The Undergraduate Program in the Mechanical Engineering Department at King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals (KFUPM) is meticulously designed to prepare students for careers in mechanical engineering. In the early stage of the program (freshman year), students are provided with the fundamentals of mathematical and scientific subjects upon which engineering subjects depend. During the middle stage of the program (sophomore and junior years), students study a broad range of subjects that form the foundation of the mechanical engineering discipline. In the final stage, (late-junior and senior years), each student may select to specialize in one branch of mechanical engineering by selecting the elective courses in his area of interest. These areas are thermo fluid sciences (including fluid mechanics, heat transfer, thermodynamics, aerodynamics, refrigeration and air-conditioning, energy conversion, propulsion and combustion), applied materials (including manufacturing, materials science, corrosion and tribology), and  engineering mechanics (including design, dynamics, vibrations, flight dynamics and control). The ME Department offers its students the choice among the two programs: Mechanical Engineering Science and Applied Mechanical Engineering.

Program Broad Objectives:

The broad educational objectives of the undergraduate program in Mechanical Engineering is to provide a solid foundation of mathematical, scientific and engineering knowledge and to develop the basic engineering skills that will serve students throughout their careers.

Detailed Program Objectives:

Objective 1:  Foundation: To provide students with a strong foundation in mechanical engineering sciences and design methodologies that emphasizes the application of the fundamental mathematical, scientific and engineering principles in the areas of mechanical engineering.

Objective 2:  Skills & Tools: To provide students with skills to enter the workplace well-prepared in the core competencies listed below:

a)      design and modeling experience

b)      open-ended problem solving ability

c)      experimental and data analysis techniques

d)      teamwork experience

e)      communication skills

f)        contemporary computing systems and methodology

Objective 3:  Awareness & Professional Ethics: To provide students with knowledge relevant to mechanical engineering practice, including ethical, professional, and social awareness, the impact of mechanical engineering on society, and the importance of lifelong learning.

Program Outcomes:

Outcome 1:  Students shall have an ability to apply knowledge of mathematics, science, and fundamental engineering to mechanical engineering problems.

Outcome 2:  Students shall have an ability to identify, formulate, and solve practical mechanical engineering problems.

Outcome 3:  Students shall have an ability to design mechanical components, processes and systems to meet desired needs.

Outcome 4:  Students shall have an ability to conduct experiments to study different mechanical engineering systems, including various modes of operation, performance evaluation, properties of materials and manufacturing techniques, as well as to use laboratory instruments and computers to analyze and interpret data.

Outcome 5:  Students shall have an ability to use modern tools, techniques and skills necessary for practicing mechanical engineering, including computational tools, statistical techniques, and instrumentation.

Outcome 6:  Students shall have an ability to work in a professional mechanical engineering environment, and to understand the associated economical considerations.  

Outcome 7:  Students shall have an ability to communicate effectively in written, oral, and graphical forms, including the use of professional-quality visual aids.

Outcome 8:  Students shall have an ability to work effectively in teams, including multidisciplinary teams, to solve engineering problems relevant to mechanical engineering.

Outcome 9:  Students shall have an understanding of the professional and ethical responsibilities of mechanical engineers.

Outcome 10:  Students shall have an understanding of the impact of mechanical engineering on the society and environment.

Outcome 11:  Students shall have recognition of the need to engage in lifelong learning.

Relationship between Program Learning Outcomes and Program Educational Objectives 

¤       denotes substantial contribution to the objective

¡       denotes moderate contribution to the objective

The Mechanical Engineering Science curriculum provides a strong base in the main areas of mechanical engineering during the first three years of study. Moreover, the curriculum is also augmented by a number of mechanical engineering and technical elective courses in one or more branches of the mechanical engineering profession. It contains the required general education courses in the areas of mathematics, chemistry, physics, engineering, computer science, Islamic and Arabic studies, English, and physical education. It balances theory with application and provides practical experience with laboratory sessions as applicable. The program also contains a required course in Engineering Economics (ECON 403), since economic aspects are very important to mechanical engineers.

The program includes MATH 301 (Methods of Applied Mathematics) and SE 301 (Numerical Methods) to give a student a strong mathematical background to enable him to address research-type problems or other problems encountered in engineering practice which require detailed analytical and/or experimental studies. The Senior Project (ME 411 and ME 412) is a capstone design course which presents a student an opportunity to participate in a design team which operates in unstructured problem-solving situations. Every mechanical engineering science student is required to spend 8 weeks in summer training (after either the sophomore or junior year) to make use of his knowledge and to acquire valuable experience in an industrial environment, which may give him a fresh outlook for appropriately selecting his elective courses. The program prepares a student either for an engineering career in an industrial establishment or for further studies.

The total number of credits required for graduation is 133 semester credit-hours (SCH). The details of the ME Science curriculum based on a five-year program (including the Prep. year) are given in the table below where the number (under the column with the caption: LC) is in the row of the 3-digit course code and the course title specifies the number of 50-minute lectures (or the equivalent) of an academic week of a regular semester. The digit (under the column with the caption: LB) states the number of hours designated for the laboratory activities each week, and the numeral (under the column with the caption: CR) is the assigned course credit.