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, two recommendation letters from professional references and a resume are required. The Statement of Purpose should describe the applicant’s prior design and/or research project experiences, the emphasis area within the program that they intend to pursue, the track (thesis project or comprehensive exam) within the program they intend to pursue, and their long-term career goals.
6. International student applicants must meet the English Language Requirement outlined in the International Student Admission Requirements of the University policies and procedures.
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 696C 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

Completion of 31 units under the Thesis Plan or the Comprehensive Examination Plan is required, as outlined below. All coursework taken at CSUN in the student’s graduate program must be completed with a grade of “C” or better. Students must maintain a minimum 3.0 GPA in the program. A maximum of 6 units (two graduate courses) completed outside of the program with grades of B or higher may be approved for transfer credit. Approval of credit transfer is considered for courses equivalent to those listed below, as well as on a case-by-case basis, by the graduate coordinator.

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]

A. Thesis Plan

ME 698D Thesis (1)

B. Comprehensive Exam Plan

ME 697D Directed Comprehensive Studies/Exam (1)

3. Electives (15 units)

A. Thesis Plan

ME 696C Directed Graduate Research (3-3)

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 515 Dynamics of Machines (3)
ME 532 Mechanics of Polymers (3)
ME 536 Mechanical Design with Composites (3)
ME 538 Design of Smart Mechanical Systems (3)
ME 630 Computer-Aided Design of Machinery (3)
MSE 527/L Mechanical Behavior of Materials and Lab (2/1)

System Dynamics and Control

ME 501B Seminar in Engineering Analysis (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 670 Advanced Topics in Thermodynamics (3)
ME 675A Conductive and Radiative Heat Transfer (3)
ME 675B Convective Heat and Mass Transfer (3)
ME 692 Computational Fluid Dynamics (3)

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