Apr 20, 2024  
2022-2023 Academic Catalog 
    
2022-2023 Academic Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Mechanical Engineering, M.S.M.E. (Thesis)


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Degree Requirements: 30 Credit Hours (Thesis)


Admission Requirements

Regular Admission

  1. Completed requirements for the bachelor’s degree or the equivalent in the proposed or closely related field of study in Mechanical Engineering.
  2. A 2.75 (4.0 scale) cumulative grade point average or higher on courses in undergraduate work, or equivalent.
  3. International students must meet College of Graduate Studies English Proficiency requirements (6.0 IELTS or 80 on TOFEL).

Provisional Admission

A student may be granted provisional admission based upon the recommendation of the Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering Graduate Coordinator and department chair.

Non-Degree Admission

Non-degree students are accepted on an individual basis as space is available.

Program of Study


A minimum of 50% of courses for the Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering degree must be taken at or above the 6000 level.

Elective Requirements Credit Hours: 15


Restricted Elective courses at or above the 5000G level as contracted with the faculty advisor and degree coordinator. Any appropriate course outside of the department approved by both the graduate program director and the department chair.

Capstone Activity (Thesis) Credit Hours: 6


Other Thesis Track Requirements: Comprehensive Exam


  • Comprehensive Exam

Total Credit Hours: 30


Thesis

Each candidate for the Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering Thesis Track degree must complete a thesis on a subject approved by the adviser. The major professor supervises the research, directs the writing of the thesis, and approves the thesis in its final form. Prior to the final approval, the thesis is read by thesis committee. The thesis must be presented and defended in an oral examination before committee of at least three members prior to final approval and sign-off.

The style and format for the completed thesis shall follow that prescribed by the Director for the Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering degree. Procedural steps in the preparation of the thesis are as follows:

  • The prospectus for the thesis shall be submitted to the major professor and thesis committee for approval.
  • The student must prepare the thesis for electronic submission following the latest version of the Electronic Thesis and Dissertation (ETD): Student Guide to Preparation and Processing manual.
  • The thesis must be electronically submitted to the ETD site for format check by the ETD format check submission deadline as stated in the University Calendar.
  • The final corrected thesis must be electronically submitted to the ETD site by the ETD format check submission deadline as stated in the University Calendar. The final document must be electronically approved by the Thesis Committee.
  • Thesis will be announced and defended by calendar.

See the Electronic Thesis and Dissertation (ETD): Student Guide to Preparation and Processing (latest version at the COGS Electronic Theses and Dissertation website).

Other Program Requirements (Thesis)

  1. Each candidate in the Thesis Track of MSME Program must have accomplished the following by the end of their second academic semester in the MSME program to maintain program eligibility:
    • Identify a research adviser (thesis committee chair) and form a thesis committee.
    • Determine a research topic for their thesis, and present a research proposal to their thesis committee for topic approval.
  2. Each candidate must receive approval from the Graduate Director or Department Chair of the Mechanical Engineering to take courses that are taught outside of the Mechanical Engineering Program and/ or specifically identified in M.S. in Mechanical Engineering degree program .
  3. Each candidate of the MSME must complete a thesis on a subject approved by their thesis committee.
    • The thesis defense must be announced to the public one week prior to the defense. The thesis must be submitted to Thesis Committee, and presented at a public seminar.
    • The thesis must be defended before the thesis committee.
    • The thesis defense is a comprehensive oral examination that may include questions on the thesis, and subject matter related to the thesis, and course work.
    • In addition to the thesis, the student must provide the faculty research adviser with all forms data that was collected, including: electronic files, and a written document detailing the contents of the data.
    • The degree is conferred at the end of the semester, after the student has passed the thesis defense and the final written version of the thesis has been approved by the College of Graduate Studies.

Accelerated Bachelor’s to Master’s (ABM) Degree


This Accelerated Bachelor’s to Masters Degree Program is intended for current undergraduate students in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Georgia Southern University. It will produce a pathway to earn both a Bachelor’s and a Master’s Degree within five years.

In accordance with SACSCOC requirements, 120 unique credit hours are required in a Bachelors degree program, and at least 30 unique credit hours are required for a Masters degree program. The MSME-ABM program combines 130 hours from the BSME program and 30 hours from the MSME program, exceeding the required 150 unique hours between undergraduate and graduate degree programs by 10 hours. The Jack N. Averitt College of Graduate Studies Handbook for Program Directors and Graduate Advisors permits a maximum of 9 shared credit hours between the undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Therefore, MSME-ABM students may share a maximum of 9 credit hours of graduate level courses (5000G) in satisfying the requirements of both degree programs.

Admission Requirements

Regular Admission

For regular admission to the Accelerated Bachelor’s to Masters Degree of Science in Mechanical Engineering (ABM-MSME) degree program, the applicant must:

  1. Be enrolled in the undergraduate mechanical engineering program (B.S.M.E) in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Georgia Southern University.
  2. Have completed no less than 25 and no more than 50 credits of ENGR and MENG courses, or permission of Department Chair.
  3. Must have 3.0 or better Georgia Southern Institutional GPA. ABM programs do not allow provisional admission.

ABM programs are designed for students who have demonstrated a high level of undergraduate academic performance that validates their ability to be successful graduate students. Students who do not meet the minimum requirements for regular admission may be granted admission to the program upon approval of an admissions committee consisting of at least the Department Chair and the Graduate Program director.

Degree Requirements: 30 Credit Hours (Thesis)

  1. Student in the ABM program will be allowed to use up to 9 credits MENG 5000G level courses offered within the Mechanical Engineering program in meeting the requirements of both a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree.
  2. The 9 credit hours that will be applied to both the bachelor’s and master’s degrees include: MENG 5811G , MENG 5822G , and two MENG 5000G level courses approved by each student’s research advisor and the the Mechanical Engineering Department’s graduate program coordinator.
  3. Maintain a cumulative graduate GPA of 3.0 (grade of “B” or better) in their graduate degree course work (including the 9 credits of graduate course work shared with the undergraduate degree).
  4. Meet all requirements for both B.S.M.E. and M.S.M.E. degrees.
  5. A minimum of 50% of courses for the Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering degree must be taken at or above the 6000 level.

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