Advising and FAQ

Advising and FAQ

ME Program Advisement Policy

The Mechanical Engineering (ME) Program considers student advisement as crucial for student success in the Program, and as an integral component of faculty duties. The following policies have been developed to complement the general advising policies set forth by the College of Engineering.

Student Assignment to Advisors

  1. All first year and sophomore ME students are assigned advisors as outlined on the Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering Advising page. Juniors and seniors are assigned to faculty mentors/advisors.
  2. Upon entering the ME Program, transfer students are assigned to Dr. Smitesh Bakrania.
  3. If a student wishes to change his/her advisor, the request should be made in writing to the ME Department Head, Dr. Wei Xue, and the ME faculty member they wish to have as their new advisor. If the request is granted, the student, the original advisor, and the new advisor will be notified.
  4. For any other advising related questions, students may contact Professor Melanie Amadoro, ME Undergraduate Program Coordinator.

Advanced Placement and Transfer Credits

If you are interested in applying AP and/or credits from other institutions toward program requirements, please refer to the registrar's web page for information on transferring credits: Credit Transfers If you wish to take credits at community colleges, please refer to the course equivalency page to determine if courses are equivalent to Rowan courses. The web page can be found here: Course Equivalents. Please note that if you are taking classes at other institutions, you must obtain an official transcript from that institution and submit to the Rowan registrar so the credits you earned can be noted on your Rowan transcript.

Students who transfer into the Mechanical Engineering program with 30 credits completed are waived from First Year Engineering Clinic 1. Students who transfer into the Mechanical Engineering program with over 60 credits completed are waived from First Year Engineering Clinic 1 and First Year Engineering Clinic 2.​

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) - Graduate Programs

FAQs for Graduate Programs are available under each of the following areas:

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) - Current Undergraduate Students

I have an advising question, who do I ask?

Your academic advisor is listed in Banner under your student profile, and in RSN under Network. Reach out to your advisor by email with questions regarding the Mechanical Engineering curriculum.

First and second year Mechanical Engineering students (freshmen and sophomores) are advised by Mrs. Dashefsky.

All Mechanical Engineering Technology students are advised by Dr. Yashwant Sinha.

If you are a Mechanical Engineering transfer student, your advisor is Dr. Smitesh Bakrania.

My academic advisor wasn’t able to fully help, or I have an unusual issue that still needs to be resolved, where do I go?
Contact Prof. Melanie Amadoro, Undergraduate Program Coordinator at amadoro@rowan.edu.
All course sections for a Mechanical Engineering class I need are full, who do I contact?

Contact the instructor for the course section and ask for a capacity waiver. If the professor is listed as STAFF, contact Dr. Wei Xue, department head for ME. It is always helpful to share your Banner ID number and the course CRN number. Note that if the course has reached room capacity the instructor cannot give you a capacity waiver due to fire code restrictions for that classroom. You can check this in the Section Tally before you make the request. 

(Please register for an open section of the course if there are seats available before requesting capacity waivers).

I need a waiver for a course outside of Mechanical Engineering (Freshman Engineering Clinic, Sophomore Engineering Clinic, a Math Department course, etc.), who do I contact?
You will need to contact the instructor for the course, or the department that is teaching the course. For a waiver into FEC and SEC, email engr-advising@rowan.edu and provide your Banner ID and course CRN.
I was given a waiver, what do I do now?
After you are given a waiver, you are still required to register for the class. Do this as soon as possible after receiving your waiver.  
When should I register for my classes?
Register as early in the morning as possible on the day that registration opens for you. The Banner registration system opens at 7:00 am on the first day of registration.
What is DegreeWorks and how can it help me?
DegreeWorks is a software program within Banner that you can use to track your progress in your curriculum at Rowan University. It is to be used as a guide that shows you what courses you should be taking each term, as well as what courses you have completed or still need to complete. Students should ensure that all requirements listed will be shown as completed in DegreeWorks by the time they apply for graduation.
How do I know if I am on track with my curriculum?
Students should refer to the curriculum guide that is posted on the Mechanical Engineering website to choose their courses and use DegreeWorks to keep track of their progress. Always go by course number, not the course name as other departments offer courses with similar names. Any questions should be brought to your advisor. Students are responsible to ensure that they are taking the necessary courses each semester. A flowchart that shows prerequisites is also on the website.
How can I check course prerequisites?
Students can check all course prerequisites in the Undergraduate Catalog on the main Rowan website. A flowchart that visually shows prerequisites is also on the Mechanical Engineering website.
I am considering studying a semester abroad, where do I start?
You may start by reviewing the study abroad programs currently running on the Education Abroad Department website. 
How do I use Section Tally?
Section Tally lists all course sections that will be conducted in a given semester. It lists the instructor, number of available seats, number of students enrolled in the section, and the capacity limit for all course sections. For more information, see the Registrar’s website on Section Tally https://sites.rowan.edu/registrar/services-resources/section-tally-info.html.
I need a prerequisite waiver to register for a class, what should I do?
The Mechanical Engineering Department does not allow prerequisite waivers for our courses except in specific circumstances. For example, if a student has completed Linear Algebra and Ordinary Differential Equations as two separate courses, this is equivalent to Math for Engineering Analysis and a prerequisite waiver for courses requiring MEA is permitted.
How do I apply for a CUGS that is offered by Mechanical Engineering?

Students should email MechE_MajorMinorCUGS@rowan.edu . The deadline is April 1 for Fall semester admission.

I won’t be completing the CUGS listed on my student profile before graduating. Do I need to remove that before applying to graduate?
Students who will not be completing a CUGS do not need to remove the CUGS from their student profile before applying to graduate. 
I received an email indicating that I am not in full-time student status and my financial aid is going to be affected, what should I do?
To be considered a full-time student, students must be registered for 12 credit hours that are applying to their major, a minor, or a CUGS. The only exception is in a student’s final semester. Students should reach out to the Financial Aid office to determine how many credits they need to register for in their final semester, as it depends on the type of aid package a student has received.
What constitutes a Technical Elective for the B.S. in Mechanical Engineering curriculum?
The B.S. in Mechanical Engineering requires two Technical Electives as part of the curriculum. A Technical Elective can be any 3 or 4 credit 400 level course in Engineering, Science, or Computer Science (i.e. ME 104##, ENGR 104##, etc.).

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) - Prospective Students: Majors and Minors

I am considering a minor, what minors integrate best with the ME degree?
Mechanical engineering covers a wide breadth of topics. We recommend you review the ME Minors page and the engineering minors page to explore options most commonly pursued by our students.
How do I apply for a Minor in Mechanical Engineering or another program?

See directions on the ME Minors webpage. The deadline is April 1 for Fall semester admission. Note that there is a minimum GPA requirement of 3.0 to be accepted into the Minor in Mechanical Engineering.

To apply for a Minor in a major other than Mechanical Engineering, please reach out to the department that is responsible for that Minor.

I won’t be completing the Minor listed on my student profile before graduating. Do I need to remove that before applying to graduate?
Students who will not be completing a Minor DO need to remove the Minor from their student profile before applying to graduate. Please contact the Registrar’s office to do so if necessary (registrar@rowan.edu).
I am a non-Rowan student, but I am interested in transferring to Mechanical Engineering. Where can I find more information and how do I apply?

You can find more information on the College’s Prospective Students page. There are dedicated resources for both external transfers (non-Rowan students) and internal transfers (current Rowan students).

For non-Rowan students applying to Rowan Engineering programs, please refer to: Information for External Transfers.

I am a current Rowan student and I am interested in switching my major to Mechanical Engineering. Where can I find more information and how do I apply?

Current Rowan students interested in changing their major to Mechanical Engineering can find GPA requirements, required courses, and application timelines here: Information for Internal Transfers.

What are the required criteria for switching my major to Mechanical Engineering?

For engineering students:

  • A minimum GPA of 3.0 is required for consideration.
  • Automatic admission is granted to students who complete the required courses and have a 3.3 GPA in both Required and Cumulative coursework.
  • Applicants who do not meet automatic admission criteria will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

For non-engineering students:

  • A minimum GPA of 3.0 is required for consideration.
  • Automatic admission is granted to students who complete the required courses and have a 3.5 GPA in both Required and Cumulative coursework.
  • Applicants who do not meet automatic admission criteria will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. 

Required courses for Mechanical Engineering (courses in progress must be completed before a final decision is made):

  • COMP 01111: College Composition I
  • MATH 01130: Calculus I
  • MATH 01131: Calculus II
  • CHEM 06100: Chemistry I
  • PHYS 00220: Introductory Mechanics
I have applied to change my major to Mechanical Engineering. When will I hear back, and who should I contact if I have questions?

Decisions are typically made a few weeks after semester grades are updated on Banner.

  • For Spring admission: decisions are made around January 10.
  • For Fall admission: decisions are made around June 10.

You will receive the decision via email.

For questions, please contact MechE_MajorMinorCUGS@rowan.edu.

I have been admitted to Mechanical Engineering. What should I do next to get on track with the curriculum?

You should contact Professor Melanie Amadoro, ME Undergraduate Program Chair, for academic advising and guidance on course planning.