Mechanical Engineering

The M.S. in Mechanical Engineering program provides the opportunity for students to specialize in one of three emphasis areas: mechanical system design, system dynamics and control, and thermal-fluid systems.

The program features a thesis plan and a comprehensive examination plan so that the students can tailor their studies to complement their specific career and educational goals.

A. Requirements for Admission to the Program

1. General University requirements apply for all applicants.
2. For admission, a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering with a 3.0 or higher overall grade point average is required. Applicants with an overall grade point average between 2.5 and 3.0 will be considered for admission on a case-by-case basis.
3. For admission with a baccalaureate degree other than Mechanical Engineering, applicants must have an overall grade point average of 3.0 or higher. Qualified applicants without a baccalaureate degree in Mechanical Engineering will be considered for admission on a case-by-case basis. Additional preparatory coursework should be anticipated.
4. Approval by the College of Engineering and Computer Science and the department graduate coordinator.
5. A Statement of Purpose describing the applicant’s educational and career goals as well as two recommendation letters from professional references and applicant’s resume are required.
6. Foreign students must undertake Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or other acceptable tests as specified by CSUN Office of Admissions for International Students to demonstrate their proficiency in English language.
7. To be considered for admission, the grades received in the undergraduate program and cumulative GPA must be available on a four-point letter grade scale of A-F. This admission requirement applies to applicants whose undergraduate (or other) institution does not report course grades in a letter format corresponding to a four-point numerical scale (A = 4, B = 3, C = 2, D = 1, F = 0) equivalent to the grading system used at CSUN.
8. Students interested in the M.S. in Mechanical Engineering degree program who do not have an undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering should contact the graduate coordinator regarding prerequisite requirements. The “Prerequisites” courses or their equivalents (including 400-level courses) are required if they have not been taken previously, but they do not count as part of the M.S. program.

B. Requirements for Enrollment in Culminating Experience Courses

1. Advancement to classified graduate status.
2. Completion of 12 units of coursework with an average grade of “B” or higher to enroll in ME 696 Directed Graduate Research.
3. Completion of 24 units of coursework with an average grade of “B” or higher to enroll in culminating experience ME 697D or ME 698D.

C. Requirements for the Degree

1. Completion of 31 units under the thesis plan or the comprehensive examination plan.
2. Completion of the core curriculum requirements.
3. Completion of the culminating experience requirement (ME 697D or ME 698D), which is one (1) unit (CR/NC).
4. Students in the thesis option must include six (6) units of enrollment in Directed Graduate Research (ME 696).
5. A maximum of six (6) units (two courses) completed outside CSUN’s Mechanical Engineering program may be approved for transfer credit, but must be relevant to the M.S. ME program of study and must have grades of “B” or higher. Credit transfer is considered for courses listed below as well as on a case-by-case basis with graduate coordinator approval.
6. All coursework taken at CSUN in the student’s graduate program must be completed with a grade of “C” or higher.
7. Students must satisfy the requirements for the thesis plan or comprehensive examination plan.
8. Formal approval of granting of the degree by the Mechanical Engineering faculty.

D. Required Courses

The number of required units is fixed for all students in the M.S. degree program.

1. Required Core (15 units)

Math Analysis

ME 501A Seminar in Engineering Analysis (3)

Breadth Requirement

ME 530 Mechanical Analysis of Solids (3)
ME 575 Applied Heat and Mass Transfer (3)
ME 584 Modeling and Simulation of Dynamic Systems (3)
ME 590 Advanced Fluid Dynamics (3)

2. Culminating Experience (1 unit) [CR/NC only]

ME 698D Thesis (1)
or ME 697D Directed Comprehensive Studies/Exam (1)

3. Electives (15 units)

A. Thesis Plan

ME 696 Directed Graduate Research (6)

Three elective courses (9 units) relevant to the thesis topic and approved by the thesis faculty committee chair.

B. Comprehensive Exam Plan

Five elective courses (15 units) with at least three courses (9 units) selected from a single emphasis area.

Emphasis Areas

Mechanical System Design

ME 501B Seminar in Engineering Analysis (3)
ME 532 Mechanics of Polymers (3)
ME 536 Mechanical Design with Composites (3)
ME 630 Computer-Aided Design of Machinery (3)
ME 686A Advanced Modeling, Analysis and Optimization I (3)
ME 686B Advanced Modeling, Analysis and Optimization II (3)
MSE 527/L Mechanical Behavior of Materials and Lab (2/1)

System Dynamics and Control

ME 501B Seminar in Engineering Analysis (3)
ME 503 Biomedical Instrumentation (3)
ME 515 Dynamics of Machines (3)
ME 520 Robot Mechanics and Control (3)
ME 522 Autonomous Intelligent Vehicle (3)
ME 684 Design and Control of Dynamic Systems (3)

Thermal-Fluid Systems

ME 501B Seminar in Engineering Analysis (3)
ME 583 Thermal-Fluids System Design (3)
ME 593 Compressible Flow (3)
ME 595 Advanced Measurements (3)
ME 670 Advanced Topics in Thermodynamics (3)
ME 675A Conductive and Radiative Heat Transfer (3)
ME 675B Convective Heat and Mass Transfer (3)
ME 683 Energy Processes (3)
ME 692 Computational Fluid Dynamics (3)

Total Units Required for the M.S. Degree: 31