GPA of 2.25 or higher will be considered for approval. Students with a Selective GPA between 2.0 and 2.24 may be considered for approval and placed on a modified course plan. 

• The Mechanical & Materials Engineering Department follows Portland State University's repeat/replace policy with respect to Selective GPA:

  • If a student earned a D+ or below in a class the first time, only the second attempt will be used in the Selective GPA calculation

  • If a student earned a C- or above in a class the first time, both the first grade and the second (repeated) grade will be used in the Selective GPA calculation

  • Should a class be taken a third time, it does not replace the second attempt regardless of either grade

Testing

 

No testing is required to be approved to take upper division ME courses.

 

Department Communication

 

The Mechanical & Materials Engineering Department will communicate to students regarding their approval to take upper division ME courses via email (mmedept@pdx.edu). If the student has a Portland State University email address, all email communications will be sent to that address. 

Required Lower Division Courses

Students must complete the following required/shaded courses with a minimum grade of C:

Ch 221Z	General Chemistry I	4
Ch 222Z	General Chemistry II	4
Ch 227Z	General Chemistry I Laboratory	1
Ch 228Z	General Chemistry II Laboratory	1
EAS 211	Statics	4
EAS 212	Strength of Materials	4
EAS 215	Dynamics	4
ECE 241	Introduction to Electrical Engineering	4
ECE 241L	Introduction to Electrical Engineering Lab	0
ME 120	An Introduction to Engineering	3
ME 121	Introduction to Systems and Control	3
ME 122	Introduction to Design	3
Mth 251Z	Differential Calculus	4
Mth 252Z	Integral Calculus	4
Mth 254	Calculus IV	4
Mth 256	Applied Ordinary Differential Equations	4
Mth 261	Introduction to Linear Algebra	4
Ph 211	General Physics (with Calculus) I	4
Ph 212	General Physics (with Calculus) II	4
Ph 213	General Physics (with Calculus) III	4
Ph 214	Lab for Ph 201 or Ph 211 or Ph 221 or Ph 231	1
Ph 215	Lab for Ph 202 or Ph 212 or Ph 222 or Ph 232	1
Ph 216	Lab for Ph 203 or Ph 213 or Ph 223 or Ph 233	1
	First Year Inquiry	15

Continuation Criteria

To maintain approval to take upper division ME courses, students must:

• follow their assigned course plan.
• maintain a term GPA of 2.0 or higher. 

Students who are not able to meet the above requirements may have their approval to take upper division ME courses temporarily paused, and will be required to work with their department advisor to come up with a plan to resume approval. Students must earn a major GPA of 2.0 or higher in order to graduate from the Mechanical Engineering Bachelor's Degree Program.

Appeals

Students denied approval to take upper division ME courses may request reconsideration by submitting a petition. The petition and supporting materials will be reviewed by the Undergraduate Advisor of the Mechanical & Materials Engineering Department; a recommendation will be forwarded to the Chair.  The Advisor's decision can be appealed by the Chair.  Appeals must be made within 30 days of notification of the denial or the pausing of approval.

Pass/No Pass Grading Policy

Required classes must be taken for a grade (not P/NP).

 

Note: Due to COVID-19, P grades will be accepted for courses completed during spring 2020 through spring 2021 only. If a student earns a NP in a required class, it will not be usable toward their required lower division courses