Department of Mechanical Engineering

You can expect the MS degree with thesis to require 18-24 months of study beyond the BS degree.

• COURSES: 

  • 30 semester credits at the graduate level. Your course selection is approved by your Program of Study (POS) Committee.

  • All 500- and 600- level courses in engineering, physical and biological sciences, and mathematics are acceptable.

  • 300- and 400- level courses in other departments are acceptable if they are approved in the University catalog for nonmajor graduate credit.

• THESIS AND NON-THESIS OPTIONS

  • THESIS OPTION:  typically 21 course credits (approximately 7 courses) and at least 9 research (M E 699) credits

  • NON-THESIS OPTION:  typically 27 course credits (approximately 9 courses) and a 3 credit creative component.

  • Pass a final oral examination of your thesis or creative component.

• ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

  • Completion of the M E Graduate Seminar (M E 600) during the first semester

  • Non-native English language students must meet the Graduate English requirement during the first semester of enrollment.

You can expect the PhD. degree to take 4-5 years beyond the BS engineering degree.

• COURSES: 

  • 72 semester credits (48 credits beyond the MS requirement). Your course selection is approved by your Program of Study (POS) Committee.

  • Up to one-third of these may be research credits (approximately 24 – your POS committee may approve a number slightly higher or lower).

  • All 500- and 600- level courses in engineering, physical and biological sciences, and mathematics are acceptable.

  • 300- and 400- level courses in other departments are acceptable if they are approved in the University catalog for nonmajor graduate credit.

• DISSERTATION:

  • Your dissertation is expected to be independent research that contributes unique knowledge to the research community.

  • Pass a final oral examination of your dissertation.

• ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS :

  • QUALIFYING EXAM: Taken within the first year of graduate study at the doctoral level, the qualifying exam is used to judge your qualifications to study at the doctoral level and to note any coursework deficiencies.

  • PRELIMINARY ORAL EXAM:  Taken within one year (no less than 6 months) before the expected date of graduation, this is an oral examination of your proposed dissertation topic and knowledge of relevant subject matter.

  • Completion of the M E Graduate Seminar (ME 600) during the first semester

  • Non-native English language students must meet the Graduate English requirement during the first semester of study.

Your major professor is the primary person who guides you through graduate school. You will work with your major professor on research in which he/she has expertise.  Your major professor will also work with you to help you plan the courses that you choose for your program of study.

Your major professor is typically the person who funds and directs your research assistantship if you have one. The major professor must be a member of the graduate faculty.

You can have two faculty operating as co-major professors.

A faculty member listed as a member of the graduate faculty has been approved by the Graduate College to advise graduate students. Not all faculty at ISU are on the graduate faculty.

Funding at ISU is available in the form of fellowships, research assistantships, and teaching assistantships. 

Fellowships: Many of the fellowships are given as added money to the research or teaching assistantship.

Research Assistantship: Typically this funding comes from a research grant that a faculty member has received. You would be expected to perform research in collaboration with the faculty member and/or other researchers to accomplish the goals of the research grant.

Teaching Assistantship: A teaching assistantship is given by a department paying the student to assist in teaching course material. For example, this can include grading or running the lab portion of a course. Some advanced students are given the responsibility of teaching a course.

The POS committee consists of faculty, including your major professor(s). The Program of Study (POS) is the list of courses that constitute your graduate degree.

The number of faculty depends on the degree, MS or PhD, and the addition of co-majors and minors. The POS committee approves your POS, assesses your performance on defending your thesis or dissertation, and administers your PhD Qualifier exam and Preliminary Oral Examination.

The thesis is a document that is approved by your POS committee and is published as a public document that is held at the ISU library. The thesis is written to follow format guidelines published by the ISU thesis office.

Your thesis describes the research that you have performed for the MS degree. The research is expected to show graduate level skills, but does not need to be a unique and ground breaking contribution. This represents work that could be published in at least one conference proceeding or archival journal.

A minimum of 9 credits of research credit is required. 

The creative component is the research performed for the non-thesis MS degree. The creative component is typically 3 credits of research, representing a minimum of a 150 hour project. The creative component includes a report with no specified format and is not published in the public domain. 

The work typically demonstrates the applications of skills at the graduate level, but does not necessarily represent work that would be published in a conference proceedings or archival journal. 

The PhD dissertation documents the PhD research. At the PhD level, there is an expectation that the work is performed independently and represents a significant contribution to current knowledge.

While the work can be performed in collaboration with the major professor and other researchers, it is expected that at least some major portion of the work’s contribution is your own contribution. The PhD dissertation demonstrates your ability to perform independent research. 

The dissertation format follows guidelines published by the ISU thesis office and is published as a public document that is held at the ISU library. The work in the dissertation is expected to be published in one or more archival journal articles and presented at professional conferences.

A Letter of Intent (LOI) indicates funding that is being offered to you. You are asked to return the LOI with your signature, indicating that you accept the funding.

There is a five year time limit that the Graduate College places on obtaining a graduate degree at ISU. In the case that a student is going directly into the PhD program without an MS degree, then the time limit is seven years.

There are many reasons that students can take longer than this to complete a graduate degree. It is up to the major professor and department to decide if this time limit is enforced. Consult with your major professor if the time limit is an issue.

In the case that the time limit is exceeded, there is a need to justify that any courses taken more than 5 years prior to graduating are still valid and the student is current on the material. This is accomplished by the major professor writing an “Over-Age Course Memo”.

The major professor can consult the Graduate College Handbook, the M E department graduate secretary, or M E department DOGE for the requirements for the memo.