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- Mechanized Systems Management
Educational Goals
College will give you many opportunities. Perhaps the most significant is the opportunity to change into the person you want to be. The knowledge gained in classrooms and laboratories will develop the foundation of technical skills needed for a career. Success, however, requires more than that.
Success also involves professional skills like communication and leadership. You dedicate yourself to life-long earning to remain technically current, and you must develop the professional skills needed for the 21st century. Now is the time to dedicate yourself to becoming the person you want to be!
But, change won’t just happen. You need a plan.
First, establish goals. You need both professional and personal goals. Without an idea of where you are going, how will you know what to do? You need to set at least two types of goals:
Long Range Goals
• These help you get where you want to be five years after graduation. They may deal with the type of work you want to do, where you want to live, how much money you want to make, and so on.
• These should be your goals–not somebody else’s idea or dependent on what someone else does. Be realistic. Do you want it enough to work hard and sacrifice other things?
Short Range (Annual) Goals
• These are specific and action-oriented. Know your annual goals when each school year begins. Again, these are yours alone; make them realistic given your schedule and desire.
• Include both curricular and extracurricular goals.
• Write your goals and refer to them throughout the year.
Then, decide what needs to be done. This involves using your imagination to form a mental image of the future. It also involves asking questions, such as: Where am I right now? Where do I want to go? What do I have to do in order to get there?
You don’t have to know all the answers right away, but you do need to go far enough in the process to determine what to do next.
Assess yourself.
• Evaluate where you are today. Take stock of your present resources and abilities.
• How much have you already accomplished toward achieving a goal?
Make a list.
• Write down everything you can think of that must be done to achieve each goal.
Decide what to do next.
• Consider things you are already good at, but also reach beyond the comfort zone to develop the weakest link.
• Do specific things you enter into with a purpose.
• Be careful not to try too many things, such that quality slips in other areas.
Have a plan.
• The next three pages lay out a format you can use to make plans. Don't be afraid to share this with your advisor or another faculty member.
• Refer to your written plan and mark it somehow when you complete a step. It feels great to accomplish steps toward a goal you have set!
Honor Societies
Alpha Epsilon
Alpha Epsilon promotes high ideals in Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering. Members are students who are recognized for scholastic achievement, professional attainment, and worthy qualities of character. New members are initiated every semester, and activities promote social interaction between students and faculty in the department as well as scholastic achievement. Alpha Epsilon is a national organization; the BSE department has two former national officers on the faculty.
Alpha Mu
Alpha Mu promotes high ideals in the technical management of engineered systems for agriculture. Members are students who manifest worthy qualities of character, scholarship and professional attainment. The organization encourages and supports improvements in the Systems Management profession that make it an instrument of greater service to humanity. New members are initiated every year. Activities encourage involvement in campus and community organizations, and philanthropic endeavors. The society sponsors and selects an Outstanding Sophomore in the Mechanized Systems Management program every year. Members develop leadership skills and apply communications knowledge.
Honor Societies
Alpha Epsilon
Alpha Epsilon promotes high ideals in Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering. Members are students who are recognized for scholastic achievement, professional attainment, and worthy qualities of character. New members are initiated every semester, and activities promote social interaction between students and faculty in the department as well as scholastic achievement. Alpha Epsilon is a national organization; the BSE department has two former national officers on the faculty.
Alpha Mu
Alpha Mu promotes high ideals in the technical management of engineered systems for agriculture. Members are students who manifest worthy qualities of character, scholarship and professional attainment. The organization encourages and supports improvements in the Systems Management profession that make it an instrument of greater service to humanity. New members are initiated every year. Activities encourage involvement in campus and community organizations, and philanthropic endeavors. The society sponsors and selects an Outstanding Sophomore in the Mechanized Systems Management program every year. Members develop leadership skills and apply communications knowledge.
Achievement Centered Education (ACE)
Consistent with the mission and values of the University, ACE is based on a shared set of four institutional objectives and 10 student learning outcomes. The ACE program was approved by faculty in all eight undergraduate colleges and endorsed by the Faculty Senate, the student government and the Academic Planning Committee in January 2008 for implementation in the fall 2009. ACE aligns with current national initiatives in general education.
Key characteristics of ACE
• Students receive a broad education with exposure to multiple disciplines, critical life skills and important reasoning, inquiry, and civic capacities.
• ACE is simple and transparent for students, faculty and advisers. Students complete the equivalent of 3 credit hours for each of the ten student learning outcomes.
• Students connect and integrate their ACE experiences with their selected major.
• Students can transfer all ACE certified courses across colleges within the institution to meet the ACE requirement and any course from outside the institution that is directly equivalent to a UNL ACE-certified course. Courses from outside institutions without direct equivalents may be considered with appropriate documents for ACE credit (see academic adviser).
• ACE allows faculty to assess and improve their effectiveness and facilitate students’ learning.
ACE Structural Criteria
Graduates of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln will satisfy the requirements of their majors, their colleges, and the ACE Program.
1. ACE courses are credit-bearing curricular offerings or equivalent documented co-curricular experiences.
2. The ACE Program will consist of the equivalent of 3 credit hours for each of the ten ACE Student Learning Outcomes.
3. Any ACE course approved to satisfy an ACE Student learning Outcome satisfies that Student Learning Outcome in all UNL undergraduate colleges.
4. Up to three ACE Student Learning Outcomes 4-10 may be satisfied by work in one subject area.
5. ACE Student Learning Outcomes must be satisfied by work in at least three subject areas.
6. No ACE course may satisfy more than one ACE Student Learning Outcome in a student’s program.
7. If an ACE course addressed two ACE Student Learning Outcomes, the student decides which one of the two Outcomes the course will satisfy in that student’s program.
8. Every ACE course will reinforce at least one of the following as appropriate for the discipline and as identified by the department offering the course: Writing, Oral Communication, Visual Literacy, Historical Perspectives, Mathematics and Statistics, Critical Thinking, Teamwork, Problem Solving, Ethics, Civics, Social Responsibility, Global Awareness, or Human Diversity.
ACE Courses Built Into Degree Programs
Agricultural Engineering
ACE 1 - JGEN 200 Technical Communications I
ACE 2 - Oral Communication Elective
ACE 3 - Math 106 Analytic Geometry and Calculus I (or other MATH courses)
ACE 4 - CHEM 109 General Chemistry I (or other BIOS, CHEM or PHYS courses)
ACE 10 - AGEN 480 Design II in Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering
Biological Systems Engineering
ACE 1 - JGEN 200 Technical Communications I
ACE 2 - Oral Communication Elective
ACE 3 - Math 106 Analytic Geometry and Calculus I (or other MATH courses)
ACE 4 - BIOS 102 Cell Structure and Function (or other BIOS, CHEM or PHYS courses)
ACE 10 - BSEN 480 Design II in Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering
Mechanized Systems Management
ACE 1 - Written Communication Elective
ACE 2 - Professional Communication Elective
ACE 3 - STAT 218 Intro to Statistics or ECON 215 Statistics
ACE 4 - MSYM 109 Physical Principles in Agriculture
ACE 6 - ECON 211 Principles of Macroeconomics
ACE 10 - MSYM 462 Equipment Systems
Graduating with Distinction
College of Engineering (COE)
The college guidelines indicate that the top 8% of the senior class may graduate with distinction. The top 2% may graduate with High or Highest Distinction, and the remaining 6% may graduate with Distinction. In practice, the middle of the fall semester each academic year, the COE Committee on Graduation With Distinction uses the guidelines and historical data to set the two minimum GPA criteria for the levels of distinction. Those GPA criteria apply for the entire academic year. Also according to COE guidelines, the faculty must vote to approve each candidate for graduation with distinction.
Each department in COE has established additional requirements for graduation with Highest Distinction. Agricultural Engineering and Biological Systems Engineering students who meet the College requirements for graduation with High Distinction, must meet a minimum of one of the following criteria in order to be considered for graduation with Highest Distinction:
• Publish a technical paper, or have a manuscript reviewed by the department and submitted to a journal for publication.
• Submit a technical paper, accepted by the department, for a paper competition such as the ASABE Mid Central Conference.
• Submit a completed design project report for regional or national competition such as ASABE National Student Design competition.
• Complete an honors thesis or honors design project accepted by the Department (for students enrolled in the University’s Honors Program).
• Demonstrate exceptional leadership in the Department, The College of Engineering or the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
In order to be considered for graduation with Highest Distinction, the student must submit to his/her academic advisor by March 1 for May graduation, July 1 for August graduation, and has met the criteria for graduation with Highest Distinction. The student’s academic advisor will then prepare a short (one page or less) recommendation to the Department faculty describing the student’s qualifications for graduation with Highest Distinction.
Approved by unanimous vote of the faculty in attendance at the November 21, 2006 Department of Biological Systems Engineering faculty meeting.
College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources (CASNR)
In recognition of outstanding academic excellence, the CASNR recommends the bachelors degree With Distinction, With High Distinction, and With Highest Distinction. Recommendations are made by the CASNR Committee on Scholarship.
To be eligible for consideration, undergraduate students must complete 45 credit hours at UNL for a letter grade (excluding pass/no pass marks) prior to the semester in which they graduate, and must have completed 60 credit hours at UNL at the time they graduate. To determine eligibility, the Committee uses the cumulative GPA as follows:
With Distinction 3.800 - 3.8999
With High Distinction 3.900 - 3.949
With Highest Distinction 3.950 - 4.000 and an undergraduate thesis
Educational Objectives
The faculty in the Department of Biological Systems Engineering have established several broad goals for students. These goals emphasize education instead of training, and they focus on the whole person, rather than narrow technical skills.
The overall objective of the educational programs of the Department of Biological Systems Engineering is to provide students the opportunity to learn the fundamentals of science and engineering and apply them to improved methods of producing and processing food, agricultural, and biological materials with consideration to wise and responsible use of resources for the benefit of global society.
The Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Engineering (AGEN) is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET. All ABET-accredited programs must publish their Program Objectives for access by employers, parents, students, and others interested in what graduates of the program are expected to be capable of doing once they enter the workforce. The following are the Program Objectives for Agricultural Engineering at the University of Nebraska.
A few years after graduation, AGEN graduates (whether they are involved in machine design, product and performance testing, soil and water resources, or other professional endeavors such as business or law) will be:
1. Applying their unique educational backgrounds in agricultural engineering by providing appropriate solutions to problems and adding value to the research, development, and design processes encountered in a variety of work environments;
2. Considering systems as a whole when solving problems, looking beyond components and subsystems individually;
3. Confidently using the necessary elements of mathematics, statistics, physical science, engineering, computer-based measurement and analysis tools and current literature in solving problems and providing design solutions;
4. Successfully integrating their technical knowledge with organization, communication, and interpersonal skills, leading and working effectively in teams, and understanding cultural diversity and social and political forces that impact engineering decisions, as well as having the capability of competing in an international atmosphere;
5. Responsibly addressing issues of health and safety, ethics, and environmental impacts of engineering decisions; and
6. Continuing their personal growth, professional development, and professional and community service, through various opportunities provided by institutions, professional organizations, and other venues.
Four Year Plan
First Semester
AGEN 100 Intro to Biological Systems Engineering & Agricultural Engineering (1 credit hour)
CHEM 109 General Chemistry I (4 credit hours)
ENGR 10 (0 credit hours)
MATH 106 Analytic Geometry & Calculus I (5 credit hours)
ACE Elective (3 credit hours)
Choose one course from not yet satisfied ACE outcomes 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9.
Agricultural or Biological Sciences Elective (3 credit hours)
Choose from AGRO 131 or AGRO 153, or BIOS 101, BIOS 102, or BIOS 103.
Total: 16 credit hours
Second Semester
AGEN 112 Engineering in Agricultural & Biological Systems (2 credit hours)
CHEM 110 General Chemistry II (4 credit hours)
MATH 107 Analytic Geometry & Calculus II (5 credit hours)
MECH 130 Intro to CAD (3 credit hours)
PHYS 211 General Physics I (4 credit hours)
Total: 18 credit hours
Third Semester
AGEN 225 Engineering Properties of Biological Materials (3 credit hours)
ENGM 223 Engineering Statics (3 credit hours)
ENGR 20 Sophomore Engineering Seminar (0 credit hours)
MSYM 232 Equipment Principles (3 credit hours)
MATH 208 Analytic Geometry & Calculus III (4 credit hours)
PHYS 212 General Physics II (4 credit hours)
Total: 17 credit hours
Fourth Semester
ENGM 325 Mechanics of Elastic Bodies (3 credit hours)
ENGM 373 Engineering Dynamics (3 credit hours)
MATH 221 Differential Equations (3 credit hours)
MECH 200 Engineering Thermodynamics (3 credit hours)
AGEN 212 (a, b, and e) (3 credit hours)
ACE Elective (3 credit hours)
Choose one course from not yet satisfied ACE outcomes 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9.
Total: 18 credit hours
Fifth Semester
CIVE 310 or MECH 310 Fluid Mechanics (3 credit hours)
ELEC 211 Elements of Electrical Engineering I (3 credit hours)
IMSE 206 Engineering Economy I (3 credit hours)
Emphasis Elective (3 credit hours)
AGEN 350 or AGEN 441 or AGEN 443 (3 credit hours)
JGEN 200 Technical Communication I (3 credit hours)
Total: 18 credit hours
Sixth Semester
AGEN 303 Principles of Process Engineering (3 credit hours)
AGEN 325 Power Systems Design (3 credit hours)
AGEN 344 Biological & Environmental Transport Processes (3 credit hours)
IMSE 321 Engineering Statistics & Data Analysis or MATH 380 Statistics & Applications (3 credit hours)
Oral Communication Elective (3 credit hours)
Choose from: ALEC 102; COMM 209, COMM 210, COMM 283, or COMM 286; FREN 304; GERM 303; JAPN 202;
JGEN 300; RUSS 304; SPAN 303
Total: 15 credit hours
Seventh Semester
AGEN 424 Machine Design in Agricultural Engineering (3 credit hours)
AGEN 453 Irrigation & Drainage Systems Engineering (3 credit hours)
AGEN 460 Instrumentation & Controls (3 credit hours)
AGEN 470 Design I in Agricultural & Biological Systems Engineering (1 credit hour)
Emphasis Elective (3 credit hours)
ACE Elective (3 credit hours)
Choose one course from not yet satisfied ACE outcomes 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9.
Total: 16 credit hours
Eighth Semester
AGEN 480 Design II in Agricultural & Biological Systems Engineering (3 credit hours)
ENGR 400 Professional Ethics & Social Responsibilities (1 credit hour)
ACE Electives (6 credit hours)
Choose two courses from not yet satisfied ACE outcomes 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9.
Emphasis Elective (3 credit hours)
Organizational Skills Elective (See adviser for list) (3 credit hours)
Total: 16 credit hours
Total Credit Hours Required: 134 credit hours
Personalized Plan
Organizational Skills Course List
Emphasis Courses (Need at least 9 hours):
AGEN Graduation Checklist
- Submit an Application for Admission to the Agricultural Engineering degree program. 43 credit hours applicable to the program are required for acceptance. Must be completed prior to taking 62 hours.
- Submit an Application for Minor for your minor program(s), if any. This must be approved before submission of your senior check form.
- Submit a Senior Check Form, with a degree audit report summary (DARS), prior to your last semester of study.
- Make plans for after graduation.
- Submit an Application for Degree at beginning of term of graduation.
Emphasis Electives
Content for Tab 3c
Graduation Checklist
Content for Tab 3d
Educational Objectives
The faculty in the Department of Biological Systems Engineering have established several broad goals for students. These goals emphasize education instead of training, and they focus on the whole person, rather than narrow technical skills.
The overall objective of the educational programs of the Department of Biological Systems Engineering is to provide students the opportunity to learn the fundamentals of science and engineering and apply them to improved methods of producing and processing food, agricultural, and biological materials with consideration to wise and responsible use of resources for the benefit of global society.
Biological Systems Engineering (BSEN) is an accredited engineering program by ABET, inc. ABET accredited programs publish their “Program Objectives” for access by employers, parents, students, and others interested in what graduates of the programs are “expected toattain within a few years of graduation.” The following are the Program Objectives for Biological Systems Engineering at the University of Nebraska.
BSEN Program Objectives
With in a few years of graduation, BSEN alumni will share the attribute of improving the organization for which they work, and the community and country in which they live. They will do this whether they are involved in biomedical engineering, water resources or environmental engineering, food or bioprocess engineering, or other professional endeavors such as business, law or medicine. In doing so, they will:
1. provide innovative and effective solutions to problems in a variety of work environments through the use of their unique background in biological systems engineering and the biological sciences;
2. look beyond components in isolation thereby providing holistic solutions to complex issues involving, for example, interactions at the ecosystem, organism, organ, cellular or subcellar level;
3. think logically using appropriate elements of mathematics, science and engineering to develop, manage and interpret data, to correctly interpret new research findings and, to design new systems for the benefit of society;
4. successfully integrate technical knowledge with organizational, communication, and interpersonal skills to lead and work effectively in teams, and to articulate the role of engineering decisions in the workplace, community and world;
5. responsibly address issues such as health and safety, personal and professional ethics, cultural diversity, as well as the social, environmental and global impacts of their work; and
6. continue their personal growth, education, and professional development, and professional and community service through various opportunities provided by institutions, professional organizations, and other venues
Four Year Plan
First Semester
BSEN 100 Intro to Biological Systems Engineering & Agricultural Engineering (1 credit hour)
CHEM 113 Fundamental Chemistry I (4 credit hours)
CHEM 109 may be substituted with permission of adviser.
MATH 106 Analytic Geometry & Calculus I (5 credit hours)
ACE Electives (6 credit hours)
Choose two courses from not yet satisfied ACE outcomes 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9.
Total: 16 credit hours
Second Semester
BSEN 112 Engineering in Agricultural & Biological Systems (2 credit hours)
BSEN 130 Computer-Aided Design (2 credit hours)
CHEM 114 Fundamental Chemistry II (3 credit hours)
CHEM 110 may be substituted with permission of adviser.
MATH 107 Analytic Geometry & Calculus II (5 credit hours)
PHYS 211 General Physics I (4 credit hours)
Total: 16 credit hours
Third Semester
BIOS 102 Cell Structure & Function (4 credit hours)
BSEN 225 Engineering Properties of Biological Materials (3 credit hours)
CHEM 251 & CHEM 253 or CHEM 261 & CHEM 263 Organic Chemistry & Lab (4 credit hours)
ENGM 223 Engineering Statics (3 credit hours)
ENGR 20 Sophomore Engineering Seminar (0 credit hours)
MATH 208 Analytic Geometry & Calculus III (4 credit hours)
Total: 18 credit hours
Fourth Semester
BIOC 321 Elements of Biochemistry or BIOC 431 Biomolecules & Metabolism (3 credit hours)
BIOS, BIOC or equivalent laboratory course (minimum of two such courses are required in the 16 hrs of biological sciences and biochemistry block) (1 credit hour)
BSEN 244 Thermodynamics of Living Systems (3 credit hours)
ENGM 373 Engineering Dynamics (3 credit hours)
MATH 221 Differential Equations (3 credit hours)
Computer Programming Elective (1 credit hour)
Choose from: BSEN 212a, BSEN 212b, or BSEN 212e
Oral Communication Elective (3 credit hours)
Choose from: ALEC 102; COMM 209, COMM 210, COMM 283, or COMM 286; FREN 304; GERM 303; JAPN 202;
JGEN 300; RUSS 304; SPAN 303
Total: 17 credit hours
Fifth Semester
BIOS 103 Organismic Biology (3 credit hours)
BIOS, BIOC or equivalent laboratory course (minimum of two such courses are required in the 16 hrs of biological sciences and biochemistry block) (1 credit hour)
CIVE 310/MECH 310 Fluid Mechanics or CHME 332 Transport Operations I (3 credit hours)
ELEC 211 Elements of Electrical Engineering I (3 credit hours)
IMSE 321 Engineering Statistics & Data Analysis or MATH 380 Statistics & Applications (3 credit hours)
BSEN Emphasis Elective (3 credit hours)
Total: 16 credit hours
Sixth Semester
BSEN 344 Biological & Environmental Transport Processes (3 credit hours)
JGEN 200 Technical Communication I (3 credit hours)
ACE Elective (3 credit hours)
Choose one course from not yet satisfied ACE outcomes 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9.
BSEN Emphasis Elective (3 credit hours)
Engineering or Science Emphasis Elective (3 credit hours)
Organizational Skills Elective (3 credit hours)
Choose from a list of 40+ courses available from adviser.
Total: 18 credit hours
Seventh Semester
BSEN 460 Instrumentation & Controls (3 credit hours)
BSEN 470 Design I in Agricultural & Biological Systems Engineering (1 credit hour)
IMSE 206 Engineering Economy I (3 credit hours)
ACE Elective (3 credit hours)
Choose one course from not yet satisfied ACE outcomes 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9.
BSEN Emphasis Elective (3 credit hours)
Engineering or Science Emphasis Elective (3 credit hours)
Total: 16 credit hours
Eighth Semester
BSEN 480 Design II in Agricultural & Biological Systems Engineering (3 credit hours)
ENGR 400 Professional Ethics & Social Responsibilities (1 credit hour)
ACE Elective (3 credit hours)
Choose one course from not yet satisfied ACE outcomes 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9.
Biological Science Elective (4 credit hours)
BIOS 203 is not acceptable; a minimum of two BIOS, BIOC or equivalent laboratory courses, or two courses with
laboratories, is required within the 16 hrs of biological sciences and biochemistry courses.
BSEN Emphasis Elective (3 credit hours)
Engineering Emphasis Elective (3 credit hours)
Total: 17 credit hours
Total Credit Hours Required: 134 credit hours
Academic Planner
Personalized Plan
Organizational Skills Course List
Emphasis Courses (Need at least 9 hours)BiomedicalRecommended Electives: |
BSEN Graduation Checklist
• Submit an Application for Admission to the Agricultural Engineering degree program. 43 credit hours applicable to the program are required for acceptance. Must be completed prior to taking 62 hours.
• Submit an Application for Minor for your minor program(s), if any. This must be approved before submission of your senior check form.
• Submit a Senior Check Form, with a degree audit report summary (DARS), prior to your last semester of study.
• Make plans for after graduation.
• Submit an Application for Degree at beginning of term of graduation.