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Overview | Degree Requirements | Careers and Graduate School | Costs and Scholarships| Research and Engagement | Faculty
Overview
The pre-engineering program at UMN Morris will guide you through your bachelor of arts education to prepare you for an advanced degree in engineering. The academic rigor and interdisciplinary strength of UMN Morris’s well-rounded liberal arts education will greatly enhance your pre-engineering path.
As a UMN Morris student following the pre-engineering track, you are encouraged to choose a major that will fit your career goals for the engineering field you want to work in. Many students choose to major in physics. Mathematics, computer science, chemistry, biology, geography, and economics are also common majors.
A pre-engineering adviser will work directly with you to provide career information, help with course selection, and assist you with graduate school planning for the field of engineering that you’d like to pursue.
Degree Requirements
Graduation Requirements
As a UMN Morris student following the pre-engineering track, you will need to complete the degree requirements for your chosen major. Pre-engineering is not a major that you can earn as a degree at UMN Morris. Rather, it is a pre-professional program that you can follow while you pursue your major.
There are two common pathways through UMN Morris toward a future degree in engineering. One is to attend UMN Morris your first and second year, then transfer to another institution to complete a bachelor of science degree program in your desired field of engineering for years three through five. The second is to attend UMN Morris all four years to complete a bachelor of arts degree, then go on to another university to earn a master’s degree in engineering. There is also a pathway from UMN Morris to an engineering graduate program at the UMN Twin Cities College of Science and Engineering.
UMN Morris offers several courses across different disciplines that will help prepare you for graduate school in engineering, but physics is the basis for almost all engineering directions. If you choose to pursue a bachelor of arts degree at UMN Morris in physics, note that, in addition to the required courses for that major, you will need to complete 12 credits of physics electives.
The following suggested courses are based on a physics major. You also may want to consider taking courses in mathematics, data science, computer science, or chemistry, depending on the type of engineering field you are interested in.
Suggested Courses
Physics Major; Years 1+2 at UMN Morris
UMN Morris courses that you should take before transferring to a bachelor of science school:
- PHYS 1101. General Physics I w/ lab
- PHYS 1102. General Physics II w/ lab
- PHYS 2101. Modern Physics w/ lab
- MATH 1101. Calculus I Math/Quantum/Symbolic Reasoning
- MATH 1102. Calculus II Math/Quantum/Symbolic Reasoning
- MATH 2101. Calculus III Math/Quantum/Symbolic Reasoning
- MATH 2401W. Differential Equations Math/Quantum/Symbolic Reasoning, Writing Enriched
Physics Major; Years 3+4 at UMN Morris
UMN Morris courses that you should take in your third and fourth years before graduate school (in addition to years 1+2 courses):
- Phys 3101. Classical Mechanics
- Phys 4101. Electromagnetism
- Phys 4201. Quantum Mechanics
- Phys 4901, 4902. Senior Thesis I and Senior Thesis II
General Education Requirements (Morris Core)
The University of Minnesota and its faculty are committed to providing an education that invites you to investigate the world from new perspectives, learn new ways of thinking, and grow as an active citizen and lifelong learner. The University’s general education requirements (Morris Core) are designed to be integrated throughout your four-year undergraduate experience. These courses provide you an opportunity to explore fields outside your major and complement your major curriculum with a multidisciplinary perspective.
Learn more about UMN Morris General Education Requirements (Morris Core)
Transferring Credits
Put your credits to work for you at UMN Morris, where you’ll earn a degree from a highly ranked public liberal arts university.
Careers and Graduate School
Careers
- Aerospace engineering: designing, developing, and testing aircraft, spacecraft, and aeronautical defense systems, along with possibly supervising the manufacture of these products
- Biomedical engineering: improving human health through cross-disciplinary activities that integrate the engineering sciences with the biomedical sciences and clinical practice
Environmental engineering: using the principles of biology and chemistry to develop bioproduct and biosystem solutions to problems like water and air pollution, recycling, waste disposal, and public health issues - Chemical engineering: designing, developing, and testing chemical manufacturing processes, often working in manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, design and construction, pulp and paper, petrochemicals, food processing, specialty chemicals, polymers, biotechnology, and environmental health and safety industries
- Civil engineering: using sophisticated technology and applying the latest concepts in computer-aided design to efficiently develop and construct edifices and infrastructures
- Computer engineering: analyzing and evaluating computer systems, including hardware and software, and possibly developing flexible manufacturing systems, mobile operating systems, biomedical information systems, gaming systems, search engines, web browsers, or global computerized distribution systems
- Electrical engineering: designing, developing, and testing devices that use or produce electricity, from small scale to large scale, including microchips, cell phones, data transmission systems, and green energy resources
- Geological engineering: studying the behavior of earth materials, using soil and rock mechanics to investigate subsurface conditions and often working closely with civil engineers on ground construction enterprises like mining and drilling
- Industrial and systems engineering (ISyE): designing, planning, and managing complex, large-scale systems such as global supply chains, healthcare delivery systems, financial services systems, and other critical business infrastructures. ISyE professionals are system-level thinkers who possess unique and marketable problem-solving skills that integrate science, engineering, management, and mathematics who are often sought after by a wide range of industries, governments, and nonprofit organizations.
- Materials science engineering: establishing best practices for using a wide range of materials, overseeing product development from planning to packaging, and working with elaborate technological systems involving robots, programmable controllers, or vision systems
- Mechanical engineering: one of the largest and broadest forms of engineering using the principles of energy, materials, and mechanics to design and manufacture all types of machines and devices, creating the processes and systems that drive technology and industry
- Optical engineering: designing, developing, and testing optical instruments and systems
Graduate School
Your faculty adviser will be able to assist you in applying to graduate school if you are interested in going on to earn your master’s degree in engineering. UMN Morris physics graduates have gone on to attend graduate schools like
- Lehigh University
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- North Dakota State University
- Oklahoma State University
- South Dakota State University
- University of Minnesota Twin Cities
- University of Wisconsin Madison
- University of Oregon
Costs and Scholarships
Costs at a Glance
The University of Minnesota Morris is a national public liberal arts college committed to making a high-quality education available to students from across the country. Expenses for housing, meals, books and supplies, transportation, loan fees, and personal expenditures can vary.
Use our net price calculator to estimate your cost of attendance
Scholarships
General Scholarship Requirements
All renewable scholarships are awarded on a per-semester basis for fall or spring terms only and require students to maintain a 2.5 cumulative GPA and be enrolled for at least 12 credits. The Prairie Scholars Award, Morris Scholars Award, and National Merit Scholar Winner Awards will replace any previous scholarship package award offers. National Merit scholarships cannot be combined with the Prairie or Morris Scholars Award.
Final scholarship packages may consist of academic scholarships and donor-funded scholarship awards. A student's award may be adjusted if institutional and outside awards cause the award to go over tuition and costs.
Research and Engagement
Research
Participating in undergraduate research is not only encouraged as part of your major, especially with the pre-engineering program, but it’s also part of the UMN Morris core curriculum.
Engagement
UMN Morris offers several service learning opportunities, as well as many ways to get involved on campus or in student organizations.
