Angelo State University Adds Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering

SAN ANGELO, TX -- Angelo State University just received approval from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board in Austin to add a new Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering degree program. The program is scheduled to start in the fall semester of 2019 and ASU has already hired two faculty members in preparation for next school year's addition.

With thirty students already showing their interest in the program, this will be a welcome addition to ASU’s ever-growing campus. “We began the process of becoming an engineering school back in 2014 and approval of the mechanical engineering program is another significant milestone in that process,” said ASU President Brian J. May. After starting the creation of the B.S.M.E. program in 2017 when ASU was awarded a five-year grant totaling $2.75 million from the U.S. Department of Education’s Developing Hispanic Serving Institutions program ASU has already developed curriculum and hired faculty to facilitate the new program.

This is an exciting addition to the University’s David L. Hirschfield Department of Engineering. Dr. William Kitch, chair of the Engineering Department states, “This is a major milestone in our goal of making ASU a premier destination for undergraduate engineering in Texas. We lose engineering students each year because they transfer to other universities with mechanical engineering programs. There are also many students interested in mechanical engineering who we haven’t been able to recruit. This new program will allow us to better retain our current students and recruit even more students into ASU’s growing engineering program.”

Since the beginning of the Civil Engineering program began in 2015, the department now has more than 130 students and 13 full-time faculty and staff. ASU’s first class of civil engineering graduates is expected to earn their diplomas this December.