Engineering Mechanics
Engineering mechanics focuses on solving mechanics problems through mathematical, scientific, and engineering principles. You will learn the building blocks of statics, dynamics, strength of materials, and fluid dynamics. As an engineering mechanics student, you’ll learn the basis of all mechanical sciences: civil engineering, materials science and engineering, mechanical engineering, and aeronautical and aerospace engineering. Your studies will also place an emphasis on the physical principles necessary to modern engineering design. This may be the major for you if you’re interested in a program that emphasizes analysis and research preparedness.
Engineering Mechanics students are prepared for careers at the forefront of a wide variety of fields, including the aerospace, electronics, automotive, manufacturing, software, and computer industries. Our ABET accredited curriculum also provides excellent preparation for graduate school in many different engineering disciplines.
Highlights
- Our engineering mechanics program is ranked #5 by U.S. News & World Report.
- 86% of students reported having an internship or co-op during their degree program.
- 96% of students reported securing their first choice destination upon graduation.
- The average starting salary for an engineering mechanics graduate is $82,166 with a median signing bonus of $5,000.
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What You'll Study
Engineering mechanics (EM) allows you to combine a love of engineering with a passion for mathematics, physics, computation, and other sciences. While the student experience also includes applied topics and lab classes, the EM program places strong emphasis on a scientific approach. The program includes a foundation of math and physics classes, followed by courses in statics, dynamics, mechanics of solids, mechanics of fluids, continuum mechanics, mechanics of materials, computational mechanics, and engineering design.
You can also focus your studies through a secondary field. Secondary fields are often built around a your long-term career interests, integrating your engineering mechanics curriculum with another area of specialization. Secondary fields come in two varieties, pre-approved or customized.
Minor in Computer Science
The CS Minor is offered for students seeking significant knowledge of digital computing without the more complete treatment of a major in computer science. This minor may be taken by any student except majors in the Computer Science degree programs and in Computer Engineering.
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Get Ready: Engineering Open House at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
March 28, 2025
Engineering Open House (EOH) is an over-100-year-old tradition for Illinois Grainger engineers to share the groundbreaking research and innovation done on our campus. It is the world’s largest student-run STEM fair, with booths from registered student organizations (RSOs), faculty labs, and even research institutes! Scroll through our recap of some past EOH experiences and get pumped up for the 2025 fair on April 4th and 5th!
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How to Become an Entrepreneur with Illinois Grainger Engineering Student Emily Zhou
March 24, 2025
Wondering how you can create a student startup? Emily Zhou, founder of the Sound of Molecules and a student in The Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, is here to share her story with you. Learn how her preparation, dedication and use of campus resources like the Technology Entrepreneurship Center (TEC) helped her pitch her idea to tech giant and Illinois Grainger Engineering alumnus Thomas Siebel.
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How to get involved in undergraduate research
February 3, 2025
Find ways to get involved with research as a Grainger engineer! We reached out to several students at The Grainger College of Engineering to learn how they gained research experience and offer advice to new students.
Post-Graduation Success
The versatile problem-solving abilities you gain in this program will serve you well in all walks of life. About a third of our EM graduates continue their education in graduate school, and about two-thirds take positions in industry. Our Engineering Mechanics program produces science-based engineers prepared to solve challenging, technical problems in fields such as aerospace, biomedical, automotive, manufacturing, product development, petrochemical, energy, nanotechnology, heating and air condition, water treatment, software, robotics, consulting, and research applications. The average salary between or Engineering Mechanics grads in 2021-2022 was reported as $82,166 with a median signing bonus of $5,000.
Our EM students who continue into graduate school find themselves well prepared for graduate work in a wide range of studies—from medicine to materials science—and they often attend the most highly regarded schools in the world.
96%
employed or continuing education*
36%
employed after graduation
60%
attending graduate school
$82,166
average starting annual income*
Sample employer destinations: Navistar, PepsiCo FritoLay, Intel View All
Sample grad school destinations: Georgia Institute of Technology, University of Michigan, Carnegie Mellon University View All
*Post-graduate data was collected through the Illini Success initiative, which primarily relies on self-reported survey data sources. Statistics reported are from 2021-2022. Please note that total compensation may be greater than annual salary as other forms of compensation (e.g., signing bonus, commission, benefits) are not included. For more information on Illini Success data and methods, please visit the Illini Success website.
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