Apr 19, 2024  
2023-2024 Graduate Bulletin 
    
2023-2024 Graduate Bulletin

Mechanical Engineering 4 + 1, M.S.M.E.


Point of Contact: Yong Zhu, PhD

The Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering (MSME)program requires 30 credits of graduate-level course work. The program consists of 15 credits of mandatory core courses. Students have the option of a six-credit thesis or a three-credit project with an additional three-credit technical elective. Students may select nine (9) or twelve (12) additional credits from the list of technical electives. The required courses and typical course sequence of the normal two-year MSME program is shown below.

Requirements for MSME, Typical Course Sequence


Students interested in the MSME 4+1 program should apply and be admitted into the program no later than the end of the junior year. During the senior year (or earlier with advisor approval and as their schedules allow), students should complete at least two graduate-level technical courses (six graduate credits) in addition to the 130 undergraduate credits required for the ME Bachelor’s degree. These graduate credits are NOT counted towards the undergraduate degree; instead, they will be counted only towards the 30 graduate credits required for the MSME program. Subsequently, the student would complete an additional 24 credits within one year to fulfill the 30-credit requirement of the MSME program. Students in the MSME 4+1 program would still have the option of a six-credit thesis or a three-credit project.

Almost all of the mandatory courses in the master’s curriculum are also offered to seniors as technical electives. If a mandatory master’s course has been completed by a student in the MSME 4+1 program during the undergraduate study as a technical elective, it may be replaced by a technical course approved by the graduate coordinator to fulfill the 30-credit requirement of the MSME program. A suggested course sequence for the MSME 4+1 program is shown below.

First Semester


Second Semester


Third Semester


Fourth Semester


MSME 4+1 Suggested Course Sequence


Junior or Senior Year


  • MTH 361 - Partial Differential Equations
  • Technical Elective

First Semester, Fifth Year


Second Semester, Fifth Year


Total Credits: 30