Program Overview

Students are prepared for engineering careers and leadership roles through B.S.E. and M.S.E programs that integrate academic studies with hands-on learning and paid professional experiences in actual engineering companies.

PDM offers four emphasis areas:

• Design
• Robotics and controls
• Manufacturing systems
• General

Why Study PDM at Grand Valley?

• Program accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, abet.org.
• Personal attention in small, student-focused classes.
• Extensive hands-on and project-based learning.
• State-of-the-art teaching facilities and laboratory equipment.
• Study/work abroad opportunities.
• Three semesters of paid cooperative-education work experience prior to graduation in recognized domestic and international engineering companies.
• Industry sponsored capstone design projects.
• Strong support from our industrial partners who fund many engineering scholarships for graduate and undergraduate students.
• A nearly 100-percent placement rate into work or graduate school for our graduates.
• A combined bachelor's/masters program that allows high-achieving students to complete both the B.S.E. and the M.S.E. in as little as five calendar years.

Location & Format

All undergraduate students begin their academic career on the Allendale Campus. Students in this major continue their upper division studies downtown on the Robert C. Pew Grand Rapids Campus.

• Face To Face

Coursework

• Advanced product design
• Mechanical and electrical engineering fundamentals
• Cooperative education
• Automation and controls
• Manufacturing processes
• Materials science and engineering
• Mathematics
• Production models

Career Options

The following are just a few career options for product design and manufacturing engineers:

• Design engineer
• Entrepreneur
• Manufacturing engineer
• Product development engineer
• Production engineer
• Quality engineer
• Controls engineer
• Test engineer

Combined Degree Programs

This undergraduate degree can be combined with a master's degree to save you time and money, and get you into the workforce sooner. On average, students save $8,500 in our combined degree programs and take up to four fewer classes than if earning the degrees separately.

You can even build your own combined degree from programs in different disciplines to further personalize your education and meet specific career goals.

Admission Requirements

Students with no previous college credit, or those who have not completed the 64-semester-hour engineering foundations course sequence, are pre-majors. Students who intend to pursue the B.S.E. degree are urged to declare an engineering major as soon as possible.

The School of Engineering admits students directly to major standing as freshmen. This honor is reserved for students who have both a 29 or higher composite score and a 32 or higher mathematics score on the ACT and a 3.6 or higher high school GPA.

Admission to major standing in the B.S.E. program requires a secondary application. Applicants must meet at least the following:

• A GPA of 2.7 or above in the engineering foundations course sequence;
• Completion of each course in the engineering foundations course sequence with a grade of C (2.0) or above with not more than one repeat in each foundation course; and
• Completion of EGR 289 in preparation for placement in cooperative engineering education.

See catalog for details.

Helpful Links

• Scholarships
• Financial Aid
• Tuition & Fees
• Study Abroad
• Course Catalog
• Product Design and Manufacturing Engineering Programs

For More Information

gvsu.edu/engineering
136 Kennedy Hall
(616) 331-6750

gvsu.edu/admissions