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M.S. in Mechanical Engineering (MSME)

Admission

To be unconditionally admitted to the M.S. thesis or non-thesis program, an applicant should have:

  • a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or in a related field, preferably from an accredited engineering program.
  • a grade point average of at least 3.00 out of 4.00 on the last 60 semester credit hours attempted exclusive of grades received for activities such as seminars, physical education, industrial internships, etc. (GPA Calculator)
  • an adequate score on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). Texas law prohibits the definition of minimum acceptable scores on the GRE. However, 160 to 163 is a typical average score on the Quantitative section across all degree programs for an admission class.
  • a minimum score of 6.5 on the IELTS or 79 on the internet-based TOEFL examination for students whose native language is not English.
  • three letters of recommendation attesting to the student’s capacity to perform in the classroom and (for applicants to the thesis program) in a research capacity. A minimum of two letters should be from tenure-track faculty members who have observed the academic performance of the applicant, and one can come from an engineering industry supervisor.
  • a statement of purpose that is consistent with the areas of instruction and (for applicants to the thesis program) the current research areas within the Department. The “Application for Financial Aid and Statement of Purpose” form available on the Application section of this website allows the applicant to specify areas of interest, and it lists issues to address in the statement of purpose.

Acceptance to the program is based on a competitive combination of academic background, GRE scores, and recommendation letters and Statement of Purpose. Domestic applicants who are not clearly competitive in all three areas may be admitted on a conditional basis at the discretion of the Director of Admissions. Nonimmigrant visa holders may not be admitted conditionally.

 

Program of Study for the M.S. Program with Thesis

The program requires completion of a minimum of 30 credit hours distributed as follows:

  • Nine hours of thesis credits (the first three for MECE 6399, the remaining for MECE 7399).
  • Three hours from the course MECE 6384 Methods of Applied Mathematics I.
  • At least nine hours of core courses from the following list:
    1. Controls: MECE 6367 Control Systems Analysis and Design; MECE 6388: Optimal Control Theory; MECE 7361 System Identification.
    2. Materials: MECE 6361 Mechanical Behavior of Materials; MECE 6363 Physical Metallurgy; MECE 6364: Phase Transform in Materials.
    3. Mechanics: MECE 6377 Continuum Mechanics I; MECE 7397: Continuum Mechanics II.
    4. Thermo-Fluids: MECE 6334 Convection Heat Transfer; MECE 6345 Fluid Dynamics I.
  • The remaining hours can be chosen from either MECE courses at 6000-level or above or a list of approved courses in the College of Engineering, the College of Natural Science and Mathematics, the Bauer College of Business, and the UH Law Center at 6000-level or above. If you choose non-MECE courses, no more than three hours from one academic unit (department or program) will be allowed. Click here for the up-to-date list of approved courses.

If a graduate course is dual-listed with an undergraduate 5000-level section, the student must enroll in the graduate section. Approval of any course that falls outside of the description given here must be requested by petition to the Director of Graduate Studies. Approval must be received prior to enrollment in the course.

The graduation requirements for this program are a successfully defended thesis and at least a 3.00 grade point average over all courses. The Director of Graduate Studies must approve the composition of the thesis examining committee prior to the defense date. The committee consists of at least three tenure-track faculty members, with one member from outside the Department.

Defense Guidelines

 

Program of Study for the M.S. Program without Thesis

The program requires successful completion of 30 hours of course work distributed as follows:

  • Three hours from the course MECE 6384 Methods of Applied Mathematics I.
  • Nine hours of core courses from the following list:
    1. Controls: MECE 6367 Control Systems Analysis and Design; MECE 6374: Nonlinear Control Systems.
    2. Materials: MECE 6361 Mechanical Behavior of Materials; MECE 6363 Physical Metallurgy; MECE 6364: Phase Transform in Materials.
    3. Mechanics: MECE 6377 Continuum Mechanics I; MECE 7397 Advanced Mechanics of Solids.
    4. Thermo-Fluids: MECE 6334 Convection Heat Transfer; MECE 6345 Fluid Dynamics I.
  • Nine hours of elective courses from the MECE 6000-level or above, exclusive of graduate seminar (MECE 6111) and Graduate Project (MECE 6368).
  • The remaining hours can be chosen from either MECE courses at 6000-level or above or a list of approved courses in the College of Engineering, the College of Natural Science and Mathematics, the Bauer College of Business, and the UH Law Center at 6000-level or above. If you choose non-MECE courses, no more than three hours from one academic unit (department or program) will be allowed. Click here for the up-to-date list of approved courses. Three hours can be satisfied by completing the directed-study Graduate Project course, MECE 6368. A statement of the intent of the directed study must be approved by petition to the Graduate Director prior to registration in MECE 6368. A report describing the results of the project must be filed with, and archived by, the instructor at the end of the course.

If a graduate course is dual-listed with an undergraduate 5000-level section, the student must enroll in the graduate section. Approval of any course that falls outside of the description given here must be requested by petition to the Director of Graduate Studies. Approval must be received prior to enrollment in the course. Non-thesis students should not enroll in research or thesis courses (6x98, 6399, 7399).

The graduation requirements for this program are at least a 3.00 grade point average over all courses, and separately, at least a 3.00 grade point average on all MECE courses, including MECE 6384. In calculating the grade point average on MECE courses, if a student receives a grade “C+” or lower on an MECE course, and repeats the course (or takes an equivalent course approved by the Director of Graduate Study) with a better grade, the lower grade is dropped in the calculation.

 

Thesis students should be advised of the following:

M.S. Thesis Option.  The Mechanical Engineering, MS thesis option requires the completion of 9 hours of thesis credits (MECE 6399, MECE 7399, and MECE 7399) Only one MECE 7399 course can be taken per semester, so please plan accordingly.  An S or U grade must be assigned to every thesis course until the thesis is successfully completed (defended and submitted).  A final letter grade via grade change request will be assigned to the required number of thesis hours once the student has successfully completed the thesis (defended and submitted).  In case a student registers for thesis hours over and above the nine hours that are required, these additional hours will remain as S or U on the student’s transcript.  This is a Graduate School directive and aimed at avoiding grade inflation.