What is mechanical engineering?

Mechanical engineering is the use of maths and science to design and analyse machines. 

There are a wide number of mechanical machines and systems, and they all typically move when being used.

Common types of mechanical machines and systems

Why choose mechanical engineering?

Mechanical machines are an integral part of our day-to-day lives and they are the backbone of our modern industrialised society, and so mechanical engineers are both sought after and fulfil an important role in our society.

Mechanical engineering is also one of the widest of the engineering disciplines and allows for graduates to enter into a wide array of fields and job types.

What will you study?

The first year focuses on a curriculum that is shared with many of the other engineering disciplines where the basics of your degree will rest on the science of physics, with some electricity, chemistry and material science thrown in, while the mathematical side will focus on calculus. You will also learn to visualise in three dimensions and produce drawings for this.

Then from the 2nd year onwards, the more mechanical disciplines are introduced. They are described in more detail here in the open day presentation, but can be summarised as

The mechanical engineering disciplines

In the final year of study, you will start to focus on where you can apply your mechanical engineering knowledge through elective courses.

At the University of Pretoria, our electives are focussed on the following fields

Aeronautics • Vehicle dynamics • Heat and mass transfer • Nuclear engineering •

Maintenance engineering • Optimum design

But there’s more to mechanical engineering than just science. A number of other competencies are also needed. These are covered throughout your 2^nd to 4^th year at University, and they are:

• The technical competencies will cover manufacturing and practical workshop experience, technical drawings and coding and data analysis.
• The professional competencies will focus on communication, project management, business skills and what it means to be a professional.

To view the full curriculum, visit the yearbook.

If you would like to go into even more detail, you can see the study guides of the various courses you’ll be taking on the Student Noticeboard, which describes each course and  the content of each course in more detail.

Admissions

The admissions requirements are found on the yearbook page here.

Frequently asked questions?

• Do you offer financial aid?
  • The Department itself does not offer financial aid – all aide is offered centrally through the university and government agencies
  • Please visit the Fees and Funding page of the University of Pretoria for more info.
• Do you need maths and science?
  • Yes. As you’ll notice from the what you will be studying, a strong interest in science and maths is needed to become a mechanical engineer. The admission page gives you more details on what is needed.

More Information

• Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment Information