Mechanical Engineering Graduate Programs
M.S. Degree Policy and Procedures
Plan II (Non-Thesis) / Research Track
Plan II (Non-Thesis) / Research Track
The student should carefully study the section in the UNM Graduate Catalog under "Master’s Degrees." It is ultimately the student’s responsibility to see that these requirements are satisfied.
All work used to meet degree requirements for a master's degree, including transfer credit, must be completed within a seven-year period immediately preceding the granting of the degree. Course work older than seven years cannot be used to meet requirements for the master's degree.
Summary of Course Requirements
The following are the course requirements for the M.S. Degree, Plan II. Some of these requirements are dictated by the UNM Graduate Catalog and additional ones are required by the ME department.
A minimum of 34 semester hours is required. For the M.S. Plan II with "Manufacturing Engineering Concentration" a minimum of 37 hours is required.
A minimum of 24 hours of 500-level courses that may include ME 551, 552, and/or 559.
A minimum of 18 hours of coursework in Mechanical Engineering, that may include ME 551, 552 and/or 559. Four courses will comprise the Mechanical Engineering Graduate Core.
Three (3) semester hours of ME 559 Design Project are required; no more than three (3) hours of ME 559 and no more than three (3) hours of ME 551 or 552 Problems may be included in the Program of Studies.
A maximum of 12 hours of graduate level courses in non-degree status may be applied to the course requirements.
At least 24 hours must be completed in residence at the University of New Mexico.
Zero + One (0 + 1) hour Seminar [ME 591(fall), ME 592(spring)] . See Seminar Requirement.
The student must meet with the ME Graduate Programs Director before the initial registration, and work out a program of studies for the first semester. Any courses that do not receive prior approval of an academic advisor may be disallowed. During the first semester, the student must obtain the agreement of an ME faculty member to serve as Academic Advisor, and submit an Advisor Approval Form to the ME Program Advisement Coordinator. This faculty member normally, but not always, becomes the Chair of the Committee-on-Studies.
M.S. students must have one hour of seminar credit on their program. The student shall register for ME 591/592 for two semesters while attending the seminars. The first semester the student may register for zero credit hours. The second semester the student must register for one credit hour. The grade will be CR/NC, based upon attendance. Presenting a seminar on campus will count for attendance at two seminar sessions.
On Campus Students: Credit will be earned in each semester by attending all but one of the scheduled ME seminars.
Los Alamos Graduate Center Students: Credit will be earned by attending ten Los Alamos National Laboratory seminars on mechanical engineering or mechanics topics and submitting a report on each seminar. The report shall consist of 1) the Laboratory announcement of the seminar and 2) a critique of it, written by the student. The critique shall be at most one single-spaced (typewritten) page in length. Each report is due one week after the seminar and may be submitted via email.
A student may make up one missed seminar by attending two 1-hour research seminars in other departments or at one of the labs. Following the Los Alamos plan, you are required to provide the published abstract and a brief summary (one paragraph) for each. A strict deadline for receipt of these reports is the last day of classes. Students attending conferences may write up equivalent talks (e.g., four 30-minute talks). Students cannot makeup 2 missed seminars (4 new seminars).
Committee-on-Studies (COS)
Each student’s program shall be guided by a Committee-on-Studies. The Committee-on-Studies shall be composed of at least three members; at least two members shall be full-time, UNM Mechanical Engineering faculty members. It is to the student's benefit if the Committee-on-Studies is selected and approved no later than the second semester of residence or before completing 12 hours. Approval of the Committee must be obtained using the Committee-on-Studies Proposal Form.
Committee-on-Studies Chairperson
The student should select a Committee-on-Studies Chairperson as early as possible, preferably during the first semester in residence. The Committee Chairperson must be a full-time, UNM Mechanical Engineering faculty member. The Chairperson will also serve as the professor of the student’s project course (ME 559).
Other Members of the Committee-on-Studies
The remainder of the Committee should be chosen by consultation between the Chairman of the Committee-on-Studies and the student. Approval for non-UNM faculty committee members must be obtained from the ME Graduate Director and Office of Graduate Studies.
M.S. Program Planning and Approval
The Committee-on-Studies shall have the responsibility to plan and approve the student’s program. Approval of the M.S. Program of Studies is then required by the Mechanical Engineering Graduate Programs Director.
The Program of Studies Form should be submitted the semester following completion of 12 hours for the degree. At the latest, it must be approved by the ME Graduate Programs Director and Dean of Graduate Studies by July 1 for a Fall graduation, October 1 for a Spring graduation, and May 1 for a Summer graduation. The Committee should have input on the program submitted, and all members of the Committee must sign the Program of Studies form. Changes in an approved program must be submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies by a memorandum from the student with approval by the Committee-on-Studies chair and ME Graduate Programs Director.
The following steps should be followed in satisfying the project course
requirement:
The Committee-on-Studies
This
committee must be formed prior to the initiation of work on the project so Committee
members may have input.
Project
Proposal
The student shall prepare, with the assistance and advice of the project
professor, a project proposal and present it for approval to the
Committee-on-Studies no later than the second week of the semester (or first week of the summer session) in which
the project requirement will be satisfied. The proposal outline under
Project/Thesis/Dissertation
Instructions should be followed. An oral presentation may be
requested by the Committee-on-Studies. After approval, a copy of the project
proposal shall be placed in the student’s file.
Project
Report
The project shall be reported in written form and in English. The
report should contain all the elements of a thorough engineering report
including: abstract, table of contents, list of figures, list of tables,
list of symbols, introduction, review of pertinent literature and of related
recent investigations, description of project, presentation and discussion
of results, conclusions, recommendations, and references. A copy of the report shall be placed in the student’s file after all
corrections are made.
Project Presentation and Master's Examination
The project report shall be provided to the Committee-on-Studies at least
two weeks before the scheduled project presentation, which normally serves as the Master's Examination. The Mechanical
Engineering Program Advisement Coordinator must also be notified of the time and
location of the examination at least three weeks prior to it. The Master's (Plan II) examination shall usually consist of a presentation of the
research work by the student and an oral examination by the Committee-on-Studies. The
examination may cover the program of study as well as the research topic.
Results of the examination must be reported to the Office of Graduate
Studies, on the Report of Examination form provided, by November 15, April 15, or July 15, in order
for the student to graduate in the Fall, Spring, or Summer semester,
respectively.
Students on Probation
Students having a GPA of less than 3.0 are not permitted to take the
Master's examination. If the project course ME 559 is to be the grade which raises
the GPA to 3.0, the project presentation and Master's examination must be
separate events.
Notification of Intent to Graduate
The student must submit the Notification of Intent to Graduate Form to the Graduate Coordinator by July 25th for a Fall graduation, by December 10th for a Spring graduation, and by May 10th for a summer graduation. Students must be enrolled in a graduate course in the semester of graduation. If all other course work is completed, one (1) hour of ME 551 or 552 may be taken. Students should not register for ME 559 (3 hours) more than once.
One copy of the project report shall be submitted to the Mechanical Engineering Department after it is bound in a specified manner; contact the ME Program Advisement Coordinator for instructions.
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