机械工程可能是最广泛的工程学科。机械工程师几乎参与了当今社会所面临的技术问题的所有方面。机械工程师最关心的问题是与转换，利用和节约我们有限的能源有关的问题。机械工程师的其他重要领域包括与国家工业产出有关的机器，结构和制造过程的设计和分析。越来越多的这种设计和分析是基于计算机的，使用了计算机辅助设计（CAD / CAM）技术。对工程科学的深刻理解是各个学科的工程师教育的基础。一般认为工程科学是那些强调将物理科学的基本原理（主要是物理和化学）应用于工程问题的工程领域。属于该领域的一些经典和新兴工程领域包括热力
Mechanical engineering is possibly the broadest of the engineering disciplines. Mechanical engineers are involved in almost all aspects of the technological problems facing today's society. Among the major concerns of the mechanical engineer are problems related to conversion, utilization, and conservation of our limited energy resources. Additional important areas for the mechanical engineer include the design and analysis of machines, structures, and manufacturing processes related to the industrial output of the nation. Increasingly, this design and analysis is computer based using the techniques of computer-aided design (CAD/CAM). A sound understanding of engineering sciences is fundamental to the education of engineers in every discipline. Engineering sciences are generally identified as those areas of engineering that emphasize the application of the fundamental principles of the physical sciences, primarily physics and chemistry, to engineering problems. Some classical and emerging engineering areas that fall within this field include thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, engineering mechanics, engineering materials, nuclear and chemical sciences, microelectronics theory and fabrication, manufacturing, metrology, and the solid state sciences.