The Department of Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics offers the following Master's degree programs:
- Master of Science Degree
- Master of Business and Engineering Degree
All incoming masters students, except those brought to the University with full financial support from the University, pursue the Master of Science degree (with the option of pursuing a PhD degree). The Master of Science degree has four options to choose from: MS – Thesis Option, MS – Project Option, MS- Applied Engineering Option, and MS – Interdisciplinary Option. In the event that a student desires to pursue the Master of Science – Thesis Option, it is necessary to obtain the agreement of a faculty member willing to supervise the thesis research. The availability of faculty for research supervision depends on the specialty within the area of mechanical engineering and the ongoing advisory commitments of the faculty member during a given semester. Those students who wish to pursue the Master of Science degree with a thesis contact faculty members in their area of interest during their first year of study.
For further information, please access the Grad Degree Program Guidelines.
Master of Science
The Program for the Master of Science degree must be comprised of a minimum of 30 credit hours distributed as follows:
Required Core Course in Engineering Mathematics (3 credits):
- ME 452 Mathematical Methods in Engineering I
Required Core Courses in Mechanical Engineering -- Select two courses (6 credits) from the following:
- ME 402 Advanced Manufacturing Science
- ME 413 Numerical Methods in Mechanical Engineering
- ME 423 Heat and Mass Transfer
- ME 430 Advanced Fluid Mechanics
- ME 433 LInear Systems and Control
- ME 453 Mathematical Methods in Engineering II
- MECH 406 Fundamentals of Solid Mechanics***
- MECH 408 Introduction to Elasticity***
- MECH 425 Analytical Methods in Dynamics and Vibrations
- MECH 450 Advanced Mechanics of Materials
Three other MEM courses at the 300 and 400 level (9 credits)
Only one course may be at the 300 level
Up to 4 free electives (12 credits)
Electives must be approved by te Graduate Program Coordinator or the Student's Advisor
***Only one of these courses can be used for the core course requirement
General Requirements for Master of Science
In meeting the requirements for the Master of Science or Master of Engineering degree, the student must satisfy the following common requirements, as outlined in the Graduate Student Handbook.
- All candidates for a Master's degree must submit the form entitled Program for Master's Degree as soon as possible after accruing 15 credit hours of courses but no later than the semester before the student graduates. This form is eventually approved by the Registrar. The timing for completion of this form is critical, as it allows for corrections to a student's course plan if necessary.
- The minimum program for all Masters degrees includes:
• Not less than 30 credit hours of graduate work; audit credits may not be used toward the degree. Research or thesis registration counts as part of the 400-level course requirement.
• Not less than 24 credit hours of 300- and 400-level coursework of which at least 18 hours is at the 400-level.
• Not less than 18 credit hours in Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics
• Not less than 15 credit hours of 400-level coursework in Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics. - Eighteen (18) credit hours in the major field of Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics are required. These courses must be 300- and 400-level courses. The remaining twelve (12) credit hours may also be taken in Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics (300- and 400-level courses), or they may be taken in any other field in engineering in which courses for graduate credit are offered, subject to the approval of the student's advisor.
- A graduate student may include in his or her program courses numbered 200 or higher outside of Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics. These courses must have sufficiently deep engineering/science content comparable to 200 level courses in Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics. Only courses numbered 300 or higher in Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics may be included in a student’s program. A graduate student registered in 200 or 300 level courses may be assigned additional work at the discretion of the instructors. Courses taken outside of Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics are subject to approval by the advisor and the Departmental Graduate Committee.
- The Master’s degree is not granted unless the candidate has earned grades of B- or better in at least eighteen hours of the work in his/her program and in all 300-level courses in Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics. No course in which the grade earned is less than C- is credited towards the degree.
- A student who receives more than four grades below B- in courses numbered 200 or higher becomes ineligible to qualify for the Master’s degree or to register for any other 400-level courses.
Master of Business and Engineering Degree (MBA&E)
Following are the requirements for the Master of Science degree in Business and Engineering (MBA&E) in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics.
As stated by the College of Business and Economics, the general requirements for the MBA and Engineering degree are as follows:
Core (12) Credit Hours
- 12 core course credit hours: ME 452, Mathematical Models in Engineering I, plus any three additional courses selected from the following core courses in Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics:
- ME 413, Numerical Methods in Mechanical Engineering OR
- ME 453, Mathematical Methods in Engineering II
- ME 423, Heat Transfer
- ME 430, Fluid Mechanics
- ME 402, Manufacturing
- MECH 406, Fundamentals of Solid Mechanics OR
- MECH 408, Introduction to Elasticity
- MECH 425, Dynamics and Vibrations
- MECH 450 Advanced Mechanics of Materials
Elective (6) credit hours: Any two additional 400-level courses in Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics or one additional 400-level course in Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics and one 300-level course in Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics, which is allowable if at least one 400-level course is taken in the College of Business and Economics.
1 credit of Integrative Experience: An independent project is carried out under the guidance of a Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics faculty member to satisfy this requirement.