Frequently Asked Questions

Engineering Technology versus Engineering?

A common question we get is about the differences between engineering and engineering technology. The table below shows a side-by-side comparison of the key aspects of each program.

	Engineering Program	Engineering Technology Program
Program Emphasis	Emphasis is on developing methods of analysis and solutions for open-ended design problems.	Emphasis is on applying current knowledge and practices to the solution of specific technical problems.
Expertise Objective	To develop conceptual abilities.	To develop application abilities.
Professional Title	Graduates are referred to as engineers.	Graduates are generally referred to as engineers.
Emphasis of Technical Courses	Engineering courses stress the underlying theory as well as current and potential applications in business and industry.	Technology courses stress application of current technical knowledge and methods in the solution of current business and industrial problems.
Emphasis of Laboratory Courses	Laboratory courses provide intensive work in experimental methods and the related underlying theories.	Laboratory courses stress practical design solutions as well as manufacturing and evaluation techniques appropriate for industrial type problems.
Technical Design Emphasis	General design principles and tools applicable to a wide variety of new problem situations are heavily stressed.	Current design procedures of a complex but well-established nature are developed and applied to problems in a specialized technical area.
Typical First Position	The ME graduate entering industry would most likely fill an entry-level position in conceptual design, systems engineering, manufacturing, or product research and development.	The MET graduate entering industry would most likely fill an entry-level position in product design, development, testing, technical operations, or technical services and sales.
Technical Interest	The ME graduate is relatively broad and has an analytical, creative mind challenged by open-ended technical problems.	The MET graduate is often specialized and has an applications orientation, challenged by specific technical problems.
Professional Registration	MEs are eligible to become registered professional engineers in all states by a process of examination and documentation of experiences.	METs may become registered professional engineers in 38 states; however, the requirements are usually different than those for engineers.
Graduate School	Graduate study in engineering and other areas is available for qualified students having a B.S. in engineering.	Graduate study in engineering and other areas is available for qualified students having a B.S. in engineering technology.

Waiver Forms and Who Has to Sign

Print waiver forms from the Registrar’s Office website. Approval/Waiver form is most common.

Types of waivers:

• Filled section (get approval from department offering the course)
• Lacking prerequisite (get approval from department offering course)
• Instructor /special permission/restriction (e.g., Enterprise, senior project)
• Credit overload permission form (approval signature from your academic advisor, or Dean of Students if on academic probation)
• Time conflict/exam conflict (approval from both instructors involved)

If you get an error, check the course prerequisites/restrictions in the course descriptions listing.

To obtain approval:

1. Print a waiver form.
2. Complete your form and get signatures from the department offering course, academic advisor or instructor.
3. Bring completed, signed waivers to the Student Services Center on the first floor of the Administration building.

Enterprise: Instructor approval required for most Enterprises, every semester. Bring waiver form to the Enterprise faculty advisor. Bring signed form to department advising office.

Filled Section of a class? See Contacts for Filled Section—By Department below to request enrollment in a filled section. You must see appropriate department.

There are deadlines each semester regarding University policy for adding and dropping courses. These deadlines represent changes in grading policies and methods for adding and dropping courses.

Adding full-semester courses (fall or spring semesters)

• Courses may be added on BanWeb during the initial registration period until 5 p.m. on Friday of the first week of the semester. Registration closes for a short period after initial registration and then reopens until the end of the 1st week of classes.
• After Friday of the 1st week of a semester, students must see an academic advisor for a late-add form which must be approved by the section instructor.

Dropping full-semester courses (fall or spring semesters)

• Courses may be dropped on BanWeb until 5 p.m. on the Wednesday of the second week of a semester.
• After Wednesday of the 2nd week, all drops must be done in person at the Student Service Center (first floor Administration Building).
• If a drop will put a student below 12 credits, the deadline to get a refund for that drop is at 5 p.m. on Wednesday of the 2nd week, otherwise plateau tuition is in effect for 12-18 credits. Specific course fees may lead to bill balance changes. No refunds of any kind will be granted after Wednesday of the 2nd week unless the entire semester’s registration is withdrawn. Contact the Registrar’s Office for the percentage refund schedule in the case of complete withdrawal.
• First year students must get an advisor’s signature on an orange first-year add/drop slip for any drops after the 1st week of the semester.
• Courses may be dropped at the Student Service Center until 5 p.m. on Friday of the 3rd week with no grade. Courses dropped by this deadline will not appear on the student’s transcripts.
• First year students must obtain their advisor’s and instructor’s signatures on the orange first-year add/drop slip for any drops after the 3rd week.
• Courses dropped after 5 p.m. on Friday of the 3rd week through 5 p.m. on Friday of the 10th week will earn a ‘W’ grade. After this deadline, courses may not be dropped without extenuating circumstances. Late drops will not be granted just to avoid poor grades.
• Courses dropped during the 4th week through the 10th week will earn a ‘W’ grade (withdrawn). A ‘W’ appears on the student’s transcript which indicates that the student dropped the course. ‘W’ marks do not affect GPA calculations, but the credits dropped are included in attempted credit hours for financial aid purposes (satisfactory academic progress).

Dropping summer half-semester courses (Track A or B)

• For summer half-semester courses (Track A/Track B), please see the Important Dates posted to the MMET Advising page or the Registrar’s Office page/academic calendar for drop deadlines. See an advisor with questions.
• Plateau tuition is not in place for summer semester so any drops before the refund deadline (4 p.m. on Thursday of the 1st week of the track) may be refunded.
• For half-semester courses during fall or spring semesters, please see an advisor with questions.

This is done through MyMichiganTech.

For more details:

Change Major, Minor, or Concentration

Transfer credits from other schools

Transfer Credits: If you want to take classes elsewhere and transfer them to Michigan Tech, use the online Transfer Equivalency system to look up classes.

• Choose courses that will transfer to an equivalent course at Michigan Tech that are required for your degree.
• If you will be taking a class at another Michigan school, fill out a Guest application in Transfer Services.
• To access list of courses already approved for transfer use the Michigan Tech Transfer Equivalency System.
• If the course you want or need is not on the Transfer Credit Equivalency list, you can request to have it evaluated for transfer credit by sending this information to the Transfer Services Office, Admin Bldg 110, for each course (or email transfer@mtu.edu, or call 906-487-3323)
• University or college name
• Course number and title
• Syllabus
• Textbook(s) used (usually on the syllabus)
• Detailed description (usually on the syllabus)
• You should consult Transfer Services, 110 Administration Building, before taking a course to verify it will transfer in as the correct course (906-487-3323 or transfer@mtu.edu).
• If all this information is available online, you can send the exact link to transfer@mtu.edu. A short catalog description is not enough information to evaluate for Michigan Tech credit. You must provide a syllabus.
• Enroll in courses, earn good grades. Grades must be ‘C’ (2.00/4.00) or better to be accepted by Michigan Tech.
• If the transfer course(s) are prerequisites to classes you need to register for next semester, have a copy of your transcript from the transfer college sent to Michigan Tech or notify Transfer Services what courses you are going to be transferring in so that your enrolled courses can be entered into the student database.

How to transfer credits to Michigan Tech:

Have an official copy of your transcript sent to Michigan Tech once you have completed the course/s and earned a ‘C’ or better.

Michigan Technological University
Registrar’s Office
110 Administration Building
1400 Townsend Drive
Houghton, MI 49931-1295

One of the easiest ways to improve your GPA is by repeating courses.

• If you fail a required course, you will have to repeat and pass the class to meet the degree requirement.
• Students may repeat a course no more than two times.
• The most recent grade is used in your GPA calculation even if it is lower than the previous grade.
• Special permission from the Office of Student Affairs and your academic advisor is required to repeat a course a 2nd and final time.
  • Prerequisite courses must be passed in order to continue to the next course.

Fall 2024 Departmental Contacts for Filled Sections

Unit	Name	Phone	Location and Userid
AF	Shannon Eddy	7-2652	ROTC karma
AR	Evelyn Colon-Peters	7-2650	ROTC ecolonpe
ACC/BUS/EC/FIN/ MGT/MIS/MKT/OSM/CMG	Jodie Filpus-Paakola	7-3597	AOB 108 jrfilpus
BE	Mike LaBeau	7-3655	M&M 342 malabeau
BL	Travis Wakeham	7-3435	Dow 738 twakeham
CEGE, CMG, SU	Julie Ross	7-3410	Dillman 103 jzross
CH	Susan Liebau	7-2297	Chem Sci 206A jelbrown
CM	Kristi Pieti	7-3132	Chem Sci 201 krpieti
CS	Denise Landsberg	7-3643	Rekhi Hall 221 dllandsb
ED, PSY	Chelsie Karne	7-2460	Meese 108 ljhitch
EE	Kailee Laplander	7-2232	EERC 131 jmburl eafujita
EET, SAT	Kay Oliver	7-2524	Rekhi Hall 221 koliver
ENG	Darlene Saari	7-3057	Dillman 112 dfsaari
ENT	Nagesh Hatti	7-3473	M&M 722 rjberkey
FA	Tanya Maki	7-2067	Walker 209 tanya
FW	Kat Hanson	7-2953	Noblet 120 srcotey
GE	Brittany Buschell	7-2531	Dow 630 babusche
HU Modern Language	Katy Ellenich Leyre Alegre-Figuero	7-2008 7-0984	Walker 301A maanton Walker 316 mjbergst
MA	Teresa Woods	7-1031	Fisher 205A tmthomps
MEEM	Ryan Towles Mark Provoast Sarah Sohlden	7-2564	MEEM 204A/B ratowles pmstein
MET	Tricia Stein	7-2455	EERC 319A dnjarvey
MSE	Dan Seguin	7-3375	M&M U101 djseguin
PE/KIP	Craig Pellizzaro (PE) Rachelle Gariepy	7-3040 7-2341	SDC 202B crpelliz rmgariep
PH	Will Slough	7-2273	Fisher 221 wjslough
SS	Cindy Pindral Christine Flood	7-1791 7-2113	AOB 214 aspahn AOB 209 csflood

If you are considering a study-abroad experience, visit Study Abroad Programs in Pavlis Honors College and follow the 10 Steps to Study Abroad.

Stressed? Many things come into play during college life that can increase stress. Trying to balance everything is tough. First, remember why you are here and keep reminding yourself of that. Second, you are here for yourself and not anyone else. Watch out for number one!

Why am I here? Your goal may be something like this: To earn a nationally accredited degree at one of the nation’s top engineering universities. To obtain a position with one of the large, successful companies that hires Michigan Tech graduates or go on to earn your graduate degree.

• Establish personal priorities that will allow you to perform well academically and meet your goal.
  
  • If your friends want you to hang out, but you’ve got homework or a test, hang out another day.
  • If you are working too many hours, evaluate your need to work or consider reduced course loads.
  • If you are involved in too many organizations or a position that takes away time and hurts your grades, cut back, limit your hours, or postpone. You have your entire future to pursue your interests. It’s O.K. to graduate in 4.5 or 5 years.
• Attend all your classes.
  
  • Research at the University of Michigan states that the most important factor for success in college is class attendance.
  • Don’t skip a class to catch up on sleep or to catch up in another class. This is where you learn what you need in order to be successful on quizzes, homework and tests.
  • If you rely on just reading the textbook, you will miss out on important information.
• Get help when you need it.
  
  • If you are falling behind in any of your classes, see your instructor, a learning center coach and your academic advisor.
  • If you are feeling pressures from all corners of your life, see the academic advisor or Counseling Services and nip it in the bud. You have to watch out for yourself and seek help if needed.
  • If your grades are continuously low, see your academic advisor early on.
• Get your homework done, study for quizzes and exams first. There will be plenty of time for fun after that. If you reverse this priority – your grades and your chance for success will suffer.

Grades, probation, and suspension: If you are getting low grades, see your academic advisor early on. Once you get on probation, it can be a very long and difficult process to get yourself back to good academic standing. If your grades do not improve after two semesters, consider whether or not you are in the right major. Remaining on academic probation can lead to academic suspension.

Counseling Services Center offers Academic Counseling. Call 906-487-2538. If you are overwhelmed, unable to focus on homework and studying for exams, experience test anxiety, are depressed, or have high anxiety, call 906-487-2538. Learn new study skills and how to focus on what is important to you in order to reach your personal goals.

When you are in a tough class, and you just give up, do you really want to take the class again? Seek help as soon as you know you need it. See the instructor and the academic advisor. Go to the learning center.

Homework: Prepares you to be successful on quizzes and exams. If you don’t understand how to do a problem, don’t let it slide. See your instructor and/or the learning center coach. Do the problem over and over until you can do it yourself without error. This will help tremendously on exams. Take interest in your subject. One class is a building block for another, so it is important to do well in each.

Instructors: Your instructor wants you to succeed. He/she is not trying to trick you. Ask questions; learn how to learn. Explore the subject. Master the material. Instructors don’t ‘give’ grades, you earn grades. Our curriculum is challenging. Get help as soon as you need it. Know your instructor’s office hours. Your instructors are experts in their fields and enjoy teaching those who want to learn.

The Mechanical Engineering Technology program is accredited by the Engineering Technology Accreditation Commission of ABET, www.abet.org.

As a high school student you should take at least three years of math, science, English and communications. In addition, practical, hands-on courses and at least one year of hands-on computer experience is strongly recommended.

Apply by January 15 of the year you plan to enroll for priority consideration for admission, financial aid, and scholarships.

The information you need to apply can be found at Undergraduate Admissions. It’s easy and online.

The MMET department has a dedicated advisor that will guide you through the BSMET curriculum.

Excellent career opportunities are available with a BSMET degree. The placement rate is nearly 100%.

MMET faculty members have extensive industrial experience.

MMET classes are taught by full-time faculty or qualified instructors.

The faculty members in MMET maintain a balance between teaching and scholarship. A number of our faculty have been nominated and/or received the Distinguished Teaching Award. Several faculty members are involved in applied research and they typically include undergraduate students in their projects.

The average class size for MET courses is approximately 28 and the average lab size is 14.

There is an accelerated masters degree program in Mechatronics available through the College of Computing that fits well with the BSMET program.