New Student FAQ
Marching Band auditions are held on the third day of Orientation. For
more information, contact Maggie St. Clair:
734-764-0582
First year students may declare a major as early as their second term in the College, and are urged to declare a specific engineering major by the start of their 3rd term of enrollment.
How do I go about declaring? In order to declare into a department, meet with your academic advisor in the EAC to determine if you have fulfilled all requirements. Then set up an appointment with the advisor in your chosen department. Once you have been approved, the department will formally declare you into that department. For further information, look out for a program called "Majors Fair" which is sponsored by the Engineering Advising Center.
Engineering 100 and Engineering 101 are introductory courses that must
be completed by the end of your first year in the College of
Engineering. Engineering 100 is an introduction to the engineering
profession which helps students gain the professional skills they will
need in their engineering careers and provides a basic description of
engineering as a profession. Engineering 101 is an introduction to
computer programming where students will be introduced to the C++
and Matlab programming languages. This course will focus on
the manipulation of algorithms to help students learn how to reach
solutions in a structured fashion.
Engineering 151 is an accelerated version of
Engineering 101. It introduces students to C++ and Matlab as well as the
algorithm development and procedural programming concepts covered in
Engineering 101, but at a faster pace. It also focuses on object
oriented programming, engineering analysis methods and additional topics
such as parallel computing or embedded systems. Engineering 151
provides an accelerated alternative to Engineering 101 for those
students with either previous programming experience or with strong
motivation and natural intuition for algorithms.
Think about taking Engineering 110, which is a course offered in Fall
term that surveys all of the 15 different engineering departments. Each
week a representative from each department will come and speak with the
students about career opportunities, courses and requirements for their
department. This course was designed to help students become more
familiar with the engineering options in the college and narrow down
their choices for an engineering major. This course is only offered to
first-year students and students are granted two free elective credits
for completing the class. In the winter the Advising Center holds a
Majors Fair where you can meet with representatives from every
department. You can also meet with department advisors and/or declared
students in the department to gain insight.
No, the College of Engineering does not require students to take English
or a foreign language class for graduation. However, foreign languages
are encouraged and many students decide to pursue a minor in a foreign
language. English may be required for certain professional schools such
as medical school so even though the College of Engineering does not
require it, a student may have to take it for their professional
programs or other majors. A foreign language may also be taken as part
of a Study Abroad Program, the Engineering Global Leadership Program, or
the Program in Global Engineering. For more information on these,
contact the International Programs in Engineering Office (IPE).
A student is considered full-time if they are registered for 12 to 18 credits per term. The average engineering student takes about 16 credits per term. In order to graduate in 4 years, a student in engineering must average 16 credits per term including AP and transfer credit. The typical first-year schedule will include a math course, a physics or a chemistry course, an introductory engineering course and an intellectual breadth requirement course.
The College of Engineering requires all students to complete 16 credits of intellectual breadth courses. Part of these requirements include at least three credits of humanities and a 300-level or above humanities or liberal arts course of three credits or more. For more information on the intellectual breadth requirements, see your First Year Handbook.
Students should plan to study 2 extra hours for every hour they are in
class during the week (a total of 3 hours per credit hour). For example,
if you have class 15 hours in a week, plan to study for 30 extra hours
outside of class. The College of Engineering is a full time job so
usually you will be spending 40-50 hours of your week on academics.
To the best of our knowledge, there are none. Classes often seem a great
deal easier when the student is interested in the subject of the class.
It is not required that students purchase a computer before coming to
school however most students own a personal computer. If you chose not
to purchase a computer, there are multiple locations where students can
access a computer and the internet 24 hours a day or most of the day and
evening. These places include the Duderstadt Center and many of the
other campus libraries.
All engineering students have access to print documents in the CAEN
labs. You can check out the website that details the printing quotas here. The website
also lists information about where you can print and has a section there
for FAQ's.
Office hours are a time when students can go and speak with their
professor in a more informal setting and receive more personal
attention. All professors have office hours and the amount of office
hours a professor will have is determined by the structure of the class.
During office hours, professors and GSIs will clarify information from
lectures and discussions, tutor students on class subject matter and
even help with homework.
Graduate Student Instructors (GSI) are exactly what the title describes.
They are graduate students who help teach classes. GSIs act in
different capacities depending on the class setup and professor
preference. They can lead discussion sections, lead lectures, hold extra
office hours, or be available for student help and advice. While they
aren't professors, they have spent a lot of time in college and can
offer valuable advice from a perspective close to yours but with a lot
more education.
It depends on the classes. In their first year, students will have
classes on both central and north campus. Classes can only be placed
back to back if they meet on the same campus. All classes will begin 10
minutes after their listed start time giving the student 10 minutes to
get across a campus. However, students will need at least 30 minutes to
get between north and central campus. For example, Engr 100 and Math 115
cannot be placed back to back because Engr 100 is on North Campus and
Math 115 is on Central Campus. However, Math 115 and Chem 130 can be
placed back to back because they both meet on central campus. During
Engineering Orientation, your EAC Advisor and peer advisors will help
ensure that your schedule is feasible and well-suited to your academic
goals.
Yes. The College of Engineering accepts most first year courses if they
are taken at another university. Engineering 100 cannot be taken at
another university. Students will not have the grade for any course
transferred to the school but will have the credit transferred if the
U-M deems the class equivalent to the course here at the University of
Michigan. To see a list of pre-approved courses, visit the Michigan Engineering
Course Equivalency Database .
Students can take the pass/fail option for any of their general elective or intellectual breadth course requirements. Pass/fail allows students to receive credit for a course without the grade affecting their GPA. If the student receives at least a C- in the course, they will receive a "P" on their transcript and credit for the class. If the student gets below a C-, they will receive an "F" on their transcript and they will not receive credit for the course. Either way, the final grade will not be on the students' transcript and will not be factored into their GPA. The pass/fail option cannot exceed 4 courses or 14 credit hours and is limited to 2 courses per term in Fall and Winter and one course in Spring or Summer half terms.
Meet with your engineering advisor to discuss some different academic
options. Go and speak with the school you may be interested in to see
what the admissions process is for a cross-campus transfer. If you have
not done so already, enroll in Engineering 100 to get a better
understanding of engineering so that you can make the right decision.
