Coursework and Courses

Mechanical Engineering Graduate Student Handbook

Direct Admission to Ph.D. from B.S.

If you wish to enter the Ph.D. program directly from a B.S. degree, you will be required to take a minimum of 36 hours of course work (not S/U graded coursework) and 18 hours of dissertation research (ME 9000). The Major Professor, Advisory Committee, and the ME Graduate Program Director, as evidenced by the certification of the departmental Plan of Study form, must approve course work.

Declare a primary specialization in one of the following areas:
- Thermal Sciences, Mechanical Systems, or Materials Science and Engineering
Take a minimum of 12 credit hours of core courses from the declared area of specialization.
Take 3 credit hours of a Math course
Take 21 credit hours of technical elective courses (selected by student/major professor/advisory committee and approved by the ME Graduate Program Director)
Take a minimum of eighteen (18) credit hours of course work at the 7000 level (6 courses)
Register for ME 7901 (ME Graduate Seminar); required to register and attend every semester (excluding summers).
Please Note: The seminar attendance requirement for part-time students will be for one semester only. The seminar course (ME 7901) attendance requirement is waived for any student, after the date when he/she has successfully defended his/her dissertation, or while he/she is participating in an out-of-state internship or out-of state student exchange program under approval of his/her major professor. If this condition is met for an entire semester, the registration requirement is waived.
Please Note: Core courses for PhD students are the same as required for M.S. Degree students
Take a minimum of 18 credit hours of ME 9000
You are required to present your research results at a departmental forum before graduation, usually during your final semester in residence. This is done in the departmental, annual Graduate Student Research Conference (GSRC), prior to graduation.

Admission to Ph.D. from M.S.

If the student has earned a recognizable M.S. degree with at least 24 hours of graduate-level courses, he/she may be allowed to transfer up to 18 hours of course work credit upon approval by the major professor and the student’s advisory committee, which will count on the requirement of a minimum of 36 hours of course work. You will require a minimum core requirement of 12 credit hours from the declared area of specialization among thermal sciences, mechanical systems, or materials science and engineering, along with 6 credit hours of technical electives (related to the student’s research area and approved by the advisory committee), and 18 hours of dissertation research (ME 9000) for the Ph.D. degree. Among the 12 credit hours of core course work, a minimum of 9 credit hours should be taken from 7XXX level courses. Course work must be approved by the major professor, the student’s advisory committee, and the ME Graduate Program Director, as evidenced by the certification of the departmental plan of study form and the Doctoral Degree Audit and Request for General Examination, which is submitted no later than three (3) weeks to the Graduate School in advance from the actual date of the general exam (you would put all your course work on this form). Please Note: Independent/Specialty Topics courses (ME 7903) will NOT count towards the 18 hour course requirement for Ph.D. students with obtained Master’s Degrees.

Probationary Status

This section of the Ph.D. requirements applies to those entering with probationary status. If you are a full-time student entering with probationary status, you must complete a minimum of 9 hours of graduate-level technical courses in the first semester. The graduate studies committee must approve exceptions to this during your first semester. A 3.0 average or better must be obtained in these courses. Failure to attain this average will result in your being dropped from the program.
If you are a part-time student entering with probationary status, you must complete a minimum of 3 hours of graduate-level technical courses. The graduate studies committee must approve exceptions to this during your first semester. You will remain on probation until you have completed 9 hours of technical graduate-level courses with at least a 3.0 average. If you are a part-time student on probation with fewer than 9 hours of technical graduate-level courses, you will be dropped from the program if your grade-point average falls below 3.0 during any semester.

Course Requirements

Declare a primary specialization in one of the following areas: Thermal Sciences, Mechanical Systems, or Materials.

Take a minimum of 4 core courses within your primary area of specialization. The list of approved core courses are the following:

* Required for all Materials Majors

Take 1 course from the following list:

Mathematics

MATH 4038 Mathematical Methods in Engineering

MATH 4340 Partial Differential Equations

MATH 4036 Complex Variables

ME 7533 Numerical Methods in Applied Mechanics

Other course requirements include:

Declare a primary specialization in one of the following areas:
- Thermal Sciences, Mechanical Systems, or Materials Science and Engineering
Take a minimum of 12 credit hours of core courses in the area of his/her specialization
Take 3 credit hours of a Math course
Take 21 credit hours of technical elective courses (selected by student/major professor/advisory committee)
Take a minimum of eighteen (18) credit hours of course work at the 7000 level (6 courses)
Register for ME 7901 (ME Graduate Seminar); required to register and attend every semester (excluding summers).
Please Note: The seminar attendance requirement for part-time students will be for one semester only. The seminar course (ME 7901) attendance requirement is waived for any student, after the date when he/she has successfully defended his/her thesis, or while he/she is participating in an out-of-state internship or out-of state student exchange program under approval of his/her major professor. If this condition is met for an entire semester, the registration requirement is waived.
Please Note: Core courses for PhD students are the same as required for M.S. Degree students
Take a minimum of twelve hours of ME 9000
You are required to present your research results at a departmental forum before graduation, usually during your final semester in residence. This is done in the departmental, annual Graduate Student Conference (GSC), prior to graduation.