Mechanical Engineering

Degree requirements for the Master of Science (MS) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) for the Mechanical Engineering graduate program are detailed below. In order to graduate with an MS or a PhD in the Mechanical Engineering graduate program a student must meet all requirements established by the program (as outlined in the MAE Graduate Programs Handbook) and the University (as outlined in the Graduate School Handbook).

Master's Degree Requirements

There are two paths for students seeking a MS degree in the Mechanical Engineering graduate program: a thesis path and a non-thesis path. A minimum of 30 credit hours, including coursework and a satisfactory thesis or non-thesis project is required to obtain a MS degree. The entire work for the MS degree must be completed within a period of six calendar years.

Click here for a downloadable PDF version of these requirements.

The specific requirements for both the thesis and non-thesis paths are as follows:

Thesis Path

Students who wish to pursue the thesis path must meet the following requirements in order to graduate:

  • 18 total hours of letter graded graduate courses1

    • At least 3 hours must be 4000+ Math (except Math 4504), 5000+ Stats, or other program approved math equivalency courses2

    • At least 9 hours must be 5000+ MAE courses3

    • At least 6 hours must be 6000+ courses

  • At least 12 hours of ME 8998 with your faculty advisor

  • ME Seminar every semester until graduation

  • A Master's thesis

 

Non-Thesis Path

Students who wish to pursue the non-thesis path must meet the following requirements in order to graduate:

  • 27 total hours of letter graded graduate courses1

    • At least 3 hours must be 4000+ Math (except Math 4504), 5000+ Stats, or other program approved math equivalency courses2

    • At least 12 hours must be 5000+ MAE courses3

    • At least 12 hours must be 6000+ courses

  • At least 3 hours of ME 8998 with your faculty advisor

  • ME Seminar every semester until graduation

  • A non-thesis project as decided upon by your MS committee

1: In addition to the Math requirement, up to 3 hours may be 4000+ non-departmental courses as long as the MAE 5000+ and the 6000+ requirements are still met.

2: A course being used to satisfy the Math requirement cannot be used to satisfy the other letter graded MS course requirements.

3: 6000+ MAE can be used to satisfy both the ME 5000+ and 6000+ requirements.

Doctoral Degree Requirements

There are two potential paths for students pursuing a PhD in the Mechanical Engineering graduate program: a BS-PhD path and a MS-PhD path.

  • Students on the BS-PhD path begin work toward a Doctoral degree directly after receiving a baccalaureate degree.
  • Students on the MS-PhD path begin work toward a Doctoral degree after receiving a master’s degree.

A minimum of 80 graduate credit hours beyond the baccalaureate degree, including coursework and a dissertation, are required to obtain a doctoral degree. If a student has obtained a master’s degree at Ohio State or elsewhere, then a minimum of 50 graduate credit hours beyond the master’s is required. The entire work for the PhD degree must be completed within a period of nine calendar years.

Click here for a downloadable PDF version of these requirements.

The specific requirements for both the BS-PhD and MS-PhD paths are as follows:

BS-PhD Path

Students who have earned a BS degree and wish to pursue a PhD directly must meet the following requirements in order to graduate:

  • 30 total hours of 5000+ letter graded graduate courses4

    • At least 3 hours must be 5000+ Math, Stats, or other program approved math equivalency courses5

    • At least 18 hours must be 6000+ courses and at least 9 of those hours must be MAE courses

  • At least 50 hours of ME 8999 with your faculty advisor

  • ME Seminar every semester until graduation

  • First author journal submission

  • Successful completion of the Qualifying and Candidacy Exams

  • Submission and successful defense of a Doctoral Dissertation

 

MS-PhD Path

Students who have already earned a MS degree and are pursuing a PhD must meet the following requirements in order to graduate:

  • 18 total hours of 5000+ letter graded graduate courses4

    • At least 3 hours must be Math, Stats, or other program approved math equivalency courses5

    • At least 9 hours must be 6000+ MAE courses

    • OSU MAE MS graduates can double-count up to 2 courses from their MS degree toward their PhD coursework requirements.

  • At least 32 hours of ME 8999 with your faculty advisor

  • ME Seminar every semester until graduation

  • First author journal submission

  • Successful completion of the Qualifying and Candidacy Exams

  • Submission and successful defense of a Doctoral Dissertation

4: Up to 3 hours may be 4000+ non-departmental courses as long as the Math and the 6000+ requirements are still met.

5: A course being used to satisfy the Math requirement cannot be used to satisfy the other letter graded PhD course requirements.

Important Notes

  • Any courses taken Spring 2018 and beyond students must earn a grade of C or better in order for courses to count toward the coursework requirements.
  • Coursework in the following fields: Engineering, Natural and Mathematical Sciences, or Medicine can be used towards the degree requirements, permitted all of the specific degree requirements are met.

  • Courses taken outside of Engineering, Natural and Mathematical Sciences, or Medicine may count, but are subject to review and approval by the student's faculty advisor and the Graduate Studies Committee.