Abstract Mechatronics system engineering has gained global interest in the past decade from the educational and industrial sectors. Several universities in the middle east have introduced mechatronics engineering for undergraduate studies. One of those pioneers is Philadelphia University (PU) in Jordan. This paper presents the mechatronics curriculum developed at Philadelphia University with emphasis on regional needs. The paper also includes comparisons among local and global curricula. It is concluded that there is a rising demand of mechatronics engineering studies in the middle east. Local mechatronics programs must establish strong ties to the local industry and cooperate with global partner universities in order to overcome obstacles such as lack of funded research and design centers.  2006 Published by Elsevier Ltd.