Graduate school lets you pursue your interests in more depth. Our 70+ programs offer hundreds of specific areas of interest. What classes interested you as an undergraduate? What fields will get you noticed in the job market? Do you want your study to be more theoretical or practical?
Applicants to the Graduate School are requested to select at least one area of interest when they apply. Use the dropdown below to explore academic and research topics, listed by program. The results reflect current Michigan Tech faculty research and will aid in matching you to the appropriate program.
Coverdell Fellows program applicants must select "Peace Corps Coverdell Fellows" as their first choice in the areas of interest section of their application. All applicants are encouraged to provide additional information about their choice(s) in the required Statement of Purpose.
Areas of interest will be shown here once you select a program.
Accounting Interest Areas
- Certified Public Accountant (CPA)
- Certified Management Accountant (CMA)
- Accounting Data Analytics
Applied Cognitive Science and Human Factors Interest Areas
- Artificial Intelligence
- Attention
- Cognitive and Motor Aging,
- Cognitive Engineering and Decision Making
- Cognitive Modeling
- Educational Technology
- Health Human Factors
- Human Factors
- Human-Centered Design
- Individual Differences in Human Performance
- Safety
- STEM Education
- Training
- Transportation Human Factors
- UI/UX
Applied Ecology Interest Areas
- VISTA
- Peace Corps Coverdell Fellows
- Applied Ecology
- Avian Ecology
- Conservation Biology
- Conservation Genetics
- Forest Ecology
- Island Ecology
- Landscape Ecology
- Mammalian Ecology
- Nutrient Cycling
- Plant Ecology
- Tree Physiology Ecology
Applied Natural Resource Economics Interest Areas
- Energy Economics
- Environmental Economics
- Mineral Economics
- Natural Resource Economics
Applied Physics Interest Areas
- Astrophysics (Theory, Experiment, and Machine Learning)
- Atmospheric Physics (Theory and Experiment)
- Atomic and Molecular Optics (AMO) (Theory and Experiment)
- Computational Physics (Materials, Statistical, Biological, and Machine Learning)
- Experimental Materials Physics (0D, 1D, and 2D materials)
- Photonics
Applied Science Education Interest Areas
- Applied Science/Math Education
- Teacher Professional Development
Applied Statistics Interest Areas
- Applied Statistics
Atmospheric Science Interest Areas
- Aerosols and Clouds
- Atmospheric-Surface Exchange
- Atmospheric Chemistry
- Atmospheric Modeling
- Atmospheric Physics
- Atmospheric Remote Sensing
Biological Sciences Interest Areas
- VISTA
- Peace Corps Coverdell Fellows
- Ecology & Evolution
- Algal Biology
- Applied Ecology
- Aquatic Ecology
- Biogeochemistry
- Biological Oceanography
- Bioremediation
- Climate Change
- Community Ecology
- Community Genetics
- Conservation Biology
- Cryosphere
- Ecology
- Ecosystem Ecology
- Ecotoxicology
- Fisheries Science
- Food Webs & Ecosystems
- Great Lakes Systems
- Invasive Species
- Legacy & Emerging Pollutants
- LiDAR Remote Sensing
- Limnology
- Native Species
- Nutrient Cycling
- Paleoecology
- Phytoremediation
- Plant Ecology
- Plant-Microbe Interactions
- Plant Sciences
- Plant Evolution
- Plant Evolutionary Ecology
- Predatory Prey Interactions
- Remote Sensing
- Restoration
- Stream Ecology
- Tropical Island Biology
- Watershed Science
- Human Health
- Cancer Biology
- Diabetes and Obesity
- Gender & Cardiovascular Physiology
- Human Pathophysiology
- Human Physiology
- Medical Lab Management
- Mindful Mediation
- Neural Control & Autonomic Regulation
- Molecular & Cellular Biology
- Biochemistry
- Bioenergy
- Biofuels
- Bioinformatics
- Biotechnology
- Cell Biology
- Deepwater Oil Cleaning
- Developmental Biology
- Epigenetics
- Evolutionary Genetics
- Functional Genomics & Bioinformatics
- Gene Silencing
- Genetics
- Gemone Editing
- Microbiology
- MicroRNA
- Molecular Biology
- Molecular Genetics
- Phytoremediation
- Plant/Microbe Interactions
- Toxicology
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Interest Areas
- Algal Extracellular Polymers
- Bioinformatics & Systems Biology
- Biotechnology
- Cancer Biology
- Cancer & MEMS
- Cellular Identity
- Conservation Genetics
- Ecological & Population Genetics of Trees
- Evolution & Development of Complex Animal Color Patterns in Drosophila
- Evolution of Mushroom Poison Resistance in Drosophila
- Functional Genomics
- Gene Silencing
- Genomics
- Glycobiology
- Histones & Bromodomains
- Human Diseases Including Diabetes & Cancer
- Human Health
- Molecular Genetics
- Phytoremediation
- Plant Biology
- Plant Comparative & Functional Genomics
- Plant Genetics & Secondary Metabolism
- Plant-Microbe Interactions
- Plant Phosphoinositides & Phytases
- Protein-Aggregation Diseases & Protein Misfolding
- (Nano) Biomaterials Manufacturing
- Nanotechnology
- Stem Cell & Tissue Engineering & Biomaterials
- Synthetic Methodologies; Nucleic Acid Chemistry; Antisense Therapeutics
- Tree Biotechnology
- Vascular Engineering
Biomedical Engineering Interest Areas
- Biomedical Instrumentation
- Biomedical Optics
- Biomedical Ultrasound
- Biosensors
- Image and Signal Processing
- Implantable Devices
- Optical Imaging
- Wireless Sensor Technologies
- Lasers in Medical Applications
- Tissue Engineering
- Cardiovascular Tissue Engineering
- Cell Sheet Engineering
- Stem Cell Therapy
- Biomaterials
- Biointerface
- Biomimetic Materials
- Polymeric Biomaterials
- Tissue Adhesive
- Other
- Biofluid Mechanics
- Biomechanical Engineering
- Cell and Tissue Mechanics
- Computational Biomechanics
- Computer Vision-based Image Data Modeling
- Experimental Biofluids
- Micro & Nano Technology
- Micro-Electro Mechanical Systems
- Patient-specific Modeling
- Mechanobiology
Business Administration Interest Areas
- Applied Business Analytics
- Entrepreneurship
- Innovation
- Managing Technology
- Organizational Change Management
Chemical Engineering Interest Areas
- Alternative Energy
- Bio-Based Products
- Bioprocess Engineering
- Bioseparations
- Chemical and Biosensors
- Environmental Life Cycle Assessment
- Materials Recovery and Recycling
- Metals Bioprocessing
- Minerals Processing
- Particulate Processes
- Polymers
- Process Modeling and Computer Aided Design
- Reactor Dynamics
- Separations Technology
- Surface Science
- Virus Removal and Purification
Chemistry Interest Areas
- Analytical Chemistry
- Atmospheric Chemistry
- Biochemistry
- Chemical Synthesis
- Environmental Chemistry
- Inorganic Chemistry
- Materials Chemistry
- Medicinal Chemistry
- Nanotechnology (Nano)
- Organic Chemistry
- Pharmaceutical Chemistry
- Physical Chemistry
- Polymer Chemistry
- Theoretical/Computational Chemistry
Civil Engineering Interest Areas
- VISTA
- Peace Corps Coverdell Fellows
- Construction Management
- Geotechnical
- Infrastructure
- Structural
- Transportation
- Water Resources
Computational Science and Engineering Interest Areas
- Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
- Autonomous Mobility
- Bioinformatics
- Computational Chemistry
- Deep Learning
- Energy Efficiency
- Environmental Studies
- Geoinformatics
- Medical/Health Informatics
- Molecular Dynamics
- National Defense
- Pattern Recognition
- Weather Forecasting
Computer Engineering Interest Areas
- Computer Engineering
- Embedded Computing
- Fault-Tolerance
- Parallel Processing
- Robotics
- Controls
- Aircraft Control
- Automatic Control
- Hardware Control & Automation
- Linear Systems
- Communications
- Communication Theory
- Communication & Signal Processing
- Digital Signal Processing
- Information Theory & Coding
- Statistical Signal Processing
- Wireless
- Electromagnetics
- Antennas
- Metamaterials
- Microwave Devices
- Physics
- Quantum Mechanics
- Networking
- Communication Networks
- Information Networks
- Sensor Networks
- Underwater Acoustic
- Optics
- Image Processing
- Lasers
- Medical Robotics
- Optical Signal Processing
- Photonics
- Microelectronics
- Electronic Design Automation
- Nano
- Nanotechnology
- Solid State Electronics
- VLSI
- Power
- Alternative Energy
- Control Center Framework
- Electric Vehicle
- Energy
- Energy Storage
- Microgrids
- Power Distribution
- Power Electronics
- Power Infrastructure Cybersecurity Future
- Power Systems
- Renewable Energy
- Smart Grids
Computer Science Interest Areas
- Computer Architecture
- Computer Graphics
- Computer Science Education
- Computer Security
- Computer Systems
- Cyber Physical Systems
- Dependable Computing
- Formal Methods
- Human-Computer Interaction
- IoT
- Large-Scale Data Analysis and Visualization
- Machine Learning
- Multimedia Systems
- Programming Languages and Compilers
- Software Development
- Software Measurement
- Software Requirements
- Software Testing
- Virtual Execution Environments
- Virtual Reality
Cybersecurity Interest Areas
- Critical Infrastructure Protection
- Network Security Management
- Trusted Software Engineering
Data Science Interest Areas
- Applied Ecology
- Applied Math
- Big Data
- Biogeochemistry
- Bioinformatics
- Biometrics
- Computational Physics
- Environmental
- Geographical Information Systems
- Geospatial Intelligence
- GI Science and Geoinformatics
- Health and Information Science
- Innovation
- Large-Scale Data Analysis
- Managing Technology
- Remote Sensing
- Sensor Networks
- Statistics
Electrical Engineering Interest Areas
- Computer Engineering
- Embedded Computing
- Fault-Tolerance
- Parallel Processing
- Robotics
- Controls
- Aircraft Control
- Automatic Control
- Hardware Control & Automation
- Linear Systems
- Communications
- Communication Theory
- Communication & Signal Processing
- Digital Signal Processing
- Information Theory & Coding
- Statistical Signal Processing
- Wireless
- Electromagnetics
- Antennas
- Metamaterials
- Microwave Devices
- Physics
- Quantum Mechanics
- Networking
- Communication Networks
- Information Networks
- Sensor Networks
- Underwater Acoustic
- Optics
- Image Processing
- Lasers
- Medical Robotics
- Optical Signal Processing
- Photonics
- Microelectronics
- Electronic Design Automation
- Nano
- Nanotechnology
- Solid State Electronics
- VLSI
- Power
- Alternative Energy
- Control Center Framework
- Electric Vehicle
- Energy
- Energy Storage
- Microgrids
- Power Distribution
- Power Electronics
- Power Infrastructure Cybersecurity Future
- Power Systems
- Renewable Energy
- Smart Grids
Engineering Management Interest Areas
- Computer Security
- Innovation
- Intelligent Systems
- Lean Manufacturing
- Managing Technology
- Operations Management
- Optimization
- Quality Engineering
Engineering Mechanics Interest Areas
- Design and Dynamic Systems
- Autonomous Systems
- Controls
- Intelligent Systems
- Noise, Vibration, Harshness
- Robotics and Mechatronics
- Simulation
- Energy and Thermo-Fluids
- Alternative Fuels and Renewable Energy
- Advanced Power Systems
- Combustion
- Fluid Dynamics including CFD
- Fuel Cells
- Heat Transfer
- Hybrid Electric Vehicles and Systems
- Internal Combustion Engines
- Multiphase Flow
- Solid Mechanics
- Analytical Solid Mechanics
- Biomechanics
- Composite Materials
- Computational Mechanics
- Mechanics of Multiscale Materials
- Molecular Dynamics Modeling
- Manufacturing and Industrial
- Lean Manufacturing
- Manufacturing Processes
- MEMS
- (Nano) Biomaterials Manufacturing
- Nanotechnology and Nanomaterials
- Optimization
- Quality Engineering
- Sustainable Design and Manufacturing
Environmental and Energy Policy Interest Areas
- Peace Corps Coverdell Fellows
- VISTA
- Energy Policy
- Environment and Public Policy
- Natural Resource Management
- Sustainability and Conservation
Environmental Engineering Interest Areas
- VISTA
- Air Quality
- Subsurface Remediation
- Surface Water Quality
- Water and Wastewater Treatment
- Water Resources
Environmental Engineering PhD Interest Areas
- Air Quality
- Subsurface Remediation
- Surface Water Quality
- Water and Wastewater Treatment
- Water Resources
Environmental Engineering Science Interest Areas
- Air Quality
- Subsurface Remediation
- Surface Water Quality
- Water and Wastewater Treatment
- Water Resources
Forest Ecology Management Interest Areas
- VISTA
- Peace Corps Coverdell Fellows
- Fire Ecology
- Forest Health
- Forest Vegetation Dynamics
- Forest Policy
- Tree Ecophysiology
Forest Molecular Genetics and Biotechnology Interest Areas
- VISTA
- Peace Corps Coverdell Fellows
- Bioinformatics/Systems Biology
- Conservation Genetics
- Ecological Genetics
- Forest Genetics and Genomics
- Functional Genomics
- Genetics
- Molecular Biology
- Molecular Genetics
- Tropical Forest Genetics
Forest Science Interest Areas
- VISTA
- Peace Corps Coverdell Fellows
- Avian Ecology
- Biodiversity Policy
- Biometrics
- Climate Change
- Climate Change Policy
- Conservation Biology
- Conservation Genetics
- Energy Policy
- Environmental Ethics
- Fire Ecology
- Forest Biomaterials
- Forest Biometry
- Forest Health
- Forest Management
- Forest Operations
- Forest Productivity
- Forest Vegetation Dynamics
- Forestry
- Genetics
- Hydrology
- Invasive Flora and Fauna
- Landscape Ecology
- Natural Resource Policy
- Natural Resources
- Policy and Social Science
- Predator-Prey Relationships
- Silviculture
- Tree Ecophysiology
- Wildlife Biology
- Wood Science
- Woody Bioenergy
Forestry Interest Areas
- VISTA
- Peace Corps Coverdell Fellows
- Forest Biomaterials
- Forest Biometry
- Forest Health
- Forest Management
- Forest Operations
- Forest Productivity
- Forestry
- Silviculture
- Wood Science
- Woody Bioenergy
Geographic Information Science Interest Areas
- VISTA
- Peace Corps Coverdell Fellows
- Environmental Digital Image Processing
- Geographical Information Science
- Remote Sensing
- Spatial Modeling
Geological Engineering Interest Areas
- INVOGE
- Peace Corps Coverdell Fellows
- Atmospheric Sciences
- Earthquake Geology/ Volcano Seismology
- Economic Geology/ Petrology/Geochemistry
- Geomorphology
- Geoscience Education
- Geotechnical/Geomechanics
- Groundwater/Hydrology
- Karst Hydrology & Geology
- Mineralogy
- Mining Engineering
- Natural Hazard Mitigation
- Paleomagnetism/ Rock & Mineral Magnetism
- Petroleum Geology & Geophysics
- Petrology
- Remote Sensing
- Sedimentology / Stratigraphy
- Volcanology
Geology Interest Areas
- INVOGE
- Peace Corps Coverdell Fellows
- Atmospheric Sciences
- Earthquake Geology/ Volcano Seismology
- Economic Geology/ Petrology/Geochemistry
- Geomorphology
- Geoscience Education
- Geotechnical/Geomechanics
- Groundwater/Hydrology
- Karst Hydrology & Geology
- Mineralogy
- Mining Engineering
- Natural Hazard Mitigation
- Paleomagnetism/ Rock & Mineral Magnetism
- Petroleum Geology & Geophysics
- Petrology
- Remote Sensing
- Sedimentology / Stratigraphy
- Volcanology
Geophysics Interest Areas
- INVOGE
- Peace Corps Coverdell Fellows
- Atmospheric Sciences
- Earthquake Geology/ Volcano Seismology
- Economic Geology/ Petrology/Geochemistry
- Geomorphology
- Geoscience Education
- Geotechnical/Geomechanics
- Groundwater/Hydrology
- Karst Hydrology & Geology
- Mineralogy
- Mining Engineering
- Natural Hazard Mitigation
- Paleomagnetism/ Rock & Mineral Magnetism
- Petroleum Geology & Geophysics
- Petrology
- Remote Sensing
- Sedimentology / Stratigraphy
- Volcanology
Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences Interest Areas
- INVOGE
- Peace Corps Coverdell Fellows
- Atmospheric Sciences
- Earthquake Geology/ Volcano Seismology
- Economic Geology/ Petrology/Geochemistry
- Geomorphology
- Geoscience Education
- Geotechnical/Geomechanics
- Groundwater/Hydrology
- Karst Hydrology & Geology
- Mineralogy
- Mining Engineering
- Natural Hazard Mitigation
- Paleomagnetism/ Rock & Mineral Magnetism
- Petroleum Geology & Geophysics
- Petrology
- Remote Sensing
- Sedimentology / Stratigraphy
- Volcanology
Health Informatics Interest Areas
- Electronic Health Records
- Health Information Management
- Health Information Systems
- Healthcare Cybersecurity
- Imaging Informatics
- Medical Decision Support Systems
- Medical Image Processing
- Medical Sciences & Management
- Mobile Applications in Health
- Population Health
- Telemedicine and e-Health
Industrial Heritage & Archaeology Interest Areas
- VISTA
- Peace Corps Coverdell Fellows
- Anthropology
- Archaeology
- Architectural History
- Cultural Resource Management
- Economy and Environment
- Education/Public Outreach
- Environmental History
- Heritage
- History of Technology
- Industrial Communities
- Science and Technology Studies
Integrated Geospatial Technology Interest Areas
- Earth Observation Systems and Remote Sensing
- Geodesy and Geodetic Sciences
- Geoinformatics
- Geospatial Intelligence
- Geospatial Visualization and Cartography
- GI Science and Geoinformatics
- Photogrammetry and Geospatial Imaging
- Surveying
Integrative Physiology Interest Areas
- Biological response to polymeric materials
- Biomechanics of Human Movement
- Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging
- Exercise and Stress Physiology
- Health and Fitness
- Neural Control of Circulation
- Physiology Education
Kinesiology Interest Areas
- Research Option
- Exercise and Stress Physiology
- Neural Control of Circulation
- Biomechanics of Human Movement
- Muscular Fatigue in Humans
- Pedagogical Approaches in Kinesiology
- Coursework Option
- Strength and Conditioning
- Cardiac Rehabilitation
- Health and Fitness
Master of Engineering Interest Areas
Master of Forestry Interest Areas
- VISTA
- Peace Corps Coverdell Fellows
- Forestry
- Forest Biomaterials
- Forest Biometry
- Forest Health
- Forest Management
- Forest Operations
- Forest Policy
- Forest Productivity
- Silviculture
Materials Science and Engineering Interest Areas
- Battery Science and Technology
- Biomaterials
- Ceramic Engineering
- Computational Materials Sci & Stimulation
- Corrosion
- Deformation Processing
- Device Fabrication
- Foundry
- Functional Materials
- Hydrogen Storage
- Iron and Steel Metallurgy
- Light Metal Alloy Design
- Magneto-Optic Materials
- Metal Casting
- Nonferrous Metallurgy
- Photovoltaic Devices
- Photovoltaic Materials
- Physical Metallurgy
- Powder Processing
- Reclamation
- Recycling
- Solar Cells
- Solidification
- Thermoelectric Materials
Mathematical Sciences Interest Areas
- Applied and Computational Math
- Discrete/Pure Math
Mechanical Engineering Interest Areas
- Design and Dynamic Systems
- Autonomous Systems
- Controls
- Intelligent Systems
- Noise, Vibration, Harshness
- Robotics and Mechatronics
- Simulation
- Energy and Thermo-Fluids
- Alternative Fuels and Renewable Energy
- Advanced Power Systems
- Combustion
- Fluid Dynamics including CFD
- Fuel Cells
- Heat Transfer
- Hybrid Electric Vehicles and Systems
- Internal Combustion Engines
- Multiphase Flow
- Solid Mechanics
- Analytical Solid Mechanics
- Biomechanics
- Composite Materials
- Computational Mechanics
- Mechanics of Multiscale Materials
- Molecular Dynamics Modeling
- Manufacturing and Industrial
- Lean Manufacturing
- Manufacturing Processes
- MEMS
- (Nano) Biomaterials Manufacturing
- Nanotechnology and Nanomaterials
- Optimization
- Quality Engineering
- Sustainable Design and Manufacturing
Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics Interest Areas
- Design and Dynamic Systems
- Autonomous Systems
- Controls
- Intelligent Systems
- Noise, Vibration, Harshness
- Robotics and Mechatronics
- Simulation
- Energy and Thermo-Fluids
- Alternative Fuels and Renewable Energy
- Advanced Power Systems
- Combustion
- Fluid Dynamics including CFD
- Fuel Cells
- Heat Transfer
- Hybrid Electric Vehicles and Systems
- Internal Combustion Engines
- Multiphase Flow
- Solid Mechanics
- Analytical Solid Mechanics
- Biomechanics
- Composite Materials
- Computational Mechanics
- Mechanics of Multiscale Materials
- Molecular Dynamics Modeling
- Manufacturing and Industrial
- Lean Manufacturing
- Manufacturing Processes
- MEMS
- (Nano) Biomaterials Manufacturing
- Nanotechnology and Nanomaterials
- Optimization
- Quality Engineering
- Sustainable Design and Manufacturing
Mechatronics Interest Areas
- Artificial Intelligence
- Automation and Controls
- Autonomous Systems
- Industrial Control
- Industrial Robotics
- Intelligent Systems
- Mechatronics Systems
- Microcontrollers
- Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC)
- Robotic Vision Systems
- Robotics
Mining Engineering Interest Areas
- INVOGE
- Peace Corps Coverdell Fellows
- Atmospheric Sciences
- Earthquake Geology/ Volcano Seismology
- Economic Geology/ Petrology/Geochemistry
- Geomorphology
- Geoscience Education
- Geotechnical/Geomechanics
- Groundwater/Hydrology
- Karst Hydrology & Geology
- Mineralogy
- Mining Engineering
- Natural Hazard Mitigation
- Paleomagnetism/ Rock & Mineral Magnetism
- Petroleum Geology & Geophysics
- Petrology
- Remote Sensing
- Sedimentology / Stratigraphy
- Volcanology
Physics Interest Areas
- Astrophysics (Theory, Experiment, and Machine Learning)
- Atmospheric Physics (Theory and Experiment)
- Atomic and Molecular Optics (AMO) (Theory and Experiment)
- Computational Physics (Materials, Statistical, Biological, and Machine Learning)
- Experimental Materials Physics (0D, 1D, and 2D materials)
- Photonics
Rhetoric, Theory, and Culture Interest Areas
- Communication
- Composition
- Cultural Theory
- Literacy
- New/Emergent Media
- Rhetoric
- Science and Technology Studies
- Technical Communication
Statistics Interest Areas
- Statistics