Accelerated Master's

• Undergraduate students must apply for admission to the accelerated master’s program though the standard Graduate School application process during the latter part of their junior year or early in their senior year. Interested students should talk with the MAE Director of Graduate Studies during their junior year.
• The accelerated master’s program requires you to be accepted into the Graduate School and the Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering program prior to the awarding of your bachelor’s degree.
• Only students who will complete both a bachelor’s and a master’s in mechanical engineering at Michigan Tech are eligible to enroll in the accelerated program.
• Students already enrolled in a graduate program may not retroactively enroll in the Mechanical Engineering Accelerated Master’s program.

Students must earn 30 credits past the Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering (BSME) to complete the requirements for the Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering (MSME); however, up to six credits taken as an undergraduate student can be applied toward both the BSME and MSME, so long as they are at the 4000 or 5000 level, earned a grade of B or higher, and satisfy the requirements for both degrees. These six credits would typically be earned through technical electives and are independent of Senior Rule credits that may additionally count toward the MSME.

Only students in good academic standing are eligible to enter the Mechanical Engineering Accelerated Master’s program. A student must have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.25 at the time the BSME is awarded. If the GPA is less than 3.25, a student may pursue the MSME via the normal pathway, which does not allow the six credits to be double-counted.

• The detailed course and course-level requirements for the Thesis Option, Report Option, and Coursework-only Option are outlined on the Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering degree page.
• The Thesis Option requires 20–24 course credits, with at least 12 at the graduate level. 
• The Report Option requires 24–28 course credits, with at least 12 at the graduate level.
• To help ensure an accelerated degree schedule, the student should begin conducting degree research with their advisor during the senior year; however, MS research credits may be earned only after the BSME is awarded.

• To help expedite degree completion, a research-based student should begin to work with a faculty research advisor at the time of application to the accelerated master’s program.
• Each research-based student will work with a faculty research advisor who is a member of the mechanical engineering faculty. The advisor’s primary responsibility is to supervise the student’s research and academic and professional growth, as well as to work with the student to develop an academic plan for enrolling in the appropriate courses for the student and program.
• The academic plan developed by the student and academic advisor will need written approval from the faculty advisor and the departmental graduate coordinator.