Master of Engineering

The master of engineering degree is intended to be a terminal professional degree where the candidate demonstrates advanced ability in course work and with an advanced engineering design project, or practicum. The master of engineering student must comply with the requirements on this page, the requirements of their program, and complete any necessary forms to document their progress with the Graduate School.

Grades— Students must maintain an overall 3.0 GPA for all coursework taken as a graduate student. No course in which a grade lower than B (3.0) is received may be used toward a graduate degree without express permission of the department chair/graduate program director and of the advisor; a maximum of 6 credits of BC (2.5) or C (2.0) in a cognate department may be used toward a graduate degree if express permission is given by the advisor and the department chair/graduate program director.

Campus Residency Requirement—A minimum of one-half of the course work credits must be taken in residence at Michigan Tech. (Note that this is inconsistent with the general requirement that 2/3 of the course work be taken in residence. See Senate Proposal 5-98.)

Time Limit—All work required for the master of engineering degree must be completed within five calendar years of the first enrollment in the degree program or earliest course listed on the degree schedule, whichever is earliest.

Advisor—Initially the advisor may be the graduate program director, but as soon as possible, and by the end of the first semester in residence, a permanent advisor should be chosen. This Michigan Tech graduate faculty member advises the student on course selection and choice of practicum experience. The advisor is an important factor in the graduate student’s timely and successful completion of his or her program of study.

Advisory Committee—The advisory committee is nominated by the chair of the major department, usually in consultation with the advisor, and approved by the College of Engineering. At least two of the three examiners must be members of the graduate faculty and at least one of the graduate faculty members must be from outside the major department.

Degree Schedule—The Final Degree Schedule form (MEng2) must be filed during the first week of the second semester in residence. It lists all the courses applied to the Master of Engineering degree, gives the advisory committee membership, provides an abstract of the practicum, and is endorsed by the student, the advisor, the department chair, the associate dean of engineering, and the dean of the Graduate School.

Changes in the Final Degree Schedule—Any changes must be approved. The advisor and the associate dean of engineering or the department chair/graduate program director for civil or environmental students must send a memo to the Graduate School.

Course Work—Courses taken must meet certain requirements, described below. Courses taken while an undergraduate at Michigan Tech may be used for graduate degree credits if the Senior Rule form has been appropriately filed. Courses taken while an undergraduate or a post-grad may be used on the Final Degree Schedule with departmental approval up to a maximum of 1/3 of the required course work credits. The minimum requirements are as follows:

Master of Engineering Practicum—The practicum is an advanced independent study for students in the master of engineering program. The student in consultation with the advisor develops and executes a project demonstrating capabilities in problem solving, communication, and decision making. The practicum can be completed on campus or at the site of a Michigan Tech corporate partner. Students must submit a written report and make an oral presentation related to their project to their advisory committee. In some cases, the practicum may be waived; approval of the waiver is indicated on the Final Degree Schedule.

The successful on-campus oral presentation will be evaluated by the committee on the Verification of Degree Requirements (MEng3).