Overview
Students interested in gaining experience on a project in the area of mechanical engineering, while collaborating with a faculty member and other graduate students, can register for ME 460 Engineering Project (six credits), which counts as the equivalent of two 400 level courses in satisfying the overall requirements for the MS degree. While the MS Thesis is prepared in accord with College and University guidelines, and approved by the faculty advisor, then by the department chair, the engineering project culminates in a report or other document agreed upon by the faculty advisor in the student prior to start of the project.
The topic of the engineering project is typically integrated with other project and thesis work underway in the research group of the faculty advisor. If, however, the student has a particular theme in mind, it can be discussed with the faculty advisor to determine the degree of mutual interest. An engineering project may involve a design, an experiment, a computation, or a theoretical endeavor in any of the areas of mechanical engineering, including controls and dynamics, fluid mechanics, mathematical methods, mechanics of materials, and thermo-heat transfer.
The MS degree with an engineering project can serve as an effective launch towards the PhD degree. At whatever point the student decides to pursue the PhD degree, it is recommended that the core courses taken for the MS degree be selected to work towards completion of the core course requirements for the PhD.