Department of Mechanical Engineering

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Department of
Mechanical Engineering

Advising Week

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Advising Week is October 29-November 2, 2018

Updated September 10, 2018

NOTE: This page will be updated later this year for Advising Week to be presented in late-October 2018.  The information below is not fully up to date.  Please visit this page later.

Advising Week is the time for undergraduate and master’s students to visit their academic advisors to plan and approve classes for the Spring 2019 semester.  Also, students can discuss their plans to graduate, career and job questions, graduate school possibilities, study habits, and life, in general.

Please read this entire page and take action! 

  • On PCs and laptops, mouse over each bar and click, or select the “plus” symbol on each bar to view the information for that section.  Links to other webpages are “blue” on this page.
  • On mobile devices, select the underlined “blue” link.
  • Master’s students: note that only some of the tabs below apply to you.

  • Who Has to Go to Advising Week meetings?

    When Advising Week is in…

    • …October-November– all undergraduate and master’s students.
    • …March-April – all current freshmen, sophomores, juniors, plus only seniors returning for a 9th semester or starting their “5th-year” masters in the fall; as well as all master’s students returning the next fall.  Seniors and master’s students who are graduating in spring and not returning in the fall do not have to go to a meeting.

  • SENIORS: send your Excel Checkout Sheets to Mike Bernard by October 25

    All Seniors must send the Excel-version of their updated Checkout Sheets to Mike Bernard by October 25 by e-mail at me-academic@jhu.edu.

    He will review all sheets to ensure you are on track to graduate. This “double check” between your advisor and Mike helps the department comply with ABET accreditation goals. Mike will alert you and your advisor with any questions or issues.

    • Be sure that every section is complete, including grades, except for your Fall 2018 course grades that are not yet assigned.
    • Ensure that the correct course number is listed with each course, and that the course is eligible for the category that it is placed, especially in the elective sections.
    • Ensure that the courses you are counting for each section has eligible course areas.
      • If a course carries no course area, then it will not count for the sections of the degree that require a course area:
        • E = Engineering
        • N = Natural Science
        • Q = Quantitative (math and programming)
        • H = Humanities
        • S = Social Sciences
      • Courses can have up to two course areas.
      • Math courses must have a “Q” course area but must be a math course.  Courses numbered AS.110.xxx (Mathematics), and EN.550.xxx or EN.553.xxx (Applied Mathematics) will have the “Q” course area. Please ask your advisor about “Q” courses with any other course number before counting them.
      • Humanities and Social Sciences courses have to have either “H” or “S” as one of the course areas.  They could have both (“HS”) or be paired with another course area (e.g., “HN” or “QS” or other combination).
      • Mechanical Engineering electives must have an “E” course area and be numbered EN.530.3xx or higher.
      • Technical Electives must have either an “E,” “N,” or “Q” course area and must be numbered xx.xxx.3xx or higher (upper-undergraduate level).
    • For Freshman fall semester courses, show the “S” or “U” grade, not the covered letter grade.
    • For the semester column, please use the “Letter-Number-Number” format, e.g. F18 for Fall 2018, S20 for Spring 2020 and so forth.  Numbering your semesters 1-8 won’t help.
    • If you know the courses that you will take in the Spring 2019 semester, please fill them in.
    • Sending Mike a version other than Excel or sending an incomplete sheet (missing grades or semesters, using semester labels “1-8” instead of “F19, S20, etc.” or other items) will result in his returning it to you and asking that you to complete the Excel version.
    • Contact Mike separately if you have questions about your checkout sheet.  He is happy to help.

  • Read the Advising Manual and Course Catalog

    Review your information sources for degree requirements:

    Please be aware of the academic policies that will affect your course choices, especially if you are taking a 2nd major or a minor elsewhere.  Don’t be surprised in your final semester by some policy you’ve never seen that will affect your eligibility to graduate.

    Section 2 of the MechE “Top 12 – Undergraduate Students” and Section 4 of the MechE “Top 12 – Graduate Students” pages provide quick links to specific academic advising and catalog policies.

  • Select Your Courses

    Check out the Undergraduate and Graduate Course Schedules.

    In the schedules in SIS in “Day-Times” section, where there is more than one day/time listed, it usually means one section is a lecture and the other is a lab.  SIS does not differentiate between the two, but where a course has multiple sections listed, the “common” time between the sections is the lecture time.

    The schedules in the Mechanical Engineering webpage will be updated along with the SIS schedule as changes occur.

  • Update your BS 4-Year Plan / Checkout Sheet or MSE Course Plan for your Meeting

    You must complete a checkout sheet and take it to your meeting to keep your advisor updated on your degree plan.

    • Undergrads
      • Either use your checkout sheet, or “4-year” plan that you created with Mike Bernard…
      • …or, if you don’t have a checkout sheet established, download checkout sheets from the Academic Advising – Undergraduate page.  Please download the correct sheet for your major and class.
    • Master’s Students
      • Use the MSE Certificate of Completion as a course plan, which is your “checkout sheet.”  Complete it as much as you can and take it to your advisor meeting
      • Visit the Academic Advising – Graduate Page the degree requirements.  Your advisor can help you select appropriate classes based on your academic and research interests.

  • UNDERGRADS: Degree Audit in SIS - Don't Use It - It's Not Yet Ready

    Though “Degree Audit” is in use for some majors, and though it appears as an option in your SIS record, don’t use it!  The system is not ready for use for Mechanical Engineering majors and Engineering Mechanics majors.  It will provide incorrect information about your degree plan and create unnecessary anxiety for you.

    Until you are told otherwise, please refer your questions about your degree plan to your faculty advisor or to Academic Program Manager Mike Bernard.  We are unsure when Degree Audit in SIS will be ready, but we will tell you the moment it is.

  • Course Areas - E, Q, N, H, and S - How They Affect Your Undergraduate Degree

    The Johns Hopkins E-Catalog section on Program Requirements describes Course Areas, which categorize undergraduate courses into five main areas:

    • E = Engineering
    • N = Natural Science
    • Q = Quantitative (math and programming)
    • H = Humanities
    • S = Social Sciences

    Courses can have up to two course areas.

    If a course carries no course area, then it will not count for the sections of the degree that require a course area.

    mathematics

    Math courses must have a Q course area but must be a math course.  Courses numbered AS.110.xxx (Mathematics), and EN.550.xxx or EN.553.xxx (Applied Mathematics) will have the “Q” course area. Please ask your advisor about Q courses with any other course number before counting and taking them.

    humanities and social sciences

    Humanities and Social Sciences courses have to have either H or S as one of the course areas.  They could have both (HS) or be paired with another course area (e.g., HN or QS or other combination).

    electives

    Mechanical Engineering electives must have an E course area and be numbered EN.530.3xx or higher, as well as EN.580.451 and EN.580.452 Cell and Tissue Engineering I / II.

    Technical Electives must have either an E, N, or Q course area and must be numbered xx.xxx.3xx or higher (upper-undergraduate level). They, too, could be paired with another qualifying course area (e.g. EN, EQ, NQ) or with another course area (e.g. HN or QS or other combination).

    no double-counting in multiple sections of the same degree

    Courses with unusual combinations like HN or QS can count for only one course in your degree program.  For example, a course with a QS course area cannot simultaneously count for both a Technical Elective and a Humanities/Social Science elective. It can be counted for one elective or the other, but not both.

  • Schedule Your Meeting and Visit Your Advisor

    NOTE:  Do not use these schedules, as they were for last semester.  This page will be updated soon and announcements will be made.

    You must visit your advisor to release your “Advising Hold” in SIS so you can register.  View each tab until your find your advisor so you can schedule your meeting.

    A complete list of students’ advisors is on the Students page.

    Visit your advisor’s office to sign up for a meeting on the schedule on the door beginning Monday, March 26.

    • Prof. Ishan Barman – Latrobe 103
    • Prof. Yun Chen – Latrobe 219
    • Prof. Greg Chirikjian – Hackerman 116
    Select your advisor’s name to schedule a meeting online.

    Contact your advisors’ administrative coordinators to schedule your meeting:

    • Prof. Kevin Hemker – contact Administrative Coordinator Nancy Lippi at nlippi1@jhu.edu or 410-516-6630.
    • Prof. Gretar Tryggvason – contact Administrative Supervisor Deana Santoni at dsantoni@jhu.edu or 410-516-6451.
    • Prof. Jeff Wang – contact Administrative Coordinator Nancy Lippi at nlippi1@jhu.edu or 410-516-6630.
    Contact your advisor to schedule your meeting.

  • Course Exception Waiver Forms may be required

    On occasion, your advisor might approve a course to substitute for required courses in your degree program.

    Part of the approval process is to complete the Course Exception Waiver Form.  Please use this form if your advisor approves substitute courses, as it is required for your graduation.

    Bring or send the completed form to Mike Bernard (mike.bernard@jhu.edu |  Latrobe 230) so he can obtain the appropriate Chair or Whiting School Academic Advising office signature.  This form will be kept in your advising file.

    Forms are available here:

  • UNDERGRADS only: Take the 990.100 Lab Safety Course before registering for courses

    All students taking courses with experimental labs must now take 990.100 Laboratory Safety for Undergraduates before registering for your courses. This two-hour online course should be completed 24 hours before your registration period begins so the SIS registration system will acknowledge the course’s completion.

    Taking the course just one time will cover all of these courses:

    • 530.115 (Fall) / 530.116 (Spring) MechE Freshman Lab
    • 530.201 Statics and Mechanics of Materials
    • 530.212 Mechanical Engineering Dynamics Lab
    • 530.216 Mechanics Based Design Lab
    • 530.232 Thermodynamics Lab
    • 530.241 Electronics and Instrumentation
    • 530.329 Intro to Fluid Mechanics Lab
    • 530.335 Heat Transfer Lab
    • 530.344 Design and Analysis of Dynamic Systems Lab
    • 530.352 Materials Selection
    • 530.354 Manufacturing Engineering
    • 530.381 Engineering Design Process
    • 530.403 (Fall) / 530.404 (Spring) Senior Design
    • 530.446 Experimental Biomechanics

    To take the course:

    1. Open the myJH Portal
    2. Select the Education sidebar tab
    3. Select the MyLearning option
    4. Enter Laboratory Safety Introductory Course in the search area
    5. Select the course title, then Add to Dev Plan
    6. Click Next, then click Done to begin the course.
    7. If you need help, contact help@jhmi.edu

    Please note that the course EN.990.100 will NOT be visible on your transcript even after you successfully complete it. It is administratively recorded in SIS, and will be read by SIS when pre-requisite checking your  selected courses.

  • UNDERGRADS only: H&S Courses - Read Advising Manual's Section 5.3

    Please read Section 5.3 of the Academic Advising Manual about where Humanities and Social Science courses can be taught. Only one can be taught in the Whiting School, which will have courses numbered EN.xxx.xxx.  Many students have been tripped-up by this requirement. Don’t be one of them!

  • UNDERGRADS only: Aerospace and Biomechanics Tracks

    Visit the Aerospace and Biomechanics Tracks page for track requirements and eligible courses.  Note that the names of these were recently changed from “concentration” to “track.” An explanation is on the page, and the same recognition for the achievement of tracks will occur when they were called “concentrations.”

    Be sure to confirm that courses from other departments that count are being offered.  Not all of them are offered every semester, and occasionally a course is dropped.

  • UNDERGRADS only: 4-year Plan / Checkout Sheet Help - Create One or Get a Checkup

    You are welcome to contact Academic Program Manger Mike Bernard to set a time to create a 4-year plan or get a checkup on your current one. Meetings can last anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour.

    Mike will be able to visit with one or two students per day, depending on his schedule, so contact him early!

  • UNDERGRADS only: If you're an Undecided or Undecided Engineering major...

    If you are considering changing or are ready to change majors to Mechanical Engineering or Engineering Mechanics, please contact Mike Bernard to be assigned an advisor.

    If you have questions about changing majors but are not quite ready, contact Mike to arrange a meeting to discuss your concerns.

  • Course Registration

    Registration begins at 7:00 a.m. on these dates…

    • Graduate Students – Monday, April 9
    • Rising Seniors  ’19 – Monday, April 9
    • Rising Juniors  ’20 – Wednesday, April 11
    • Rising Sophomores  ’21 – Friday, April 13
    Visit the Registrar’s Student page for info.

  • Who Do I Contact For Help?

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