Degree Requirements

A total of 30 semester credit hours are required to complete degree requirements for the MSE.  A student has two basic options to meet the 30 hour requirement: a project option or a course work option.

  1. Coursework option: A minimum of 30 semester credit hours (ten 3‐hour courses) of approved graduate coursework as specified below.
  2. Project option: A minimum of 24 credit hours (eight 3‐hour courses) of approved graduate coursework as specified below AND a maximum of 6 credit hours (two 3‐hour courses) of GNEG 590V Special Topics, for a minimum of 30 hours. Project requirements will require both a Project Proposal Report and Final Project Report.

 

Required course work for either option includes:

  • One 3‐hour course from each of the following four areas for a total of 12 hours: Mathematics, Computer Applications, Technical Communications, and Engineering Management, and
  • Three 3‐hour engineering courses that form a cohesive topic or area of emphasis with the approval of the advisory committee, and
  • Nine additional graduate‐level hours from any area approved by the advisory committee.
  • A minimum of six 3-hour courses, 60%, must be engineering, non-operations management (OMGT), classes. EMGT 5033 Introduction to Engineering Management is included in the limit of four management classes.

To see sample degree plans, please visit the Areas of Study section. The emphasis area is comprised of three engineering (non‐OMGT) classes that form a cohesive topic area, such as sustainability, power systems, thermal systems, energy management, engineering risk analysis, etc.  It really depends on your educational and professional goals.  You just have to be able to make an argument that the three classes are related.  The area of emphasis will not appear on your transcript or diploma, but you can always use it when applying for a job by sharing your degree checklist.  Some students have very specific titles that are related to their work, such as: 

  • Decision Modeling in Cost Estimation, Risk, and Optimization Engineering Economics ‐ Power Transmission Expansion 
  • How to Account for Corrosion and Dynamic Forces in Spacecraft Design Control Systems for Localized Power Generation and Distribution Aerospace Structural Effects
  • Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer
  • Risk Analysis of Cost Effective Biofuel Transportation


A thesis option is not available. However, towards the end of the M.S.E. program students will be required to complete a comprehensive oral exam.  Students must also maintain a >=3.0 GPA, with no more than two “C” grades; no credit will be received for courses with “D” or “F” grades, though they will be calculated into the GPA.  A student has six years to complete all degree requirements.