Revised on March 22, 2022

The Design focus area (FA) offers advanced courses in engineering design and prepares students for successful careers in industries ranging from manufacturing (aerospace, automotive, biomedical, etc.) and processing of materials (metals, composites, biomaterials, etc.) to consulting and energy (power plants, wind farms, etc.). It provides an in-depth background in the computational methods commonly used in modeling, analysis, synthesis, simulation, and design optimization of mechanical, thermal, and fluid systems. Developing an understanding of how design/analysis software functions and gaining a working knowledge of commonly used software solutions form the centerpiece of this FA.

Students selecting the Design FA are required to participate in the one-year long Program for Enhanced Design Experience (PEDE) by enrolling in the following two courses (in this order):

• ME:4086 (which is a required course for all ME students and not a Design FA course) during Semester 7 (Fall)
• ME:4186 Enhanced Design Experience during Semester 8 (Spring)

Notes:

• The Virtual International Project Teams (VIPT) program can substitute for this PEDE requirement.
• Students should carefully review the Policy on Participation in the PEDE or VIPT Programs.
• In the past, students graduating from this FA have been highly successful in industry.

¹ Offered in even years only
² Offered in odd years only

¹ Offered in even years only
² Offered in odd years only
³ Off-cycle students who would like to take CEE:4553 Finite Element I in the Spring shall submit the substitution form for approval

⁴ At most, one general elective may be selected from:

• engineering courses that are required in another (non-ME) program,
• engineering courses at an upper level (e.g., ME courses numbered 4100 and above),
• mathematics, physics or chemistry courses at a more advanced level than those required in the ME curriculum, except MATH:3800,
• independent investigation in a mechanical engineering subject area, or
• courses that appear on a list of approved courses found at https://engineering.uiowa.edu/mechanical-engineering-undergraduate-program/focus-areas

Policy on Participation in the PEDE or VIPT Programs

Students selecting the Design FA are required to apply for and participate in the PEDE or VIPT programs.

These programs offer an enhanced one-year design project experience that goes beyond the one-semester senior capstone design project course “ME:4086 Mechanical Engineering Design Project (MEDP),” which is required by all Mechanical Engineering undergraduate students.

Notes:

• It is possible that a student is not accepted into the PEDE or VIPT programs after they have applied. The reason could be that the student was not selected by any of the companies sponsoring the program. Furthermore, for a student graduating in December, it may be difficult, if not impossible, to participate in PEDE/VIPT, as the programs begin in the Fall semester and end in the Spring semester. In these cases only, a student can still select the Design FA as his/her focus area. Instead of the required ME:4186 Enhanced Design Experience course (see Required Courses table), the student must choose one additional course from the Design Elective or General Elective courses with the exception of the Flexible Elective course in the General Electives table. At least 21 semester hours of courses are required for all FAs.
• Substitutions are discouraged and will only be approved under exceptional circumstances requiring the approval of the advisor, FA coordinator, and DEO. Students will need to submit a substitution form.

For further information, please contact Professor Samani (kamran-samani@uiowa.edu) or Professor Rahman (sharif-rahman@uiowa.edu), Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 5224.