►  Graduate School Policies and Procedures  apply to this program

Program Plans

For the master of science (MS) degree in mechanical engineering, students may choose between three plans with each plan totaling 30 semester hours.

• Plan I - Students following Plan I (thesis option) take 24 semester hours of formal course work plus 6 semester hours of thesis work.
• Plan II - Students following Plan II (project option) take 27 semester hours of formal course work plus a 3 semester hour final project requiring a report.
• Plan III - Students following Plan III (10-course option) take 30 semester hours of formal course work plus a final comprehensive exam.

Students following Plan I or Plan II must submit a proposal to their examination committee prior to the semester in which they register for their thesis or project semester hours, and the examination committee must approve the proposal for the thesis or project.

Program Options

Students in each of the plans may choose one of four options. In the first three options, the student may choose to specialize in thermal science, mechanics or biomechanics. The fourth option is the general mechanical engineering option.

• The thermal science option requires 12 semester hours of course work in analytical methods, numerical methods, fluid mechanics and thermodynamics. The student then selects 9 semester hours of course work in approved electives from a selection of thermal science electives.
• The mechanics option requires 12 semester hours of course work in analytical methods, numerical methods, elasticity and dynamics. The student then selects 9 semester hours of course work in approved electives from a selection of mechanics electives.
• The biomechanics option requires 31 credit hours to graduate. Please contact the mechanical engineering department or visit the biomechanics website for more information.
• The general mechanical engineering option requires the student to take 18 semester hours of required course work in analytical methods, numerical methods, fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, elasticity and dynamics.

After meeting the course requirements for any of the four options the student may select any mechanical engineering graduate course to complete the credit-hour requirements. The student may also take courses approved by an advisor outside of the mechanical engineering department.