Unlike undergraduate degree programs, graduate degrees are flexible, so students can tailor the program to their goals and interests. An MS student can take courses of their choosing as long as they conform to the degree requirements found here.
The normal semester course load is 9 to 11 credits (3 courses), and coursework students are limited to 12 credits of 4000-level, including math, most often at 4000-level. Math the first semester is not required and not always a good thing as you are just starting your graduate career, adjusting to a new academic and cultural environment, and math courses can be challenging. Keep this in mind when selecting courses. The following list is lengthy. Course titles in red are outside of MEEM. Some courses are listed in more than one category.
Prerequisites Are Enforced in MAE
Many of the 4000-level and some 5000-level courses have required prerequisites. You have probably had the prerequisite for 4000-level, but our registration system does not know that. If you get a prerequisite error for a MEEM course, submit the waiver request here.
Waivers are processed in the order submitted, with those having the published prerequisite course first. Waivers are not intended to allow you into a course for which you are unprepared. Waivers are to override the registration system for similar courses. Course equivalency is determined by content, not course title.
Required Courses
MEEM 6000 Graduate Seminar (2 credits required for on-campus MS, 1 may be substituted by co-op(s)).
Presentations and seminars on issues related to mechanical engineering and engineering mechanics. May include invited speakers from industry, government labs, and academia. It is strongly recommended to take the seminar in your first semester. NOTE: Seminar courses in other departments cannot be used as a substitute for MEEM 6000 or for credit toward any MEEM degree. MEEM 6000 is not required for online distance learning certificate or degree students.
Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR). All graduate students are required to complete Basic RCR and Advanced RCR. Basic RCR is most easily completed by attending the required Graduate Orientation on the date specified in your acceptance letter. Advanced RCR must be completed after you are here and by the end of your second semester, or you will not be permitted to register. There are options for completing Advanced RCR that you will learn after you arrive. More information can be found here.
Mathematics. The MS requires 3 credits of math. The credits must come from MA-department 4000 level or higher courses and be mathematical tools, such as differential equations, linear algebra, regression analysis, etc. It may not be a math appreciation course like History of Math. The only other course outside MA that can be counted is MEEM 5800 Advanced Engineering Mathematics, offered in the summer.
On-Line courses
Courses offered with online sections (+OL) are unavailable to on-campus students. However, a student on CPT can take online courses.
Special Topics
MEEM5990/6990 Study of selected subjects related to mechanical engineering or engineering mechanics. This course requires a faculty member to agree to offer the credit to a student under an agreed-upon subject, assessment, and deliverables. Faculty members should work with the student and the Director of Graduate Studies to document the course description. The outcome should contain the same basic information as a typical course syllabus. In addition to the course description, the course deliverables (exams, homework, and/or report, etc.) and their relative contribution to determining the final grade must be included.
Coursework MS student may take a total of 4 credits of Special Topics spread over a maximum of 2 occurrences, with a maximum of 3 credits in any occurrence. A Thesis or Report MS student may take a total of 3 credits of Special Topics spread over a maximum of 2 occurrences, with a maximum of 3 credits in any occurrence.
Courses in Topic Areas
The courses listed below are for reference only and are subject to change. For the list of set course offerings, please consult Banweb. A Thesis or Report MS student may take a total of 3 credits of Special Topics spread over a maximum of 2 occurrences, with a maximum of 3 credits in any occurrence.
Design and Manufacturing
MEEM 4170 Failure of Mat’l in Mechanics Identifies the modes of mechanical failure that are essential to prediction and prevention of mechanical failure. Discusses theories of failure in detail. Treats the topic of fatigue failure extensively and brittle fracture, impact and buckling failures at some length.
MEEM 4404 Mechanism Synthesis / Dynamic Modeling Students apply kinematic synthesis techniques in design and analysis of mechanical systems. They develop synthesis software to link to dynamic analysis packages such as ADAMS, I-DEAS, Unigraphics, etc. They investigate influences of process variation on system output and learn methods to minimize the variation influences.
MEEM 4405 Intro to Finite Element Method Introduces the use of the finite element method in stress analysis and heat transfer. Emphasizes the modeling assumptions associated with different elements and uses the computer to solve many different types of stress analysis problems, including thermal stress analysis and introductory nonlinear analysis.
MEEM 4430 Advanced CAD and CAM Methods Students apply advanced solid modeling techniques to construct solid models of mechanical systems, document the design using GD&T conventions as per ASME standards, simulate the motion of the system, and learn computer-aided manufacturing and additive manufacturing techniques.
MEEM 4655 Production Planning Provides current issues, such as just-in-time production and reengineering, while covering fundamental production planning topics as scheduling, job design, inventory and forecasting. Provides the fundamental essence of the firm–how its services and products are created and how they are delivered to customers.
MEEM 5655 Lean Manufacturing (+OL) Lean manufacturing is emerging globally as a paradigm by which business units must function to be globally competitive. Quality, cost, and delivery have become critical measures that impact profits and, in turn, the success of an organization. Significant improvements in all these three measures come from the continuous elimination of waste, or non-value added activities, in manufacturing. Numerous tools are available for the elimination of waste and making businesses lean. This course is intended to familiarize students with this new philosophy of lean manufacturing and arm them with a basic toolset that enables the identification, measurement, and elimination of non-value-added activities.
MEEM 5656 Advanced Production Planning Covers fundamental production planning topics as capacity management, facility layout, process design and analysis, forecasting, inventory management, MRP, scheduling, and theory of constraints. Introduces basic lean concepts, lean production, and value stream mapping. Advanced topics include case studies and exploring the influence of machine learning, artificial intelligence, data analytics, and augmented/virtual reality fields on production planning.
MEEM 5695 Additive Manufacturing Background, principles, process chain, software aspects, post-processing, open-source tools, applications, and future directions of AM technologies are discussed. Advanced topics include process modeling and selection, DFAM, and opportunities and challenges of AM processes.
MEEM 5705 Robotics and Mechantronics Cross-discipline system integration of sensors, actuators, and microprocessors to achieve high-level design requirements, including robotic systems. A variety of sensor and actuation types are introduced, from both a practical and a mathematical perspective. Embedded microprocessor applications are developed using the C programming language. A final project is required including analysis, design, and experimental demonstration. Cannot receive credit for both MEEM4705 and MEEM5705.
BA 5610 Operations Management (requires instructor approval) Applications and case studies focusing on contemporary issues in operations and quality management to include lean manufacturing practices, ERP, quality and environmental management systems/standards, Six Sigma, statistical process control, and other current topics.
MSE 4120 Material & Process Selection (requires instructor approval) The principles of materials selection for engineering design. Topics include selection based on strength, stiffness, thermal properties, high temperature behavior, corrosion resistance, formability, joinability, manufacturability, recyclability, etc. Considers ethics and economics. Presents numerous case studies and examples.
MSE 5440 Materials Recycling Methods for materials recycling is the emphasis. Topics include the recycling of materials for steel, aluminum, automobile, foundry, glass, plastics, energy, construction, and other industries. Background of the industry, characteristics of materials, materials flow, and the processing and utilization methods to recycle the materials are presented.
ENG 5525 Syst Analysis Sustainability In-depth coverage of systems analysis using advanced tools and methods. Topics will include environmental life cycle assessments, social life cycle assessments, techno-economic assessments, material flow analysis, industrial ecology, and regional economic assessments.
Energy, Thermo-Fluids, Alternative & Renewable Energy
MEEM 4200 Principles of Energy Conversion Introduces fundamentals of energy conversion and storage. Topics include fossil and nuclear fuels, thermodynamic power cycles, solar energy, photovoltaics, and energy storage
MEEM 4230 Compressible Flow/Gas Dynamics (+OL) Fundamentals of one-dimensional gas dynamics, including flow in nozzles and diffusers, normal shocks, frictional flows, and flows with heat transfer or energy release; introduction to oblique shocks.
MEEM4250 Heating/Ventilation/Air Cond Elements of heat transfer for buildings. Thermodynamic properties of moist air, human comfort and the environment, solar energy fundamentals and applications, water vapor transmission in building structures, heating and cooling load calculations.
MEEM4260 Fuel Cell Technology Fuel cell basics, operation principles and performance analysis. Emphasis on component materials and transport phenomena on proton exchange membrane fuel cells along with other types of fuel cells. Hydrogen production, transportation, and storage. Balance of plant and systems analysis.
MEEM 4820 Intro to Aerospace Propulsion (graduate enrollment is limited) Principles of jet propulsion, cycle analysis and component analysis (non-rotating components, compressors, turbines). Principles of rocket propulsion, chemical rockets, propellants, turbomachinery, electrical propulsion. Review of thermodynamics for fluid flow, one-dimensional gas dynamics, and boundary layer theory included.
MEEM 5240 Comp Fluid Dynamics for Engg (+OL) Introduces finite-difference and finite-volume methods used in solving fluid dynamics and heat transfer problems. Covers numerical grid generation, turbulence modeling, and application to some selected problems.
EC 5620 Energy Economics (requires instructor approval) Introduction to the institutional, technical, and economic issues of the production and use of energy resources, including petroleum, natural gas, coal, nuclear, electric utilities, and alternative energy. Research project applies economic analysis to supply, distribution, and use of energy resources, including environmental and social consequences.
MSE 5410 Materials for Energies Advanced solid materials for hydrogen energy will be introduced, including hydrogen storage materials, hydrogen production catalysts, and proton exchange membranes with emphasis on structures and properties. Silicon semiconductors, compound semiconductors, and nanostructured semiconductors will be discussed for solar energy applications.
MSE 5440 Materials Recycling Methods for materials recycling is the emphasis. Topics include the recycling of materials for steel, aluminum, automobile, foundry, glass, plastics, energy, construction, and other industries. Background of the industry, characteristics of materials, materials flow, and the processing and utilization methods to recycle the materials are presented.
ENG 5525 Syst Analysis Sustainability In-depth coverage of systems analysis using advanced tools and methods. Topics will include environmental life cycle assessments, social life cycle assessments, techno-economic assessments, material flow analysis, industrial ecology, and regional economic assessments.
Hybrid Electric Vehicles – Automotive
MEEM 4450 Vehicle Dynamics (+OL) This course will develop the models and techniques needed to predict the performance of a road vehicle during drive off, braking, ride, and steering maneuvers. Topics to be covered include: acceleration and braking performance, power train architecture, vehicle handling, suspension modeling, tire models, and steering control. Matlab, Adams Car, and Amesim, will be used as computational tools.
MEEM 4702 Shock and Vibration Theory and experimental techniques in vibration control, Shock, structural health monitoring, condition-based maintenance, dynamic measurements, test methods, and planning.
MEEM 4704 Acoustics and Noise Control Analysis and solution of practical environmental noise problems. Fundamental concepts of sound generation and propagation, the unwanted effects of noise, assessment of sound quality, and source-path-receiver concepts in noise control. Lecture, measurement laboratory, and team project directed at solving a real noise problem under a client’s sponsorship.
MEEM 5255 Adv Powertrain Instr & Exp (+OL) Course is for those interested in experimentation, engines, and powertrain. Objective is prepare to acquire quality data, and efficient experiments. Investigate transducers, calibration, data acquisition, signal conditioning, noise, and specific applications; engine combustion and emissions. Hands-on homework and structured lab activities.
MEEM 5315 Cyber Security Auto Sys I (+OL) Modern automotive control and communications systems from a cyber security perspective. Topics include: V2X communications, vehicle attack surfaces and vulnerabilities, in-vehicle networks, threat analysis and vulnerabilities, security mechanisms and architectures, security requirements analysis, hardware security modules, and standards.
MEEM 5812 Automotive Control Systems (+OL) Introduction to automotive control systems. Modeling and control methods are presented for: air-fuel ratio, transient fuel, spark timing, idle speed, transmission, cruise speed, anti-lock brakes, traction, active suspension systems, and hybrid electric vehicles, Advanced control methodologies are introduced for appropriate applications.
Noise, Vibration, Harshness, Dynamic Systems, Controls
MEEM 4404 Mechanism Synthesis / Dynamic Modeling Students apply kinematic synthesis techniques in design and analysis of mechanical systems. They develop synthesis software to link to dynamic analysis packages such as ADAMS, I-DEAS, Unigraphics, etc. They investigate influences of process variation on system output and learn methods to minimize the variation influences.
MEEM 4450 Vehicle Dynamics (+OL) This course will develop the models and techniques needed to predict the performance of a road vehicle during drive off, braking, ride, and steering maneuvers. Topics to be covered include: acceleration and braking performance, power train architecture, vehicle handling, suspension modeling, tire models, and steering control. Matlab, Adams Car, and Amesim, will be used as computational tools.
MEEM 4702 Shock and Vibration Theory and experimental techniques in vibration control, Shock, structural health monitoring, condition-based maintenance, dynamic measurements, test methods, and planning.
MEEM 4704 Acoustics and Noise Control Analysis and solution of practical environmental noise problems. Fundamental concepts of sound generation and propagation, the unwanted effects of noise, assessment of sound quality, and source-path-receiver concepts in noise control. Lecture, measurement laboratory, and team project directed at solving a real noise problem under a client’s sponsorship.
MEEM 4720 Space Mechanics This course presents the vector-based solution of the two-body problem and the solution for Kepler’s equations. The course will also cover basic orbit determination techniques, impulsive orbit transfer maneuvers, interplanetary trajectories, ground tracks, and rendezvous problems.
MEEM 4730/5730 Dynamic System Simulation (+OL) Methods for simulating dynamic systems described by ordinary differential equations using numerical integration are developed. Quantifying simulation errors for both batch and real-time, control system applications is covered along with numerical optimization strategies for model validation. MATLAB and Simulink are used to illustrate key concepts.
MEEM 5315 Cyber Security Auto Sys I (+OL) Modern automotive control and communications systems from a cyber security perspective. Topics include: V2X communications, vehicle attack surfaces and vulnerabilities, in-vehicle networks, threat analysis and vulnerabilities, security mechanisms and architectures, security requirements analysis, hardware security modules, and standards.
MEEM 5720 Advanced Space Mechanics (+OL) This course presents the vector-based solution of the two-body problem and the solution for Kepler’s equations. The course will also cover basic orbit determination techniques, impulsive orbit transfer maneuvers, interplanetary trajectories, ground tracks, and rendezvous problems.
Solid Mechanics & Computational Mechanics
MEEM 4170 Failure of Mat’l in Mechanics Identifies the modes of mechanical failure that are essential to prediction and prevention of mechanical failure. Discusses theories of failure in detail. Treats the topic of fatigue failure extensively and brittle fracture, impact and buckling failures at some length.
MEEM 4405 Intro to Finite Element Method Introduces the use of the finite element method in stress analysis and heat transfer. Emphasizes the modeling assumptions associated with different elements and uses the computer to solve many different types of stress analysis problems, including thermal stress analysis and introductory nonlinear analysis.
MEEM6130 Engineering Fracture Mechanics Development of the stress and deformation fields present near the tips of cracks. Uses elasticity solutions, plasticity corrections, and numerical methods in modeling these fields. Introduces fracture criteria and explains the various parameters used to develop these criteria.
MSE 4120 Material & Process Selection (requires instructor approval) The principles of materials selection for engineering design. Topics include selection based on strength, stiffness, thermal properties, high-temperature behavior, corrosion resistance, formability, joinability, manufacturability, recyclability, etc. Considers ethics and economics. Presents numerous case studies and examples.
CEE 5202 Finite Element Analysis Introduction to the use of finite element methods in structural analysis. Covers the finite element formulation, 1- and 2-D elements, including isoparametric elements, axisymmetric analysis, plate and shell elements, dynamics, buckling, and nonlinear analysis.
Broadening Courses for All Technical Areas
BA 5610 Operations Management (requires instructor approval) Applications and case studies focusing on contemporary issues in operations and quality management to include lean manufacturing practices, ERP, quality and environmental management systems/standards, Six Sigma, statistical process control, and other current topics.
EC 5620 Energy Economics (requires instructor approval) Introduction to the institutional, technical, and economic issues of the production and use of energy resources, including petroleum, natural gas, coal, nuclear, electric utilities, and alternative energy. Research project applies economic analysis to supply, distribution, and use of energy resources, including environmental and social consequences.
Suggested Mathematics Courses
The following MA courses offered in spring are those most taken by MEEM students. That is not to say that other MA courses may not be appropriate. The MA course must be a mathematical tool, not an appreciation such as History of Mathematics.
MA 4515 Intro Partial Diff Equations An introduction to solution techniques for linear partial differential equations. Topics include: separation of variables, eigenvalue and boundary value problems, spectral methods, Fourier series, and Green’s functions. Studies applications in heat and mass transfer (diffusion eqn.), and mechanical vibrations (wave and beam eqns.).
MA 4610 Numerical Linear Algebra Derivation and analysis of algorithms for problems in linear algebra. Covers floating point arithmetic, condition numbers, error analysis; solution of linear systems (direct and iterative methods), eigenvalue problems, least squares, singular value decomposition. Includes a review of elementary linear algebra and the use of appropriate software.
MA 4700 Prob and Stat Inf I (+OL) Introduction to probabilistic methods. Topics include probability laws, counting rules, discrete and continuous random variables, moment generating functions, expectation, joint distributions, and the Central Unit Theorem.
MA 4720 Design/Analysis of Experiments Covers construction and analysis of completely randomized, randomized block, incomplete block, Latin squares, factorial, fractional factorial, nested and split-plot designs. Also examines fixed, random and mixed effects models and multiple comparisons and contrasts. The SAS statistical package is an integral part of the course.
MA4770 Mathematical Statistics II Continuation of MA4760. Theory of point and interval estimation; properties of estimators, theory of hypothesis testing, analysis of variance, analysis of categorical data and other topics as time allows
MA 4780 / 5781 Time Series Analysis (+OL) Statistical modeling and inference for analyzing experimental data that have been observed at different points in time. Topics include models for stationary and non-stationary time series, model specification, parametric estimation, model diagnostics and forecasting, seasonal models and time series regression models.
MA 5701 Statistical Methods (+OL) Introduction to design, conduct, and analysis of statistical studies, with an introduction to statistical computing and preparation of statistical reports. Topics include design, descriptive, and graphical methods, probability models, parameter estimation and hypothesis testing.