Students who would like to earn an MS degree in Mechanical Engineering can apply in their junior years for this program. More information can be found at the program website.
Admission
Eligibility Requirements
To be admitted to the BSPHYS/MSME program, students must:
Be enrolled in the physics undergraduate program in the College of Science andEngineering at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus.
Have a minimum of 3.25 GPA (cumulative). While this GPA is required to apply, we prefer students with a GPA of 3.50 or greater.
Be completing their junior year and have flexibility in their senior year to complete the requirements for the BSPHYS degree along with extra course work.
Apply for admission at the end of their junior year.
Application Timing
Students apply to an integrated degree program the semester prior to the last year of undergraduate academic study, this provides the student one year (two semesters) to complete undergraduate degree requirements and take graduate level courses.
Application Procedure
Students who wish to apply for admission into the program must submit the following at the end of their junior year (with two semesters remaining before graduation) to the Graduate School:
Completed Graduate School application form.
Necessary application fee.
Original transcripts from post-secondary education institutions.
Statement of purpose including planned area of concentration.
Completed BSPHYS/MSME Combined Course Projection Sheet that includes:
planned courses necessary to complete the B.S. Physics degree requirements (the semester and year in which the courses will be taken should also be noted as some courses are offered alternate years)
planned graduate level courses necessary to complete the M.S.M.E. degree requirements (the semester and year in which the courses will be taken should also be noted as some courses are offered alternate years).
One letter of recommendation from a full-time faculty member in the School of Physics and Astronomy.
Application Deadlines
Fall Admission only
Opens in mid-September of the year prior.
Final deadline: June 15th.
Application Review
The applications will be reviewed by the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) of Mechanical Engineering who will make the admission decision.
Application Decisions
Once DGS of Mechanical Engineering makes the admission decision, the admission outcomewill be updated on the online application system by the end of June. In addition, the admitted students will receive an email with the official admission letter from CSE attached to the email.
No students will be admitted conditionally into the integrated MS program. However, if the admitted students fail to complete their BS degree by the end of their senior year, they will not be allowed to continue with the MS program.
Administrative Admission Processing
Students who receive the acceptance letter by the end of June must notify the Academic Programs Director (APD) in the School of Physics and Astronomy who will verify the information with the ME Graduate Program Manager (GPM). Upon verification, the APD will add or remove the 08CD student group in PeopleSoft and also email the CSE undergraduate records team (cserecords@umn.edu) with the request to add the IDP sub-plan to the student’s record in PeopleSoft. When the students complete their Physics BS degrees in June of the following year, the GPM of Mechanical Engineering will add the graduate career to the student’s record.
Undergraduate Degree Progress
Students accepted to the IDP will meet with the Physics DUGS before their final year as an undergraduate to discuss course planning for that year. The Physics DUGS will consult with the ME Director of Graduate Studies concerning appropriate graduate-level ME courses for which the student might register for this final undergraduate year.
Students admitted to this IDP will complete and be awarded the undergraduate degree within 4 years (8 semesters) for NHS and 3 years (6 semesters) for NAS students. Admission into the IDP will be revoked if the awarding of this bachelor’s degree exceeds 8 semesters for NHS students and 6 semesters for NAS students.
The admitted student’s major academic advisor or the DUGS for Physics will be responsible for reviewing the student’s APAS and making any necessary exceptions related to the IDP sub-plan.
The associated bachelor’s degree must be awarded prior to the beginning of the master’s career. Bachelor’s and master’s degrees cannot be awarded simultaneously.
Admission to the graduate program is guaranteed provided the student meets all IDP requirements.
The CSE Undergraduate Records and Curriculum Team is responsible for clearing the bachelor’s degree.
Graduate Degree Progress
Once enrolled in the master’s degree, students must complete a minimum of one semester (6 course credits) as a registered graduate student completing the master’s degree requirements before the awarding of the master’s degree.
The Graduate Program Manager (GPM) of Mechanical Engineering, along with the ME Director of Graduate Studies (DGS), will be responsible for graduate academic audit, review of graduate student degree progress, graduate degree planning and advising, and graduate degree clearance.
Credit Transfer
Credits
Students may apply up to 12 credits completed during their senior year toward the master’s degree as part of the integrated bachelor’s/master’s program. Eligible credits must be from ME 5xxx- or ME 8xxx-level courses offered by the Department of Mechanical Engineering, excluding ME 8001, ME 8002, ME 8010, ME 8011, ME 8333, ME 8444, ME 8666, ME 8888, and ME 8990.
Credits cannot be (double counted) used for both the undergraduate and graduate degree requirements. This includes credits used for other undergraduate degrees, majors, or minors.
Credits for a course cannot be split between the undergraduate degrees, majors, or minors and graduate degree programs.
Courses that will be used to fulfill the master’s degree requirements must appear in the undergraduate degree sub-plan by the tenth day of the semester in which the student is enrolled in the courses. Any final edits or updates to this sub-plan must be reflected on the APAS no later than the last day of instruction in the semester in which the undergraduate degree will be awarded. Courses not in this sub-plan by that time cannot be updated later and, therefore, will not be eligible for use towards the master’s degree.
The Graduate Program Manager (GPM) for Mechanical Engineering will be responsible for completing the Transfer Credit from Undergraduate to Graduate Program form in the first semester of the student’s graduate career.
Curriculum Updates
The ME Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) is responsible for reviewing and approving undergraduate/graduate curriculum updates to courses or programs which impact this IDP. Any updates to the MOU affected by such changes will be managed by the Associate Department Head (ADH) in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, while the ME Graduate Program Manager (GPM) will update Coursedog if affected by curriculum changes.
Degree Plans
Students may pursue a Plan A masters, which requires 20 credits of graduate coursework and 10 MS thesis credits, or a Plan C masters, which requires 30 credits of graduate coursework. As per these plans, students must take courses from a certain number of core areas, but there is a large variety of graduate-level (5xxx and above) courses (also see the Course Offering Schedule) in which students might enroll. NOTE that 10 credits must be taken at the 8xxx level. A sample 4+1 plan (BS engineering subplan and Plan C master) is provided below.