Engineering, MS

Program Description

The Master of Science in Engineering prepares students to enter professional work or seek higher academic degrees requiring advanced knowledge and study in the engineering disciplines represented by the undergraduate engineering programs at TAMU-CC. Upon completion of the degree, the graduate will have both a solid education in the fundamentals of engineering as well as specialized knowledge of current topics in the field, and will have developed the skills necessary to maintain knowledge of the current state-of-the-art in engineering, allowing for continuing career advancement.

The proposed MS is designed to operate in conjunction with the five-year BS/MS degree program in engineering at TAMU-CC, in which students are admitted into the program during their junior year, and then enter directly into the MS-ENGR program upon completion of their senior year, taking dual-credit courses during their senior year which are applied to both degrees (BS and MS). Students may also be admitted who have already completed their BS degrees in engineering, either at TAMU-CC or another institution whose engineering programs are accredited by ABET.

Fast Track Engineering BS to Engineering MS

The university allows the opportunity for high-achieving undergraduate students to count a select number of graduate credits toward their undergraduate degree and thereby obtain a graduate degree at an accelerated pace. Students interested in the Fast Track in Engineering should see the undergraduate catalog.

Program Goal

Prepare students to pursue careers in industry, academia, and government by offering a state-of-the-art curriculum and advanced knowledge.

Student Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the MS in Engineering degree, graduates will be able to demonstrate the ability to

1. (1)      identify, formulate, and solve complex engineering problems by selecting and applying appropriate tools and techniques;   
2. (2)      synthesize advanced technical knowledge in a traditional or emerging area of knowledge in a specialized area of engineering; and
3. (3)      conduct research on topics related to the disciplines of engineering or other related disciplines, independently or with minimal direction. 

Chronological Procedure Leading to the MS Degree

Completion of a degree plan

• Upon admission to the MS degree program in engineering, and prior to enrollment in any course, the student must contact the Graduate Program Coordinator in the College of Engineering and Computer Science to be assigned a faculty advisor, who will come from the graduate faculty in the Department of Engineering. By the end of the first semester of study, the student and advisor should complete and file a degree plan with the Graduate Program Coordinator.  Students should seek the advice of their faculty advisor on a regular basis about their progress toward their degree.

Progress toward the degree

• Once admitted to the graduate degree program in engineering, a student must complete at least six semester hours of credit per year toward the degree until the degree is completed.  (Note:  Full-time student status requires nine semester hours of credit in a given fall or spring semester.) Failure to make this minimum progress will result in dismissal from the degree program with possible readmission based on the catalog in effect at the time of readmission. A student who is actively pursuing a graduate project or thesis and has completed all other course work for the degree will be given relief from this requirement, but must register continuously for the related project or thesis course until the project or thesis is completed, and all requirements are met and the student is approved for graduation in the semester the course is taken.

Thesis Option or Non-thesis Option

Thesis Option
Students choosing the thesis option must obtain permission from their faculty advisor (who will chair their MS committee) to register for ENGR 5311 Thesis Research (3 sch), which should be taken no later than the next to last semester. During the first month of ENGR 5311, the student and their advisor should determine the faculty members who will comprise the thesis committee. This committee consists of at least three full-time Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi graduate faculty members, including the committee chair, two of which must be in engineering.

While taking ENGR 5311, the student will develop a written proposal of the thesis work and present the proposal for approval. The student must continually register for ENGR 5311 Thesis Research (3 sch) until the research is near completion.  When the student is ready and has the advisor’s approval, the student may then register for ENGR 5312 Thesis (3 sch), to be taken in the last semester.  If the student fails their final examination, which is an oral defense of their project, a grade of No Credit will be assigned to ENGR 5312 and all semesters of ENGR 5311 taken previously, and the student must begin the process again.  If the student passes the examination but fails to meet the deadlines for graduation that semester, the student will be required to enroll in ENGR 5312 the following semester to meet the requirement that the student be enrolled in the course in the semester in which the student graduates.

While taking ENGR 5312 Thesis (3 sch), the student will produce a written thesis that discusses their work. A draft copy of the thesis will be given to all committee members and the student will make any changes required by the committee. Upon approval of the thesis committee chair, the student may schedule their final oral examination. The thesis will be published and archived in the Mary & Jeff Bell library. Guidelines for writing the thesis are available in the Department of Engineering office.

Non-Thesis Option

Students must take all required courses along with their chosen electives as outlined in the degree plan. ENGR 5313 Capstone Project (3 sch) is taken in the final semester and culminates in an appropriate project that requires a report and an oral presentation.

•           Final examination (Thesis Option)

After the student has completed all other requirements for the MS degree in engineering, the student must schedule an oral exam over the student’s graduate program of study. The oral exam will be administered by the graduate thesis committee and will focus heavily on the thesis itself. 

For Additional Information

Website:
http://gradschool.tamucc.edu/degrees/engineering/engineering.html

Campus Address:
Robert Furgason Engineering Building, Room 222
Phone: (361) 825-5849

Mailing Address:
Department of Engineering, Unit 5797
College of Engineering and Computer Science
Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi
6300 Ocean Drive
Corpus Christi, Texas 78412-5825

Admission Requirements

• In addition to meeting all University requirements, students seeking admission to the program for the Master of Science in Engineering must submit the following to the Graduate Admissions:
  • An application and application fee
  • Transcripts from regionally accredited institutions (international students will be required to submit relevant international transcripts, with translations through approved translation services, if not in English)
  • An essay (500-1000 words) discussing why the student wishes to obtain a Master’s degree and the student’s areas of interest
  • GRE scores (within five years of the date of application)
  • International students must show English language proficiency through either TOEFL or IELTS exam and submit additional documents to Graduate Admissions.  
• A student entering the program is expected to have adequate preparation in engineering and mathematics through their undergraduate degree. The MS in Engineering has four concentration areas:  civil engineering, electrical engineering, industrial engineering, and mechanical engineering.  For civil engineering, this preparation must include successful completion of undergraduate coursework in structural engineering, materials, geotechnical engineering, and hydraulics / hydrology.   For electrical engineering, this preparation must include successful completion of undergraduate course work in circuits and networks, electronics, signal processing, controls, and microprocessors.  For industrial engineering, this preparation must include successful completion of undergraduate coursework in human factors, operations research, simulations, manufacturing processes, and logistics.  For mechanical engineering, this preparation must include successful completion of undergraduate coursework in dynamics, materials science, strength of materials and solid mechanics, and fluid mechanics and heat transfer.  In addition to these, in the area of mathematics, all students must have successfully completed course work in calculus through multivariable calculus, plus differential equations and at least one additional junior level or higher mathematics course such as linear algebra, numerical analysis, or applied probability and statistics.
• Students who have not successfully completed the above courses may be required to take undergraduate leveling courses in any missing subjects. All leveling courses must be completed with a grade of “B” or better. In addition, students can take no more than 9 credits towards their degree prior to completing all leveling courses.
• Students seeking admission to the MS in Engineering program must identify a faculty member willing to serve as their graduate faculty advisor. Applicants may review the research interests of faculty members at engineering.tamucc.edu.  Applicants should contact faculty members via e-mail and determine if a particular faculty member is willing to serve as their faculty advisor.  Applicants will not be admitted to the program without a graduate advisor.

Program Requirements

Requirements for the Master of Science in Engineering degree may be met through one of two options: Thesis Option (Option I) or Non-Thesis Option (Option II). The Thesis Option requires a minimum of 33 credit hours and the Non-Thesis Option requires a minimum of 36 credit hours. All students take a common required core of 12 SCH, consisting of three lecture courses and two seminar courses. Students take 9 SCH of prescribed electives in their chosen concentrations.  Thesis-option students take an additional 6 SCH of free electives and 6 SCH of research / thesis.  Non-thesis-option students take 12 SCH of free electives plus 3 SCH for a capstone projects course. 

Electives

Electives are chosen by the student but are subject to approval by the student’s graduate faculty advisor (who is also the thesis committee chair for students in the Thesis Option). For the Thesis Option, electives should be taken that will support the student’s thesis work. For the Non-Thesis Option, students must take two electives in their concentration and two electives outside their concentration.  All electives must be approved by the student’s graduate faculty advisor.  

No more than six hours of approved electives may come from courses taken at another university and/or from outside of engineering. Credit from a master’s degree earned at another institution will not be applied to a second master’s degree at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi.  A maximum of six hours of approved Directed Independent Study courses may count toward the MS degree.

Courses

Engineering

Civil Engineering

Electrical Engineering

Industrial Engineering

Mechanical Engineering