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2026-2027 Undergraduate & Graduate Catalog [In Progress]

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Bachelor of Science in Engineering

Requirements for a Major in Engineering

To graduate with a B.S.E. degree, students must meet the following course requirements: general education, engineering foundations courses, cooperative engineering education, engineering design capstone, major-specific courses, and major-specific engineering electives. These course requirements involve a minimum of 130 to 146 credit hours depending on the chosen engineering major. All required and elective courses in the engineering majors must be taken for a letter grade; students are not permitted to take these courses as credit/no-credit. The major requirements are listed with the information on the individual major. A minimum of 24 credit hours in engineering courses must be completed at Grand Valley at the 300-level or above.

General Education

As identified in the General Academic Regulations section of the Grand Valley State University Undergraduate and Graduate Catalog, with the exception that the General Education Program for engineering students includes the following courses:

Engineering Foundation

The following courses (engineering, science, mathematics, and communications) prepare students for further work in engineering. Students must complete the following courses in accordance with the secondary admission requirements:

*EGR 108 is the second course of a stretch sequence alternative to EGR 112 and has prerequisites that include EITHER EGR 104 - Applied Programming for Engineers - Stretch I (2 credits) OR permission of instructor.

Additional Required Biomedical Engineering Major Foundations Courses:

Additional Required Computer Engineering Major Foundations Courses:

Additional Required Electrical Engineering Major Foundations Courses:

Additional Required Interdisciplinary Engineering Major Foundations Courses:

Additional Required Mechanical Engineering Major Foundations Courses:

Additional Required Product Design and Manufacturing Engineering Major Foundations Courses:

Admission

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 foundation courses
  • Completion of each course in the engineering foundation with a grade of C (2.0) or above with not more than one repeat in each foundation course
  • Completion of preparation for placement in cooperative engineering education: EGR 289
  • Transfer students must also complete at least eight credit hours in engineering courses taken at Grand Valley before they can be admitted to major standing

Completion of Cooperative Engineering Education

The cooperative engineering program begins with EGR 289 - Engineering Professionalism, a course designed to prepare students to enter the culture of professional work as an engineer. Students are expected to complete the experiential education requirement using either the Full-Time Sequence or Flex Sequence. Any alternate paths require prior approval from the relevant program committee. Students are encouraged to remain with one employer for all co-op experiences but are not obligated to do so.

Foundations of Professional Engineering

All students must complete the required Foundations of Professional Engineering course sequence with a minimum grade of C (2.0) in each course:

These courses are typically taken concurrently with engineering co-op courses.

Full-Time Sequence

The experiential education requirement is typically met through the completion of three semesters of full-time employment (minimum of 500 hours per semester) and the following courses:

The courses must be taken sequentially during the semesters of full-time employment.

Flex Sequence

Alternatively, the experiential education requirement can be met through the completion of six semesters of flex employment (minimum of 1,500 hours, averaging 250 hours per semester) and the following courses:

The courses must be taken sequentially during the semesters of flex employment.

Alternative Experiences

A maximum of two credits of the full-time or flex engineering co-op sequence may be fulfilled with one of the following options, which must be approved by the relevant program committee: (1) military experience, (2) discipline-specific major elective, (3) undergraduate research, or (4) study abroad. Students interested in one of these alternate experiences should contact their Program Chair before embarking on the experience to determine whether it will be approved. Approvals will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

Capstone

Students must complete the required senior design project course sequence with a minimum grade of C (2.0) in each course:

*The prerequisites for EGR 485 are acceptance into the B.S.E. degree program and completion of the prerequisite courses listed under the student's engineering major. These courses are listed for each major in the corresponding section of this catalog.

Engineering Electives

In addition to the required courses, a student must select engineering electives in his/her chosen program to form a coherent plan of study. The approval of the student's academic advisor is required to ensure the course choices meet the requirements of the program. No more than two courses with a grade of less than C (2.0) may be counted toward the major.

Suggested Order of Coursework

A sample curriculum for the foundations of engineering course sequence completed during freshman and sophomore years is presented as follows. A sample curriculum for the junior and senior years in each program is presented in the section addressing that program.

The following course sequence assumes MTH 201 in the first semester. For any other first-semester mathematics course, the study plan will be different. Please consult your advisor.

Year One

Fall Semester:

Winter Semester:

For the remainder of the study plan, see the program major sections below:


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