Master's Degree and SGUS

Who should pursue a Master's Degree?

Students entering the Master of Science in Engineering (MSE) program normally hold a baccalaureate in ME or a closely related field from an accredited institution. Students choose to pursue a master’s degree because of the opportunity to develop a personalized academic program to strengthen their knowledge of Mechanical Engineering fundamentals in a specific area. Research areas include automotive, biomechanics and biosystems, controls, design, dynamics and vibrations, energy, fluids, manufacturing, mechanics and materials, mechatronics, micro/nano engineering, multi-scale computation and combustion mechanics, and thermal sciences.

M.S.E. Program Options

There are three separate MSE degree program options in ME: (i) coursework only, (ii) coursework with an individual research project, and (iii) coursework with an M.S.E. thesis.

Coursework Only

The coursework only option is recommended for students who do not envision conducting research during their career. This degree can be completed in ten months by taking four courses during each Fall and Winter term and two courses during the Spring half term. Please note the ME department generally does not offer graduate courses in the Spring or Summer terms. 

Requirements:

• 12 credits ME courses at the 500 or 600 level
• 6 credits graduate level ME courses, 400 or above
• 6 credits of letter-graded graduate level cognates, 400 or above
• 6 credits mathematics or equivalent courses (see Acceptable Math list).

Individual Research Project

This option provides an opportunity for involvement in an independent engineering design, analysis, or research project. The requirements are the same as the coursework only option, except that 3 to 6 credits of research are taken in the research advisor's ME590 in lieu of 400 level graduate ME courses. This is recommended for students contemplating an engineering career in industry and who would like to gain some exposure to independent research or project work. This path requires that a student talk to faculty to find a faculty advisor with whom to work on an individual study topic. This is typically done during the student's first term in the Master's program so that the individual research can begin in the second term. Research credits are elected under the advisor's independent study number. This option typically takes students one and a half to two years to complete.

Requirements:

• 12 credits ME courses at the 500 or 600 level
• 6 credits of ME590 research under the research advisor's independent study number or 1-3 credits ME590 and 1-3 credits at the ME400 level or above for a total of 6 credits
  
  • ME590 requires a proposal during the first three weeks of the term and a final report on the last day of finals. The research advisor's approval is necessary for the proposal and final report. Both documents are submitted electronically through the ME590 website.
  • In addition, students must enroll for ME590 via Wolverine Access.
• 6 credits of letter-graded graduate level cognates, 400 or above
• 6 credits mathematics or equivalent courses (see Acceptable Math list)

Thesis

The thesis option is recommended for students interested in industrial research and development, teaching, or possibly continuing for the Ph.D. Students are responsible for finding a research advisor who will supervise the thesis research. Research credits are taken under the advisor's independent study number.

The student enrolls in ME590 twice for 3 credits each using the research advisor's independent study number. Six credits of ME 590 may be taken in one term but ONLY with approval of the research advisor. Students should check with their research advisor or with staff in the Academic Service Office (ASO) for the independent study number assigned to the faculty member with whom she will work. In the next term, ME695 will be elected for 3 hours, again using the advisor's number. Any additional research credits will not count toward the master's degree. A grade of satisfactory (S) or unsatisfactory (U) is given for ME590 and ME695 credits.

A thesis committee should be formed with two members including the ME research advisor. At least one additional member besides the thesis advisor is required and may be a faculty member or a research scientist from ME or from another College of Engineering Department. No particular writing style is required. The same style for a doctoral dissertation thesis may be used, or any style used for report writing conforming with the thesis advisors recommendation. When the thesis is complete, the thesis is defended before the committee in a public examination. The minimal two-member committee must be present at the oral defense. On occasion the defense may occur in a term subsequent to the last enrollment. If all other MSE degree requirements are met, a student need not be enrolled to defend.

No later than the last day of classes in the term the student expects to graduate, a memo signed by the faculty research advisor must be submitted to the ASO, which states that the student has successfully defended her thesis. A hard copy (e.g. spiral bound) and a digital copy (e.g. pdf) of the final thesis is required. Assistance in obtaining the spiral bound copy is available in the main office of the department at 2250 G.G. Brown. The digital version should be emailed to me-aso@umich.edu. 

Requirements:

• 12 credits ME courses at the 500 or 600 level
• 9 credits of ME research under the advisor's independent study number which includes 6 credits ME590 followed by 3 credits ME695. Typically students will register for 3 credits per term.
  
  • ME590 requires a proposal at the start of the term and a final report on the last day of finals. The research advisor's approval is necessary for the proposal and final report. Both documents are submitted electronically through the ME590 website.
• 3 credits of letter-graded graduate level cognates, 400 or above
• 6 credits mathematics or equivalent courses (See Acceptable Math list)
• Thesis (Written) and Defense (Oral)

Important Rules to Note about all MSE:

• All options require 30 graduate level credit hours.
• For each category of the MSE Audit Sheet (A, B, C, D), only B may have credits that are not letter-graded. This category is where any research credits are placed, which have a grade of "S" (satisfactory) or "U" (unsatisfactory). All other categories must have letter-graded credits.
• A single course can only be counted toward a single requirement. For example, a graduate level math course could count as a cognate, or a graduate level Math course, but not both.
• If a student elects to use a math course as a cognate, additional graduate level ME courses are taken at 4XX level or above with the minimum number of credits being equal to the number of math credits counted as cognates. As an example, the thesis master's uses 3 credits of math toward the cognate requirement and 3 credits of ME695 are taken in addition.
• ME 599 courses (Special Topics) must be taught by a ME faculty to satisfy a requirement. If not taught by a ME faculty, the 599 course may be used to satisfy an ME 400 level requirement.
• Seminar courses must be letter graded. The credits accepted from seminar courses do not equal the number of hours for the course. For a 3 hour seminar, 2 credits are earned and for a 2 hour seminar, 1 credit is earned toward the master’s degree. Only one seminar course may be used to meet degree requirements. 
• A B- is required for math and cognate credits.
• A cumulative grade point average (GPA) above a 5 is required to graduate. 
• A student will be on academic probation if his GPA falls below a 6.5.

Planning Your Program

In planning your program, it is strongly recommended that all incoming Master's students communicate with their Faculty Guide and/or the Student Academic Success Coordinators in the Academic Services Office early in their program. The MSE program provides the student with considerable flexibility. This flexibility puts a lot of responsibility on the student to understand the requirements. The student is responsible for determining how the program and courses can be utilized to meet individual educational and professional goals. The Faculty Guides and the Student Success Coordinators will provide considerable assistance in this regard, help minimize problems, and make sure students get the most out of their graduate studies.

Dual Degrees

Engineering Sustainable Systems

Launched in the fall of 2007, the Engineering Sustainable Systems dual degree confers a master of science (M.S.) degree from the School of Natural Resources and Environment (SNRE) and a master of science in engineering (M.S.E.) from the College of Engineering (CoE). Global climate change, energy security, ecological degradation, environmental threats to human health and resource scarcity are critical sustainability challenges for the 21st century. Sustainability is based upon the ability to meet societal needs within the context of economical and ecological constraints. The program trains graduate students to protect, restore, and create engineered and natural systems that are socially, environmentally, and economically sustainable. Graduates have the engineering and sustainability foundations to command jobs domestically and internationally with engineering consulting firms, research and development labs in the private and public sectors (e.g. Fortune 500 corporations), government agencies, and NGOs.

This is a 52 credit program. While the SNRE master's degree is a 42 credit program and the ME master's degree is a 30 credit program for a total of 72 credits, students in the dual-degree program can double count 18 credits reducing the total credit requirement to 52 credits.

For a summary of the degree requirements, please review the Dual-Master's Degree Program requirements document.

Mechanical Engineering M.S.E. with any other Rackham Graduate Program

The Rackham Graduate School provides students the opportunity to combine two graduate or graduate-professional programs. A student in a Rackham doctoral or master's program must complete at least one term of coursework in good academic standing in a regular Rackham program before requesting admission to a dual degree program. In order to shorten the length of the program, students are able to double-count a limited number of credits.

The term "double-counting" refers to the use of a limited number of credit hours toward the requirements of two separate master's degrees or certificate programs. The principle of double-counting allows the student to earn two degrees for fewer total credit hours than would normally be required if both programs were taken independently. The general Graduate School maximum for the number of hours that may be double-counted is determined as follows: Add together the minimum number of hours required for each of the two programs independently, and divide the sum by six. For example: Minimum credits required in field A = 30 Minimum credits required in field B = 36 Sum = 66 Sum divided by 6 = 11, which is the maximum number of credit hours that may be double-counted under the most favorable circumstances. Any resulting fraction is rounded down to the nearest whole number of credit hours. Credit hours for a single course may not be split; a course must be double-counted in its entirety or not at all.

For additional information, refer to the Dual Degree Application Form. Please be sure to read the directions and details carefully. To request double-counting, a student must complete a Dual Degree Election Form no later than one term prior to completing the second degree. 

Concentrations and Certificates

Concentration in Environmental Sustainability (ConcEnSus)

Students with interest in environmental sustainability can focus their coursework towards related topics to receive an additional recognition on their transcript for the ConcEnSus. Detailed information about ConcEnSus is available here.

What do I do if I am interested in pursuing a PhD after my Master's Degree?

A change of program from the Master's program to the Ph.D. program requires full intellectual and financial support of a UM Mechanical Engineering faculty member for the duration of the student's Ph.D. studies (typically 4 years after Master's). This letter can be sent directly from the faculty member to the Academic Services Office (me-aso@umich.edu).

Obtaining this support can be challenging so the following suggestions are offered to help strengthen the chance of obtaining full financial and intellectual support for Ph.D. studies:

• M.S.E. students interested in the Ph.D. program should consider performing a Master's Thesis with a faculty advisor. Master's thesis work that is going well and is promising for further research at the Ph.D. level is a strong motivation for a faculty member to find funding to support a Master's student's desire to pursue a PhD.
• M.S.E. students interested in the Ph.D. Program can apply to take the first component of the Ph.D. Qualifying Exam the Graduate Core Curriculum (GCC) exam. Master's students who apply to be considered for taking the GCC will be selected on the basis of their potential to succeed in the PhD program. If permission is not given to take the GCC Exam in a given semester, it is possible to apply in a later semester. This allows students to improve their standing in the graduate program before being considered again. Upon completion of the GCC exam, it is necessary to obtain full financial and intellectual support of a faculty member in order to take the second component of the qualifying examination, the Research Fundamentals Exam. 

Also, please be aware of the following:

• Stating an interest to take the GCC exam does not mean that a student will be allowed to take the GCC exam;
• There is no guarantee of taking the RFE, or gaining admission to the PhD program, based on passing or performing well on the GCC exams;
• The only benefit of taking the GCC exams as a Master's student is that faculty who might have late breaking PhD projects and are looking for students have a list they can look at to find potential PhD students;
• Historically only a modest fraction of Master's students who pass the GCC component receive the financial and intellectual support needed from a faculty member to take the RFE component of the qualifying exam.

Sequential Graduate Undergraduate Study (SGUS)

The Rackham SGUS program was developed to promote greater enrollment of qualified College of Engineering (CoE) students in the M.S.E program by making it possible for students to pursue a five-year combined B.S.E./M.S.E, B.S.E./M.S. The ME SGUS program is currently available only for ME undergraduate students. All applications are reviewed by the Graduate Applications Committee and admission is granted on a case-by-case basis. All SGUS students are required to enroll in two full terms as a graduate student at Rackham and pay full tuition.

The ME SGUS program allows students to double count a maximum of 9 credits from their Bachelor's degree at U of M Ann Arbor towards a 30 credit Master's degree at U of M Ann Arbor. These 9 double counted credits can come from graduate level technical electives, advanced math, and/or general electives taken to satisfy the undergraduate degree requirements. In addition, a SGUS student may transfer a maximum of 3 credits to their graduate degree if no portion of these credits were applied to the student's undergraduate degree. This leaves 18-21 credits required to complete the 30-credit Master's degree, which can be accomplished in one year with two semesters of graduate coursework.

Program Guidelines for the SGUS Program in ME

• At the end of junior year, students must meet with an ME advisor in the Academic Services Office (ASO - 2206 G.G. Brown) to file an intent to apply form for the ME SGUS program. The student will then work with the advisor to outline a preliminary study plan to make the appropriate course selections. SGUS students do not dual register.
• Minimum cumulative GPA requirement: 3.6. This minimum GPA is required at the time of filling out and maintained though completion of the Bachelor's degree except in rare cases.  
• After the intent to apply form has been completed and accepted, the student must apply for SGUS during their senior year by completing a Rackham graduate application. See below for information on the application process.
• The SGUS program is only available to students receiving their undergraduate and graduate degrees at the University of Michigan Ann Arbor campus.
• SGUS students must enroll in Rackham for a minimum of two full terms (at least 9 credits per term), paying full Rackham tuition.
• ME SGUS students may pursue either a coursework, research, or thesis Masters. The courses a student selects for double counting and/or transferring into Rackham must satisfy requirements from the type of Masters the student chooses. The requirements for the coursework, research, and thesis Masters are described above. 
• Rackham will accept a maximum of 9 credits to be double counted between the undergraduate and graduate degrees, even if the credit for specific courses to be double counted adds to more than 9 credit hours. However, the balance of the credit remaining after 9 hours are double counted cannot be counted toward any other Rackham degree requirement. For example, a student wants to double count 3 courses. The total credits for the 3 courses equals 10. Rackham will double count the maximum of 9. The 1 remaining credit cannot count toward the MSE  degree requirement but can count toward an undergraduate degree requirement. The double counted courses will appear on the undergraduate transcript. Double counted credits can only come from graduate level technical electives, advanced math, and/or general electives.
• The ME department will allow a maximum of 3 credits to be transferred into the Rackham graduate degree, in addition to the 9 double counted credits. These transfer credits cannot be used for any portion of the undergraduate degree. The transfer credit will appear on the graduate transcript. Therefore, an ME SGUS student may bring a maximum of 12 total double counted and transferred credits into Rackham.
• All double counted and transfer courses must have grades of "B" or above and be able to fit into the MSE (ME) degree audit.
• No deferment allowed. ME SGUS students must enroll in Rackham immediately upon completion of their undergraduate degree. In a few instances students may have up to 6 credits of the undergraduate program outstanding upon enrollment in Rackham in accordance with Rackham rules. The undergraduate degree can be awarded as soon as the degree requirements are met. If there are medical/personal/etc reasons for deferment, a student may submit a petition to the ME department.
• The SGUS program is not available for students pursuing a dual-degree in either their undergraduate or graduate program.
• Engineering Global Leadership (EGL) students are not eligible for SGUS and visa-versa.
• The GRE is waived for SGUS students.
• Should an SGUS student seek admission to a Ph.D. program, the GRE and other standard criteria would be required.
• Please review the Financial Support page of the graduate handbook for information on financial assistance. All Master's student information is relevant to SGUS students. 

How to Apply

The Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies at the University of Michigan regulates all graduate admissions, and the application for admission will therefore technically be made to Rackham. The ME Department will review all applicaiton materials and make admission recommendations, following which, Rackham will officially confirm this decision. For detailed information on Rackham's minimum admissions criteria and application procedures, please review this link. 

For information on application requirements, please view the ME Graduate Admissions page.