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The Department of Mechanical Engineering offers graduate degrees with concentrations in four areas:

• Manufacturing Systems
• Mechatronics Systems
• Thermal/Fluid Systems and Alternative Energy
• Transportation Systems

The Mechanical Engineering graduate program is student-centered, providing high-quality instruction in both theory and the latest engineering developments. Graduate faculty members hold doctorates in engineering, and most bring significant industrial experience to the classroom. For the working person, our graduate classes are held in the late afternoon and evening. Many of our full-time graduate students obtain paid internships in local industry for one or two terms during their course of study. Two graduate degrees are offered:

• Master of Engineering with a major in Mechanical Engineering
• Doctor of Engineering with a major in Mechanical Engineering

Master of Engineering

Traditional Master's Program vs. 5 year Bachelor's/Master's Program
Students may enter the Master's program in one of two ways:

Traditional Students
Students who are not UDM students or UDM students who do not qualify for the 5-year Bachelor's/Master's program or UDM alumni may apply for graduate school either on-line or by completing a written application. Typical minimum requirements include an undergraduate GPA of 3.0, a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or closely related discipline from an accredited university and successful completion of the Graduate Record Exam (GRE). Although no minimum score is required for the Graduate record Exam (GRE), results from the exam are used to evaluate the overall application. In addition, the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), if applicable, while not required as part of the application, is encouraged because its results can be useful in facilitating the admission process.

5-Year Bachelor's/Master's Students
Students who are completing their Bachelor's degree at UDM may apply for the 5-year Bachelor's/Master's program in their senior year if they have a GPA of at least 3.25, are in good standing with UDM, and are within two to three terms of graduating. If accepted into the 5-year Bachelor's/Master's program, students can receive up to nine transfer credits to their Master's program from appropriate courses in their Bachelor's program.

Details of the Master's Program
The Master of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering may be completed through either a thesis or non-thesis option.

Thesis Option
The thesis option includes 24 semester-credit hours of course work and six semester-credit hours of thesis effort for a total of 30 semester-credit hours. The thesis effort is a research project conducted under the supervision of a faculty member and is divided between two terms of thesis credits. A properly-formatted and duly-approved written thesis is submitted at the completion of the effort, after a final formal presentation to the College faculty and students.

Non-Thesis Option
The non-thesis option consists of 30 semester-credit hours of course work and a three semester credit hour capstone design course for a total of 33 semester-credit hours. The project-based design course (ME 598) is conducted under the supervision of a faculty member and the guidance of the Departmental faculty. This course assesses the student's ability to synthesize material covered in the graduate curriculum, and culminates in a brief presentation to the Departmental faculty along with a written report.

Course Requirements:
All Master's students are required to take two types of courses: Required and Concentration-Specific courses as follows:

Required Courses

• E 502, Design of Experiments
• One Advanced mathematics course (e.g., E 530, Advanced Engineering Mathematics, MTH 527, Probability and Statistics), etc.).

Concentration Specific Courses
Each student has two additional required core courses depending on his/her chosen concentration as follows:

Concentration in Manufacturing Systems
The manufacturing systems concentration provides students with modern scientific training in manufacturing engineering. This program educates students to deal effectively with the complex manufacturing systems prevalent in industry today.

Concentration in Mechatronics Systems
The mechatronics systems concentration provides students with modern training in the rapidly evolving and technically relevant topic of mechatronics engineering. Because mechatronics represents the melding of mechanical engineering, electrical/electronic engineering, and computers, career opportunities are excellent. This concentration educates students to deal effectively with the complex synergy of sensors, mechanisms and embedded intelligence that are increasingly prevalent in consumer and commercial products.

Concentration in Thermal/Fluid Systems and Alternative Energy
The study of thermal systems and alternative energy conversion enables the graduate to make substantive contributions to the generation, use and conservation of energy. This concentration educates students to deal effectively with the complex thermo-fluids topics including computational methods and in-depth topics related to heat transfer and fluid mechanics. Contemporary topics related to alternative energy sources and energy efficiency and sustainability are emphasized.

Concentration in Transportation Systems
The application of Mechanical Engineering to the transportation industry has taken new directions as critical technologies are incorporated into vehicles. The concentration in transportation systems and engineering prepares students to design quality products in this highly competitive international market.

The Doctor of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering requires that students complete the doctoral core courses, the core courses for one concentration, as well as at least nine credit hours in a related discipline and 30 credit hours of dissertation. The Doctoral program is divided into three parts: Coursework, Dissertation and Examination.

Coursework
Coursework consists of 51 post-baccalaureate course credits at the graduate level. Up to 30 graduate credit hours can be transferred and at least 21 graduate credits must be accrued at UDM. Coursework is divided into:

• Doctoral Core courses
• Concentration Core courses
• Discipline Specific courses

There are three Doctoral Core courses (or equivalent): E 502, Design of Experiments; E 520, Optimization; and E 530, Advanced Engineering Mathematics. For Concentration Core courses, each concentration has a number of associated courses, all of which must be taken to fulfill the requirements for the concentration. Discipline Specific courses are those related to Mechanical Engineering and at least nine credits of Mechanical Engineering courses must be taken outside the Concentration Core and Doctoral Core courses.

Dissertation
Dissertation credits consist of research credits accrued under the guidance of a Doctoral Dissertation committee headed by a faculty member who acts as the supervisor. Although Doctoral research is independent, novel and advances the state of the art, the committee members can provide guidance, advice and technical expertise. A minimum of 30 dissertation credits is required for the Doctor of Engineering degree.

Examination
Examinations comprise three stages: Qualifying, Dissertation Topic and Final.

The Qualifying Examination is administered and interpreted by the college-level Engineering & Science Graduate Council. The exam consists of three parts: Mathematics, Computation, and Discipline Specific (in this case, Mechanical Engineering topics relevant to the individual examinee). The Qualifying Examination must be taken as soon as the student has completed the Doctoral Core courses. Students passing the Qualifying Examination are allowed to advance in the Doctoral program. Students can repeat the qualifying exam once. Students failing the Qualifying Examination for the second time are dismissed from the Doctoral program.

The Dissertation Topic Examination consists of the formal presentation of the dissertation topic to the supervisory committee. The committee provides feedback to the student regarding scope, depth and relevancy of the topic. With approval of the committee, the student can proceed with the research and subsequent accrual of dissertation credits.

The Final Examination consists of the formal and public presentation of the dissertation results. The written dissertation must also be approved and accepted by the supervisory committee. The Final Examination, in concert with submission of the approved version of the written dissertation, constitutes the last step in completion of the Doctor of Engineering degree.