MS Program Graduate Prospective Students

Graduate Studies Information for Prospective Students

The Department of Mechanical Engineering offers a thesis option and a non-thesis option leading to the M.S. degree. The thesis option requires a minimum of 30 credit hours of graduate work, including a thesis for six hours of credit. The non-thesis option requires a minimum of 30 credit hours of graduate course work. A three credit hour independent investigation may be selected in lieu of three hours of coursework in the major for the non-thesis option.

Plan of Study

The M.S. degree student will select an advisor by the end of the first semester of graduate study. The Graduate Director advises as to enrollment for this first semester. The student and the student's Advisory Committee [made up of at least three members, all of whom must be members of the Graduate Faculty and at least two of whom must be Mechanical Engineering Faculty; chaired by the student's advisor,an ME faculty member] determine a plan of study (i.e., a list of specific courses and semester inwhich they are taken) during the following semester of enrollment.

The complete plan of study must be approved by the Advisory Committee before the beginning of the second semester of graduate enrollment and filed electronically with the Department and the Graduate Division of the School of Engineering. The student may change from one advisor to another if approved by the previous advisor, the Graduate Director, and the Department Chair. The student and the new advisor may, in consultation with the advisory committee, develop a new plan of study, which may require additional courses different than those of the previous plan of study. Courses completed without an approved plan of study filed will not necessarily be approved to count toward the degree.

• Online Plan of Study for M.S.

The major will be selected from either the energy and thermal-fluids category, the mechanics and mechanical design category, or the biomechanics category. A maximum of six hours of Mechanical Engineering courses numbered between 500 and 699 may be included in the program of study. Courses either required or used for the B.S. degree may not be used to fulfill M.S. degree requirements. Graduate faculty employed full-time by the Department of Mechanical Engineering must teach at least one half of the graduate level coursework.

Thesis Option

The program of study for the thesis option includes (1) not fewer than three credit hours dealing with advanced mathematics, (2) 6 thesis credits, and (3) a minimum of 12 credit hours (exclusive of credit for mathematics and the independent investigation or thesis) selected from Mechanical Engineering courses.

Non-Thesis Option

The program of study for the non-thesis option includes (1) no fewer than three credit hours dealing with advanced mathematics and (2) a minimum of 15 credit hours (exclusive of credit for mathematics) selected from Mechanical Engineering courses.

Final Examination

Each M.S. degree candidate must pass a final examination that may be oral, or both written and oral, as determined by the Advisory Committee. The examination must be publicized (by email, web, and posted notices) at least one week before the date of the examination. The examination will cover the field of mechanical engineering for both the thesis and non-thesis options and will emphasize the thesis for the thesis option.

The thesis presentation section of the examination shall be open. The written section of the examination, if required, will be composed and graded by the Examination Committee and is typically given at a different time than the presentation section. The Examination Committee, which is usually the Advisory Committee, must consist of at least three members of the Graduate Faculty, at least two of whom must be Mechanical Engineering Faculty.

The final examination is normally held in the semester of the candidate's final enrollment in course work and after the thesis or independent investigation is completed. The request to schedule the examination must be submitted to the Department on the University of Kansas Do-All form at least two weeks prior to the examination date. Unbound thesis copies must be submitted to the examination committee a minimum of 7 days before the examination.

Note: Masters Candidates must be enrolled for at least one credit hour during the semester in which the Masters Final Examination is taken.

Only two attempts to pass the M.S. examination are allowed. If the examination is not passed in two attempts, the student will be terminated from the program and will not receive the degree. For the thesis option only, if the candidate's performances in the MS program and examination are sufficiently meritorious, a "meritorious" notation may be made on the Do-All form reporting the examination results.

A thesis option student is expected to do original work that would be the basis of a paper suitable for publication in a refereed journal. Electronic Thesis submission to the Graduate Division of the University of Kansas shall be done only after the final examination is passed and the thesis is approved. One bound copy of the thesis is required for the Department of Mechanical Engineering, and one bound copy is required for the major advisor (both accompanied by the funds needed to bind them). The student should also submit their thesis electronically. To find out more information about submitting an electronic thesis, please visit the Graduate School website. The author, thesis title, and date will be printed on the thesis spine. In order to be cleared for completion of the degree, all of the Graduate School thesis requirements must be satisfied.

A non-thesis option student who selects the three credit hour independent investigation must do an analytical or experimental study of interest to the student and acceptable to the advisor. An oral presentation of the results of the project before Mechanical Engineering graduate students and faculty is required. A typed unbound copy of the project report must also be provided to the advisor.

Program Time Constraints

Master’s degree students are allowed a maximum of seven years for completion of all requirements for the degree. In cases in which there are compelling reasons or circumstances, the Dean of Engineering has authority to grant a one-year extension.

Credit by Transfer

Six hours of graduate credit taken at a regionally accredited graduate school may be transferred and applied to the master’s degree, provided that the transfer has the approval of the ME department (Graduate Director) and the Dean of Engineering. Eight hours may be approved for transfer if the student holds a baccalaureate degree from the University of Kansas. Transfer credit may not be the last hours required for the degree. Only work graded A or B may be transferred. The University of Kansas does not accept the transfer of credit for graduate-level courses completed in institutes and workshops or given for life/work experience.