Master of Science Degree Requirements:
M.S. Program in Mechanical Engineering
Students enrolled in the M.S. program in Mechanical Engineering must complete at least 30 credits for graduation. This includes 24 credits of approved coursework and 6 credits of M.S. Thesis Research. The M.S. Coursework Plan sets forth the courses required to be taken by the student in partial fulfillment of the M.S. degree requirements. The coursework plan must be prepared in consultation with a faculty advisor in the student's technical area of interest, and submitted to the Graduate Office (2168 Glenn L. Martin Hall) for approval by the Director of Graduate Studies at the beginning of the first semester of study. Changes to the plan are permitted, but must be approved by the student's advisor and the Director of Graduate Studies prior to their implementation. A new coursework plan reflecting the changes must be filed with the ME Graduate Office every time changes are made.
The M.S. Coursework Plan can include a maximum of 6 approved transfer credits for graduate work undertaken at other accredited U.S. institutions. These transfer credits must be approved by Graduate School; approval is sought through the submission of a Transfer or Inclusion of Credit form to Graduate School. Transfer of credits may be accepted on the following conditions: (a) The coursework must be no more than seven years old at the time of graduation; and (b) the Graduate Director and the advisor must indicate to the Dean of the Graduate School that the coursework taken has been revalidated by the student’s demonstration that the knowledge contained in the course(s) remains current. Each course for which revalidation is requested must be justified separately. Under no circumstances will any transfer credits be accepted that are more than seven years old at the time of graduation.
The plan must contain a minimum of 24 credits of graduate coursework (not including thesis credits). At least 15 credits must be from courses taken at the 600-level or above. The coursework must satisfy the following criteria:
- Core courses: 3 credits minimum
- Math courses: 3 credits minimum
- Elective courses: 18 credits minimum
A minimum of five courses must be completed in the Department of Mechanical Engineering.
The Core (breadth) requirement is fulfilled by completing one course that is outside of a student’s research area from the following list :
Design, Risk Assessment and Manufacturing
- ENME 600: Engineering Design Methods
(formerly known as Advanced Mechanical Design) - ENME 608: Engineering Decision Making
- ENME 610: Engineering Optimization
Thermal, Fluid and Energy Sciences
- ENME 632: Advanced Convection Heat Transfer
- ENME 633: Molecular Thermodynamics
- ENME 640: Fundamentals of Fluid Mechanics
Mechanics and Materials
- ENME 605: Advanced Systems Control
- ENME 662: Linear Vibrations
- ENME 664: Dynamics
- ENME 670: Continuum Mechanics
- ENME677: Elasticity of Advanced Materials and Structures
Electronic Packaging Systems
- ENME 690: Mechanical Fundamentals of Electronic Systems
- ENME 695: Failure Mechanisms and Reliability
M.S. students in the M.S. Program must complete a minimum of 6 credits of Master's Thesis Research (ENME 799) while preparing the M.S. thesis. Thesis research must be carried out under the guidance of an advisor who is a member of the Mechanical Engineering Graduate Faculty. The thesis must be presented formally and defended in an oral examination open to the public, which is conducted upon completion of the thesis.
The members of the thesis examining committee must be nominated at least eight weeks prior to the thesis defense. The Graduate School has further information on deadlines for submission of the Nomination of Thesis Committee form. This form must first be submitted to the ME Graduate Office for approval and then forwarded to the Registrar's Office in order to nominate the committee. Changes in a thesis committee can be made at any time, with the approval of the student’s advisor, the Graduate Director, and the Graduate School. In addition to the Graduate School’s requirements for the composition of a thesis examining committee, the Department of Mechanical Engineering requires that mechanical and reliability engineering thesis committees be comprised of three regular faculty members (tenure or tenure-track faculty). Additional members beyond these three can be made, including the special nomination of research faculty or outside scientists.
The M.S. thesis must be prepared according to the guidelines in the current edition of the University of Maryland Thesis Manual (pdf), which may be obtained at: A copy of the thesis, after the advisor has approved it, must be provided to each member of the examining committee at least two weeks prior to the date of the examination. In addition, one week prior to the examination date, a notice must be posted on the bulletin board outside the ME Graduate Office inviting faculty and students to the formal thesis presentation. A copy of this notice should be sent to the Graduate Coordinator at amata@umd.edu, who will post the notice on the ME graduate-student list server.
After the Graduate School approves the Thesis Committee, the Report of the Examining Committee Form is mailed to the ME Graduate Office. A few days before the examination is scheduled to take place, the student should verify with the ME Graduate office that the report is in his or her file. The student’s advisor then obtains the Report of the Examining Committee Form and takes it with her to the defense. Upon passing the examination, this form is signed by each member of the examining committee and submitted to the ME Graduate Office for forwarding to the Registrar's Office.
At least one unbound copy of the thesis on regular paper is to be submitted to the ME Graduate Office. Students are encouraged to provide their advisor with an additional bound copy of the thesis (binding is available through the ME Graduate Office). An electronic copy of the thesis must be submitted to the Graduate School (see below).
The necessary forms may be processed by the ME Graduate Office with the assistance of the student and his or her advisor. The following forms must be completed and submitted prior to graduation:
1. Application for Diploma, also referred to as Graduation Candidate Application. This application must be completed online at www.testudo.umd.edu/apps/candapp
2. Approved Program Form (this is not the same document as the department’s M.S. Coursework Plan.) This form must be submitted to the Registrar's Office, 1113 Mitchell Building. Copies of the form are available from the Graduate School and ME Graduate Office. (If the students have transferred from another program into the Mechanical Engineering M.S. program they must submit a Request for Transfer or Inclusion of Credit Form to the Graduate School, 2123 Lee Building, in order to include previous coursework as part of the Mechanical Engineering Approved Program Form).
3. Nomination of Thesis or Dissertation Committee Form This form must be submitted to the Registrar's Office, 1113 Mitchell Building. Copies of the form are available from Graduate School and the ME Graduate Office.
4. Report of the Examining Committee Form. This form is generated by the Registrar's Office upon the Graduate School's approval of the Nomination of Thesis Committee form and kept on file in the ME Graduate Office. The signed Report of the Examining Committee form must be submitted to the Registrar's Office.
5. An electronic copy of the thesis must be submitted to the Graduate School at http://dissertations.umi.com/umd/.
One copy of the approved thesis should be submitted to the ME Graduate Office, 2168 Martin Hall.
Deadlines for the above forms vary from semester to semester and are posted in the Schedule of Classes and online at
www.gradschool.umd.edu/deadlines/
Failure to submit the forms by the established deadlines results in postponement of the student’s graduation to the following semester. During the final semester, students should verify with the ME Graduate Office that they have met all the requirements for graduation.
Summary of Requirements and Timeline
First semester
- M.S. Course Work Plan Approved by Advisor and Graduate Director
- Request for Inclusion or Transfer of Credits (pdf) submitted (if transferring any credits into the M.S. program, these credits must be approved on your M.S. Course Work Plan)
Semester Before Last
- Nomination of Thesis Committee Form submitted
(must be submitted at least 8 weeks before Thesis defense)
Last semester
- Application for Diploma submitted by first week of semester
- Approved Program Form submitted at beginning of semester
- M.S. Thesis Defense
- Report of Examining Committee Form submitted following defense
(pick up form in ME Grad Office) - Electronic copy of thesis submitted to Graduate School at
http://dissertations.umi.com/umd/ - 1 copy of Thesis submitted to ME Graduate Office
* M.S. students must complete all requirements for their degree within five years, this includes any credit transferred from other institutions.
Transfer into the Ph.D. Program
Students enrolled in the M.S. program with a GPA of 3.5 or above and at least 24 graduate credits have an option to take the Ph.D. qualifying exam (see Section VI.2 in the Graduate Handbook) during the following semester. This option must be exercised by no later than during their fourth semester of study, or during the semester following the semester in which the student has accumulated 24 credits or more, whichever occurs first.
Qualified M.S. students who would like to avail themselves of the opportunity to take the Ph.D. qualifying examination must notify the ME Graduate Office of their intention prior to the start of the semester in which they plan to take the exam. Students who pass the Ph.D. qualifying examination and meet the admission requirements of the Mechanical Engineering Department will be recommended for direct admission into the Ph.D. program. At their request, such students will also have an opportunity to earn an M.S. degree without thesis upon their advancement to candidacy. Students who anticipate qualifying for transfer or subsequent entry into the Ph.D. program should note that M.S. thesis credits (ENME 799) do not count toward the Ph.D. course work requirement. Students who exercise their option to take, but are unable to pass, the Ph.D. qualifying examination, will not be considered for admission into the Ph.D. program. Students wishing to switch from the M.S. Degree program to the Ph.D. must in all cases reapply to the Graduate School for admission into the Ph.D. program (see the admission requirements listed in section IV.1).
Continuation towards the Ph.D. Degree
Students who graduate from the M.S. program in good standing may reapply to the Graduate School for admission into the Ph.D. program. Such students must satisfy the Admission requirements for the Ph.D. program, and will need to take the Ph.D. qualifying exam in their first semester of the Ph.D. program as described in section VI.2 in the Graduate Handbook.
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