Master of Science Admission Requirements
An applicant for admission to any of the MS programs offered by the departments of the College of Engineering is expected to have earned a BS degree from an approved program, or its equivalent. Admission is decided based on a multi-parameter criterion that can include the following items to be evaluated by the department:
- Undergraduate GPA of at least 3.00 on a 4.0 scale.
- GRE® General Test (GRE) scores with Quantitative greater than or equal to 50%; Verbal greater than or equal to 33%; Analytical Writing greater than or equal to 33%. Students with Bachelor of Science degrees in related fields from Tennessee Tech are not required to take the GRE.
- Three (3) letters of recommendation that demonstrate strong evidence for success in the graduate program.
- Availability of appropriate faculty to serve as research advisor(s).
- Participation in undergraduate research.
- Post-BS degree professional experience relevant to planned degree of study.
- Publications in peer reviewed journals and/or award-winning presentations in technical conferences.
- International students must score at least 550 (213 computer-based or 79 internet-based) on the TOEFL or a minimum base score of 6.0 on the IELTS.
Based on the level of satisfaction of the above criterion, the department will either recommend admission to Full Standing, Provisional Standing, or Special Standing, or deny admission. Standing status may be changed to Full Standing after the student satisfies the requirements specified by the department at the time of admission.
Master of Science with Thesis Option
The MS degree with the thesis option requires 30 credit hours as specified in the student's approved Program of Study, including 22-24 credit hours of course work and 6-8 credit hours of thesis research completed under the supervision of the student's graduate thesis advisor. No more than nine (9) credit hours of the 22-24 credit hour total may be at the 5000-level. A minimum GPA of 3.0 is required both to graduate and to remain in good standing in the program. The thesis requirement includes conducting research, the findings of which must be submitted in writing and are subject to the policies and approval of both the College of Graduate Studies and the student's graduate advisory committee. In addition, each student must pass a comprehensive exam which includes a defense of his/her research work before the advisory committee.
Master of Science with Non-Thesis Option
An MS program of study with non-thesis option requires a minimum of 31 credit hours of graduate course work, as specified in the student's approved program of study. The program of study shall include 30 semester hours of formal, graded coursework, and the one-credit ME 6910 - Intro to Graduate Research course. At least seventy percent of the credit to be counted toward the MS degree (22 hours) must be at the 6000 level or above. A student who wishes to enroll in the non-thesis option must submit an approved program of study to the Graduate School after nine (9) semester hours of graduate coursework have been completed. Thereafter any changes to the program of study must be approved by all members of the committee, and the Department Chair.
In addition to the degree requirements mentioned above, students joining the MSME program on or after August 1, 2025 must also adhere to the following guidelines.
To ensure our graduates are well-prepared for successful careers across the diverse fields of mechanical engineering, all MSME students (including Thesis and Non-thesis degree options) are required to complete a specified number of credits in designated core courses, mathematics courses, and research practice courses, as detailed below.
Each MSME student must formally select a core research area by the end of their first semester in the program. The available core research areas are:
- Dynamical Systems and Controls
- Solid Mechanics and Materials
- Thermo-fluid Science
All MSME students are required to complete six credits of core courses within their chosen core research area. The list of core courses under each core research area is specified below:
Core Courses for Dynamical Systems and Control
- ME 5060 - Machine Vibrations
- ME 5140 - Intro to Robotics
- ME 5380 - Intro - Data Acq & Signal Proc
- ME 5810 - Automatic Controls
- ME 5930 - Noise Control
- ME 6430 - Fundamentals of Acoustics
- Any related courses approved by the Committee and Director of ME Graduate Programs or Department Chair
Core Courses for Solid Mechanics and Materials
- ME 5190 - Adv Mechanics of Materials
- ME 5380 - Intro - Data Acq & Signal Proc
- ME 6350 - Finite Element Analysis
- ME 6370 - Vibrations-Continuous Media
- ME 6810 - Adv Materials Science I
- ME 6930 - Theory of Elasticity
- Any related courses approved by the Committee and Director of ME Graduate Programs or Department Chair
Core Courses for Thermo-fluid Science
- ME 5260 - Energy Conversion/Conservation
- ME 5380 - Intro - Data Acq & Signal Proc
- ME 5510 - Aerodynamics
- ME 5730 - Numerical Heat Transfer
- ME 6010 - Conduct Heat Transfer
- ME 6030 - Radiation Heat Transfer
- ME 6040 - Intermediate Fluid Mechanics
- ME 6050 - Convection Heat Transfer
- ME 6210 - Advanced Thermodynamics
- ME 7090 - Computational Fluid Dynamics
- ME 7100 – Turbulence
- Any related courses approved by the Committee and Director of ME Graduate Programs or Department Chair
Additionally, all MSME students must complete six credits of graduate-level mathematics courses from the following options:
- ENGR 6970 - Graduate Engineering Analysis I
- ME 6360 - Intro to Continuum Mech
- Any three-credit MATH 5000-, 6000-, or 7000-level courses
MSME students enrolled in the non-thesis option are also required to complete the one-credit ME 6910 - Intro to Graduate Research course.
