Mechanical Engineering is now UH Mānoa's fourth-largest undergraduate degree program as national interest in the field also rises
The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Department of Mechanical Engineering has reached the highest undergraduate enrollment in its history, with 525 students registered for Fall 2026. As of August 24, the first day of classes of the Fall 2026 semester, enrollment had increased by 106 students from 419 in Fall 2025—a 25.3% increase in a single year. Current UH opening-enrollment data show that Mechanical Engineering posted the largest numerical increase among undergraduate degree programs at UH Mānoa.
The growth has also made Mechanical Engineering the fourth-largest undergraduate degree program at UH Mānoa, behind only biology, kinesiology and rehabilitation science, and marine biology.
“We had some indication that a large enrollment increase could be coming,” said Joseph J. Brown, chair of the UH Mānoa Department of Mechanical Engineering. “When I attended the ASME Mechanical Engineering Education conference in March, I heard a similar story from chairs of mechanical engineering departments at other public universities. We are excited to welcome so many students to the educational experiences in our program. We are working to help our faculty, courses, laboratories, shops, and student-support resources step up to that demand.”
Strategic growth ahead of schedule
The record enrollment represents a major milestone in a growth strategy adopted by the department in November 2022. The department's strategic plan established a five-year goal of more than 450 undergraduate students and a 10-year goal of more than 600. With 525 students enrolled for Fall 2026, the department has already exceeded the five-year goal. The growth is also part of a much longer trajectory. Mechanical engineering enrolled 235 undergraduate students in Fall 2005, meaning that the program has more than doubled in size over approximately two decades.
Growing national interest in mechanical engineering
Mechanical Engineering growth at UH Mānoa comes amid evidence of rising national interest in the field. National Student Clearinghouse data show that undergraduate mechanical engineering enrollment at four-year institutions increased approximately 11.4% in Fall 2025, from about 174,000 to 194,000 students. By comparison, total undergraduate enrollment nationally grew 1.2%, and undergraduate enrollment at public four-year universities increased 1.4%.
Mechanical engineers design, build, and maintain physical systems that keep the world working. In Hawaii, mechanical engineering contributes to power generation and storage, water and wastewater management, ports and shipyard operations, aircraft and spacecraft maintenance and design, medical devices, and other manufacturing technologies. Mechanical engineering contributes to fields that include aerospace, robotics, advanced manufacturing, energy, transportation, and biomedical technologies.
Brown believes the adaptability of mechanical engineering may be contributing to renewed interest in the discipline. “Mechanical engineering has always been a highly adaptable discipline, and I think that this is becoming even more important,” Brown said. “As artificial intelligence, computation, and automation advance, the world needs people who can bridge the digital world and the physical world. Mechanical Engineers use models, algorithms, and data to create machines, materials, structures, devices, and systems that work safely and effectively.”
Investing to support demand
The department has been expanding its educational capacity as enrollment has grown. Since January 2023, Mechanical Engineering has hired six new faculty members, adding expertise in computational modeling and data science, experimental aerospace engineering, robotics, materials, and manufacturing.
The department has also expanded teaching assistant support, increased capacity in existing courses, increased summer course offerings and invested in expanding ME 213, its hands-on sophomore engineering design course.
Additional student employees now support the department's student shop and ProtoLab, helping expand access to hands-on fabrication and project spaces. During Summer 2026, the department installed a new state-of-the-art Mazak lathe and Mazak milling machine for teaching and student projects. A renovation and expansion of the department's teaching laboratory space is also in development.
These investments align with the department's strategic plan, which calls for updated teaching laboratories and innovation spaces, expanded student access to fabrication facilities and greater integration of hands-on engineering experiences throughout the curriculum.
“Our goal is not simply to have more students,” Brown said. “Our goal is to provide an outstanding engineering education to the students who choose to be here at UH Mānoa.”
Fall 2026 figures are based on UH opening-enrollment data recorded on August 24, 2026.