ABET Accreditation
The B.S. program in Mechanical Engineering is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, http://www.abet.org, under the commission's General Criteria and Program Criteria for Mechanical Engineering.
The B.S. program in Mechanical Engineering with a Nuclear Engineering Concentration is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, http://www.abet.org, under the commission's General Criteria and Program Criteria for Nuclear and Radiological Engineering and Mechanical Engineering.
Enrollment and Degrees Awarded
Undergraduate Enrollment (Fall 2023): 508
Mechanical Engineering: 439
Mechanical Engineering with a Nuclear Engineering Concentration: 69
B.S. Degrees Awarded (2022-2023 Academic Year): 95
Mechanical Engineering: 86
Mechanical Engineering with a Nuclear Engineering Concentration: 9
Program objectives
The Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering faculty and its Mechanical Engineering Industrial Advisory Board and Nuclear Engineering Industrial Advisory Board have developed the set of program educational objectives listed below for our two undergraduate programs. These are broad statements that describe what graduates are expected to attain within a few years of graduation. Attainment of these objectives will satisfy the needs of our program’s constituents and fulfill the missions of the programs, school, and university. These objectives were most recently approved by our advisory boards in 2024.
The program objectives for the Mechanical Engineering program and the Mechanical Engineering with a Nuclear Engineering Concentration program are:
- Graduates will become successful in engineering and other diverse careers.
- Graduates may pursue advanced study in engineering or other disciplines.
- Graduates will engage in self-development activities that lead to opportunities for leadership, management, and/or professional advancement.
Student outcomes
Student outcomes describe what students are expected to know and be able to do by the time of graduation. These relate to the skills, knowledge, and behaviors that students acquire as they progress through the program.
The seven student outcomes listed below were established by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET. These outcomes have been adopted by the VCU Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering faculty and its advisory boards for our two undergraduate programs. We have added a keyword identifier to each outcome, as shown in bold.
By the time of graduation, VCU students in the Mechanical Engineering program and students in the Mechanical Engineering with a Nuclear Engineering Concentration program will demonstrate the following:
- An ability to identify, formulate and solve complex engineering problems by applying principles of engineering, science and mathematics
- An ability to apply engineering design to produce solutions that meet specified needs with consideration of public health, safety and welfare, as well as global, cultural, social, environmental and economic factors
- An ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences
- An ability to recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in engineering situations and make informed judgments, which must consider the impact of engineering solutions in global, economic, environmental and societal contexts
- An ability to function effectively on a team whose members together provide leadership, create a collaborative and inclusive environment, establish goals, plan tasks and meet objectives
- An ability to develop and conduct appropriate experimentation, analyze and interpret data, and use engineering judgment to draw conclusions
- An ability to acquire and apply new knowledge as needed, using appropriate learning strategies