Masters Program

 

Maximum Time Allowed	Masters Thesis
Transfer Credit	Thesis Committee
Programs of Study	Thesis Presentation and Defense
Publication Requirement For M.S. Students	COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION

 

Four Master's degree programs are offered by The Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of South Carolina: MS and ME in Mechanical Engineering and MS and ME in Nuclear Engineering.

MAXIMUM TIME ALLOWED
Students should plan their activities so as to complete the M.S. or M.E. programs of study within four semesters of full-time study (not counting summers).  The maximum period allowed for Master's degree work is six years.  In the event that more time is spent on the program, the student must petition for special arrangements with the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Graduate School.

TRANSFER CREDIT
Transfer credits from a previous graduate degree program must be approved by both the Department of Mechanical Engineering and by the Office of the Graduate Dean.  The credits must be dated within the six-year period allowed for a Master's degree.  A maximum of 12 credits can be transferred from another school with a grade of B or better.

PROGRAMS OF STUDY
All students must consult with their academic advisor and complete a Program of Study form during the first semester of enrollment. A new form must be submitted whenever it is necessary to modify the program of study.

It is the goal of the Department of Mechanical Engineering to have students, with advice of their academic advisor, create a program of study that fits their interests while ensuring that they are well educated in the traditional areas of mechanical engineering and nuclear engineering.

All Master's degrees require a minimum of 30 credit hours at the 500‑level or above. An M.E. degree will be granted upon successful completion of the course work as described below. An M.S. degree requires a thesis. Students must complete at least half of non-thesis credit requirements in courses numbered 700 or above. Students earning an M.S. must have at least 6 hours of thesis preparation and only 6 hours of thesis preparation may be applied to the required 30 hours.

Click here for details on the Program of Study.

PUBLICATION REQUIREMENT FOR M.S. STUDENTS
An educational objective for M.S. students is that they have the ability to communicate their research results through oral presentations and written publications. Consistent with this objective, an M.S. student is required to submit, based on research performed while at USC, at least one conference paper (or abstract with presentation) or one journal paper prior to graduation.

MASTERS THESIS
A thesis is required of all students seeking the MS degree.  The student's academic advisor must approve the subject of the thesis.  The Graduate School will furnish general thesis regulations upon  request.  Any student who wishes to use University facilities or to confer with the faculty on thesis work must be officially enrolled for thesis credit.  More information concerning the submission of finished thesis can be found in the ME Graduate Handbook.

THESIS COMMITTEE
A student's MS Thesis Committee consists of the student's advisor and the second reader of the student's thesis.

THESIS PRESENTATION AND DEFENSE
The thesis presentation is to be open to all members of the University community and guests.  Please see the ME Graduate Handbook for more information.

COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION
A comprehensive examination covering the major field of study is required of all candidates for the M.S. degree, which is conducted immediately following the thesis defense. The student's thesis committee administers this exam.

For the M.E. degree, a student passes the comprehensive exam if the student receives a grade of B or better in three courses in the student’s focus area or core group. If a student has a grade lower than B in any of the three courses, the student must submit a satisfactory project report to the Graduate Director for each of the lower-grade courses. The topic and requirements for the report will be given by a course instructor and the report will be evaluated by the instructor. The passage of the comprehensive exam will be assessed in the semester the student applies for graduation.