University of Sydney Handbooks - 2020 Archive

Download full 2020 archivePage archived at: Tue, 27 Oct 2020

Bachelor of Engineering Honours (Mechanical)

Stream Overview


Mechanical engineers design and develop everything you think of as a machine, from supersonic fighter jets to bicycles and toasters. The Bachelor of Engineering Honours (Mechanical) will teach you how to design a mechanical component, a whole machine, a mechanical system and a mechanical process.

You will learn how to analyse mechanical design, using the principles of motion, energy, and force to ensure the safety and reliability of products, and you will understand how efficient systems and processes support the manufacture of products at a competitive cost.

As a mechanical engineering graduate you may specialise in areas such as manufacturing, automotive, transportation or air conditioning. Mechanical engineers work in the automotive, aerospace, chemical, computer, communication, paper, and power generation industries. Increasingly, mechanical engineers are needed in the environmental and biomedical fields; you may pursue a career in the expanding field of nanotechnology. You may also choose to use your degree as preparation for admission to a graduate program at Sydney.

Course Requirements


To meet requirements for the Bachelor of Engineering Honours (Mechanical), a candidate must successfully complete 192 credit points, comprising:

  1. 36 credit points from the Engineering Core Table, including all required units
  2. The Professional Engagement Program (PEP). Details of the requirements of PEP can be found on the Faculty of Engineering Student Portal
  3. 108 credit points from the Mechanical Stream Core Table pertaining to the specialist stream being undertaken, including all required units
  4. A minimum of 48 credit points of additional units from the Mechanical Stream Specialist Table pertaining to the specialist stream being undertaken, including satisfying any additional requirements specified for the Specialist Table
  5. A maximum of 6 credit points of general electives may be taken


The completion of a major is not necessary. If a student chooses to do a major, aligned majors can be completed within the 192 credit points described above.

The best aligned majors with the Mechanical Stream are:


For a standard enrolment plan for Mechanical Engineering visit CUSP (https://cusp.sydney.edu.au/) / Sydney Curriculum.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of the Mechanical Engineering stream students will be able to:

No. Mid-Level Learning Outcomes
1 Demonstrate mastery of established analytical methods commonly used in mechanical engineering based on fundamental principles.
2 Demonstrate proficiency with usage and analysis of results from advanced mechanical engineering computational tools and methods, and awareness/facility with principles, technical knowledge and conceptual frameworks of mechanical engineering.
3 Respond effectively to new, complex mechanical problems by developing and applying existing analysis methods and tools.
4 Apply diverse strategies to develop and implement innovative ideas to existing designs and to solve new problems in mechanical engineering systems.
5 Plan, design, manage and review safe and efficient mechanical engineering processes, services and policies.
6 Recognise and respond to the interdisciplinary context of mechanical engineering.
7 Find, interpret, evaluate and manage research to support mechanical engineering decision making.
8 Present compelling oral, written and graphic evidence to communicate mechanical engineering concepts.
9 Contribute as an individual to multidisciplinary and multicultural teams to deliver mechanical engineering related projects.
10 Apply relevant values, standards and judgement to contribute to the economic, social and environmental sustainability of mechanical engineering systems.