Programs

Mechanical and Aerospace engineers design, build and test devices and vehicles, such as cars, aircraft, satellites, engines, robots, and control systems. Increasingly, electronics, computers, and mechanical devices are more and more integrated, and mechanical and aerospace engineers must have very broad knowledge and training in order to perform their jobs at the highest level. Our program emphasis is to provide an education in the fundamentals of engineering as required for the understanding and application of physical phenomena. We follow a broad system approach, where engineering decisions are made with a full appreciation of the opportunities and limitations presented by advanced technologies and their integration.

The Department recognizes that our students follow a variety of career paths. Some enter industry directly as practicing engineers while others continue their studies in graduate school in the fields of engineering or applied science. Others follow our program in preparation for careers in business, law or medicine. Some students enter the military.   Others begin their own companies.  For the Class of 2018, 22% of graduates decided to continue their studies in graduate school in engineering such as Boston University, Georgia Tech, U Michigan, U Penn, Stanford, Cornell, Johns Hopkins, MIT, and Oxford. 39% chose a technical career in industries such as Virgin Orbit, CBRE Digital & Tech, Momentum Solar, Space X, Reebeez, Schlumberger, Navatek Ltd, IBM Global Business Services, Boom Supersonic, CB Partners, Lockheed Martin, Rivian Automotive, General Motors, Microsoft, General Dynamics, United Airlines, DMC Inc., and RELX Group.

We respond to our student's varied interests by offering interdepartmental programs and topical programs.  Sufficient flexibility is provided to meet a range of career objectives while providing a foundation of the engineering disciplines and associated problem solving skills.

 

GRADING GUIDELINES (19 February 2015)

Course work in the MAE Department involves analysis and quantitative thinking. Student performance is usually evaluated by problem sets and examinations, and sometimes by other mechanisms such as laboratory reports, group projects, class participation, or term papers.

Instructors are expected, at the beginning of the semester, to specify which types of assessment will be used in determining the final course grade, and the fraction by which each component will be weighted. Instructors should specify expectations for all assigned work, and the grades should reflect the degree to which students have met these expectations. An instructor may use a curve to help distribute final course grades. However, instructors should not use quotas, such as the number or percentage of A grades.

Following the Princeton University grading policy, guidelines for the assignment of each grade are given below:

A+ • Exceptional
Significantly exceeds the highest expectations for undergraduate work

A • Outstanding
Meets the highest standards for the assignment or course

A- • Excellent
Meets very high standards for the assignment or course

B+ • Very good
Meets high standards for the assignment or course

B • Good
Meets most of the assignment or course

B- • More than adequate
More than adequate; shows some reasonable command of the material

C+ • Acceptable
Meets basic standards for the assignment or course

C- • Acceptable
While acceptable, falls short of meeting basic standards in several ways

D • Minimally acceptable 
Acceptable Lowest passing grade

F • Failing
Very poor performance