Surface processing and characterization are needed today in nearly all engineering disciplines, especially at the nanoscale where the control of testing conditions, sample preparation, and device operations require special techniques. Undergraduate engineering students in general, however, receive limited training on nanoscale surface processing and analysis. Cross-disciplinary curricula consisting of six courses in nano-surface engineering (Nano-SurfEng) were developed in an engineering minor to prepare undergraduate students for surface processing and characterization of materials using modern nanotechnologies. The six courses were taught to 43 undergraduate students from four different engineering departments at the authors' institution. The effectiveness of the Nano-SurfEng curricula was evaluated using students' responses to a course-evaluation survey for each course. Kruskal-Wallis test and Dunn's post hoc test were used in combination to determine the impact of students' major background and identify the significant majors. Welch's t-test was used for evaluating the significance of difference between students with high GPA (Group A) and students with relatively low GPA (Group B). The major engineering background of students was found to be a critical factor that affects students' performance and acquisition of knowledge in the six Nano-SurfEng, i.e. the students with a Materials Engineering background have the advantage to obtain a high grade in the high-level courses. The students' GPA had different levels of impact on the effectiveness of learning the Nano-SurfEng courses, i.e. the students with high GPA are more easily accommodated to the high-level courses.