Bachelor of Science/Master of Science Thesis Program Requirements

About the Program
The Department of Mechanical Engineering offers a BS/MS combined degree program to foster undergraduate research (thesis option), provide an in-depth educational experience in a specific area of interest (thesis and non-thesis options), and to accelerate progress towards the MS degree. The program allows advanced students to complete both their BS and MS degrees in as little as five years; one year earlier than if the degrees were done separately. The program gives students an advantage in the job market by providing them with more training, an advanced degree, more research experience, and increased earning potential.

Program Benefits
Mechanical Engineering BS students are required to take 4 technical elective courses (12 credit hours). BS/MS students may “double count” 2 of the 4 undergraduate technical electives (6 hours) towards both their BS and MS degrees. The double counting of technical elective courses reduces the number of credits required for the MS degree from 30 to 24.

  • Domestic students may take 18 credit hours of tech electives during their undergraduate careers and then apply a maximum of 12 credit hours towards their MS, further reducing the MS credit requirement to as few as 18 hours.
  • If a student plans to exceed 18 hours of tech electives as an undergrad, they must meet with a Graduate Advisor to explore early admissions to the grad program.
  • The BS/MS program is designed for domestic students, however international students interested in the combined program can meet with a Graduate Advisor to see if viable options exist for their circumstance.

BS Program Requirements
Both thesis and non-thesis options lead to a Master’s of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering. The BS and MS degrees are conferred simultaneously following completion of both programs. No student will be awarded a separate MS degree without satisfying all requirements for the BS degree. The requirements for an undergrad student to be accepted into the BS/MS program are:

  • Be an engineering major at the University of Utah.
  • Have a minimum 3.0 GPA.
  • Be “pre-screened” into the BS/MS Program, undergraduate students must fill out the BS/MS screening application
    • Preferably have Junior status in their major.
    • MS Non-thesis students can be pre-screened during their senior year.
    • Have a faculty advisor/research sponsor if applying for an MS Thesis.
    • Thesis students should include the email address of a potential faculty advisor, if possible.

Students meeting the pre-screening qualifications are given authorization to proceed to take tech electives at the graduate level. All undergraduate classes that will be applied towards the MS degree should be taken at the 6000-level or above and must be numbered 5000 or above. Pre-screening does not guarantee eventual admission to graduate school. Undergrad students must still apply and be formally admitted to the program for the semester following what would be the final semester of their undergraduate program.

MS Program Requirements
Once students are admitted to the BS/MS program, they have several milestones they must pass in order to graduate with both degrees.

  • MS Thesis students should refer to the MS Thesis Program Requirements
  • MS-Non Thesis students should refer to the MSNT Program Requirements
  • Students should also contact their Undergrad Advisor for any remaining requirements for their BS degree.
  • Once admitted to the graduate program, all classes should be taken at the 6000-level or above when possible.

General MS Course Requirements
A minimum of 30 Total Credit Hours is required for both the thesis on non-thesis options.

  • Majority of course credit hours must be in ME EN (6000 or above)
    • Minimum of 3 credit hours in ME EN classes at the 7000 level
    • Remaining credit hours from Math, Science, or Engineering (including ME if desired)
    • Students following established MS tracks (e.g., Robotics) may deviate from the majority of credits in ME EN based on the track’s requirements
  • No more than 3 credit hours of Independent Study (ME EN 6950)
    • An Independent Study with a student’s MS advisor must be separate from their thesis topic and must be approved by the department’s Graduate Committee
  • No more than 3 Seminar credit hours
  • Note: a student’s research advisor or supervisory committee may require additional course credit hours
  • Additional course guidelines
    • No more than 9 non-matriculated credit hours graded B or better
    • No more than 6 transfer credits hours graded B or better
    • Only courses in engineering, mathematics, and science are acceptable
    • The student must obtain an overall GPA of at least 3.0 from all courses used on their Program of Study

Thesis Option:

  • Minimum of 21 credit hours in courses relevant to the student’s academic program (graded B- or better)
  • Minimum of 9 credit hours of ME EN 6975, Master’s Thesis Research (graded CR/NC)
  • All additional research credit hours must be ME EN 6975

Non-Thesis Option:

  • Minimum of 30 credit hours in courses relevant to the student’s academic program (graded B- or better)
    • 15 credit hours must be in one of the Mechanical Engineering focus areas
    • 15 credit hours of electives in Math, Science or Engineering (including ME if desired)

Additional Program Requirements

  • Formation of the MS Supervisory Committee
  • Process BS/MS Request for Grad Credit
  • Successful completion of coursework associated with an approved program of study
  • MSNT: successful completion of an exit exam
  • MS-Thesis: successful completion of an approved research program
    • Successful Oral Defense of the MS Research
    • Successful approval of a written Thesis
    • Successful approval of a written Thesis

Faculty Advisor
Each student should have a faculty advisor at the time of admission. If not, the student must select an advisor by the end of the first semester of MS degree work. The advisor oversees the MS student’s program, gives recommendations for selecting courses, and supervises the thesis research. Without petitioning the department and the Grad School, the advisor must be a tenured/tenure-track faculty member within the department.

Supervisory Committee
By the end of the student’s second semester, a three-member Supervisory Committee is selected. The chair of this committee is the student’s permanent advisor. The committee chair selects the other members of the committee in consultation with the student. The Graduate Committee may make recommendations regarding committee membership. The Supervisory Committee must be approved by the department’s Director of Graduate Studies and the Grad School. Without petitioning the department and the Grad School, the majority of the committee must be tenure-line faculty members from the department. Failure to form a supervisory committee by the end of the student’s first year will result in the student being placed on probation for failure to make due progress.

*Note: MS-Thesis students may submit a petition for exception to policy for either the chair of the committee or the majority, but not both.

MSNT students may opt to choose either the department’s “Standing Committee” or select the individual committee members.

  • The MSNT Standing Committee is comprised of 3 Mechanical Engineering faculty determined by the department’s Graduate Committee
  • If using the MSNT Standing Committee, students must notify the Graduate Advising office. In this case, they do not need to obtain committee member signatures on Committee and Program of Study forms.
  • If a student opts to select their own committee members, they must follow these rules:
    • The student’s advisor serves as the chair of the committee and must be regular (tenure-line) faculty from the Department of Mechanical Engineering.
    • The remaining two committee members must also be regular (tenure-line) faculty from the Department of Mechanical Engineering.
    • MSNT Students may not petition for exception to policy regarding their committee.
    • The student will obtain approval and signatures from committee members on all paperwork.

Program of Study
The Program of Study and thesis work is completed under the direction and approval of the supervisory committee. The committee chair (usually the student’s advisor) should assist the student in planning the Program of Study and should encourage breadth by selecting of one or more courses outside of the department in areas such as basic mathematics, science, and other engineering topics. The cumulative GPA of courses listed on the program of study must be greater than or equal to a 3.0 with no grades lower than B-.

Preliminary Program of Study Approval
By the end of their first semester, the student must:

  • Obtain and fill out the MS (Thesis or Non-Thesis) Preliminary Program of Study form.
  • Select graduate courses after consultation with their temporary or permanent advisor.
  • List all taken and planned classes on the form that are to count toward the MS, including research hours.
    • Clearly indicate which classes are being shared with the student’s BS
    • Obtain signature approval from their advisor and then submit the form to Graduate Advising.

    The Graduate Advisor will obtain approval from the Director of Graduate Studies before filing the form in the student’s departmental records. If the form is not approved, the Graduate Advisor will return the form to the student.

    Final Program of Study Approval
    Upon registering for their final course(s), the student must:

    • Obtain and fill out the MS (Thesis or Non-Thesis) Program of Study form.
    • List all classes that are to count toward the MS, including research hours.
    • Gather signature approval from their committee members, unless using the MSNT Standing Committee, and then submit the form to Graduate Advising.

    The Graduate Advisor will input the information from the form into the electronic records system via CIS. The Director of Graduate Studies will electronically approve the Program of Study.

    MSNT Research and/or Project Opportunities
    There are no research and/or project requirements for the BS/MSNT program. A non-thesis student desiring to conduct a project must first find a faculty member willing to sponsor it. After finding a sponsor, they may register for up to 3 credit hours of ME EN 6950 – Independent Study course. Should a project be undertaken, no formal presentation or defense is required. Under no circumstance may a project defense be substituted for the Comprehensive Final Exam requirement.

    BS/MS Request for Grad Credit

    MS Thesis Defense
    The required final examination for the Master of Science-Thesis is an oral defense of the thesis. The Thesis requirement reflects the research orientation of this degree. The research work associated with an MST should involve close collaboration with the student’s advisor and committee. The thesis typically represents two years of research. Specifically, in a clearly documented manner the Thesis must:

    • Reflect an understanding of the current and past state of knowledge in the chosen research area through a comprehensive literature review of the subject.
    • Clearly state the goals of the research and justify the value of the research results to the engineering and/or scientific community.
    • Result in a substantive contribution to the engineering and/or scientific community.

    The student is required to defend their Thesis and research work at a formal oral presentation that is open to the public.

    Scheduling the defense

    • At least three weeks before this defense, the student should submit an acceptable thesis draft to the committee chair (generally their research advisor).
    • Committee members should receive a copy of the thesis draft at least two weeks before the examination date.
    •  During the manuscript review period, the student will coordinate with their supervisory committee to determine a defense time and date.
      • Students must schedule their defense at least two weeks in advance.
      • The defense is open to the public and the student must submit a Request for Public Defense Announcement form to the Graduate Advisor no less than one week before the defense date.

    Conducting the defense

    • The chair of the student’s committee will also chair the defense. The chair will at a minimum:
      • Open the defense session by introducing the student and their research topic.
      • Announce any specific rules pertaining to the defense (e.g., hold questions until the end of the presentation).
    • The student’s public presentation of their research should will generally last at least approximately 45 minutes.
    • After the oral presentation, a question and answer period must be allowed.
    • At the conclusion of the public participation, the committee may excuse the public and conduct further questioning on the student’s research and Thesis.
    • After concluding their examination, the committee will excuse the student to deliberate the outcome of their defense.
    • The outcome of the thesis defense is reported on the MS-Thesis Report of the Final Oral Exam form. ○ The student will receive a “Pass on the defense if the majority of the committee members concur.
      • The student will receive a “Pass with Corrections” if the majority of the committee requires minor changes to the student’s Thesis but do not feel that the student needs to publicly defend their research again. In this case, the committee will also decide if the chair or the entire committee needs to verify that the requested changes have been made.
      • The student will receive a “Fail” if the majority of the committee requires changes to the Thesis and agree that the student must publicly defend their research again.
    • The chair of the committee must return the completed form to the Graduate Advisor within one week of the defense.

    After the defense

    • Once the committee approves the Thesis content, students must submit their manuscript to the Graduate Advisor for a format review before obtaining the Department Chair’s approval.
      • The student will also provide a Grammarly report showing that no major grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors are in the manuscript. ○ The Graduate Advisor and Department Chair must be allotted at least one week to review and approve the manuscript.
    • After the Department chair approves the Thesis, the Graduate Advisor will notify the student to submit their manuscript to the Thesis Editor for approval and publication. See instructions here:
    • Thesis must be approved by Thesis Editor no later than eight months from the date of the thesis defense. This eight-month deadline includes thesis corrections, final supervisory committee approval, department chair approval, and final approval by the thesis office and graduate school. If this requirement is not met, any prior approvals of the thesis will be voided, the student will have to re-register for one thesis credit, and re-submit and re-defend the thesis.
    • Once format corrections are finished, the student must then work with the Thesis Office to submit their manuscript to ProQuest (or USPACE) for online viewing.
    • After all of these steps are completed, the student will be cleared for graduation. Please note that a student is not considered “graduated” for merely passing the defense. The thesis must also successfully pass corrections and be published before a degree may be awarded.

    Students can monitor their degree progress and milestones by logging into CIS, locating the Graduation panel under their Student Information, and clicking on “Graduate Student Summary.” It is the responsibility of the student to monitor and ensure the correctness of their online records.

    MSNT Final Examination

    • Each department establishes its own policy on the structure of the examination (i.e., written, oral, or both; conducted by supervisory committee or uniform departmental exam).
    • The exam may be taken early in the program as a comprehensive qualifying exam, or late in the program as a final comprehensive exam separate from the thesis defense.
    • May consist of course work only or involve an independent project. In either case, a final exam that covers breadth and integration of material in the field is required.
    • The examination may be written, oral, or both, and is conducted by the supervisory committee or the department.

    Financial  Aid Opportunities
    Students in the BS/MS Program may receive financial support in the form of an hourly position during the fourth year. After students are admitted to the Graduate School and classified as an M.S. student, they may receive funding as a research or teaching assistant and are eligible for the University of Utah Tuition Benefit Program.

    Program Procedures
    Once students are accepted into the BS/MS program, they have several checkpoints they must pass in order to graduate by their fifth year with two degrees. These checkpoints are designed to keep students on track:

    Between Junior and Senior Years:

    • Thesis students are encouraged to begin their research for the M.S. degree if pursuing the thesis option.
    • Students should confirm what B.S. degree requirements remain with their undergraduate advisor.
    • Take the GRE at least 2 months prior to applying to the graduate school to allow the scores enough time to be processed and received by the Department.

    Senior Year:

    • Enroll for a minimum of two (6 hours) and a maximum of four (12 hours) 6000-level technical electives (if extra space is available in the student’s final year).
    • Apply for graduate status by the posted deadlines found here: https://www.mech.utah.edu/academics/grads/admissions/. This must be done in accordance to the application procedures for all ME EN graduate students, with the following rules:
      • The statement of purpose should be 1-2 pages and focus on the student’s academic and career goals.
      • An updated resume should be uploaded to the application.
      • Three letters of recommendation are required. One letter must come from the student’s research advisor.
      • If the GRE quantitative score is less than the 80th percentile, the student will need to retake the GRE and achieve that score if the GRE is required for admission to the graduate program (was optional during COVID).
    • Discuss future course options with research advisor (thesis option), and/or decide what classes to take your first semester in the graduate program.

    First Semester of M.S.

    • Turn in Request for Graduate Credit Form
    • Submit Program Declaration Form
    • Form Supervisory Committee (thesis option; non-thesis option can use Department default committee and have a program of study form signed by Dr. Mark Fehlberg)
    • Submit B.S./M.S. Program of Study (see Grad Advisor after registering for final semester or by first week of final semester)
    • Apply to graduate in CIS or by using the Graduation Application form

    Final Semester

    • Thesis Defense (thesis masters only)
    • Work with your committee to arrange a date and time
    • Work with the graduate advisor to schedule a room in MEK
    • M.S. Thesis Announcement Template (due 2 weeks prior to defense)
    • M.S. Thesis Oral Defense Form
    • M.S. Thesis Approval Forms
    • M.S. Non-thesis-complete exit interview with graduate advisor

    Thesis Process (thesis Master’s only):

    • The student is encouraged to meet with his/her faculty advisor to ensure that thesis milestones are met in a timely manner.
    • Once the committee approves the thesis content, students must submit their manuscript – with signed thesis sheets – to the Department Chair for approval. The chair must be allotted at least one week to review and approve the manuscript.
    • After the chair approves the thesis and signs the Final Reading Approval, the student must submit their manuscript and sheets to the Thesis Editor to begin format approval. This must be done in accordance with Graduate School deadlines in order to graduate in a given semester: http://gradschool.utah.edu/current-students/graduation-overview-for-masters-candidates/.
    • Thesis must be approved by Thesis Editor no later than eight months from the date of the thesis defense. This eight-month deadline includes thesis corrections, final supervisory committee approval, department chair approval, and final approval by the thesis office and graduate school. If this requirement is not met, any prior approvals of the thesis will be voided, the student will have to re-register for one thesis credit, and re-submit and re-defend the thesis.
    • Once format corrections are finished, the student must then work with the Thesis Office to submit their manuscript to ProQuest (or USPACE) for online viewing.
    • After all of these steps are completed, the student will be cleared for graduation. Please note that a student is not considered “graduated” for merely passing the defense. The thesis must also successfully pass corrections and be published before a degree may be awarded.

    Both thesis and non-thesis options lead to a Master’s of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering. Both the B.S. and M.S. degrees are conferred simultaneously following completion of the program. No student will be awarded a separate M.S. degree without satisfying all requirements for the B.S. degree.

    Transfer from undergraduate to graduate status occurs after completion of the B.S. degree requirements. A student is eligible for the Tuition Benefit Program administered by the Graduate School after graduate status is conferred.