M.S. in Mechanical Engineering - Research

Degree overview

In this degree you have the flexibility to tailor the proportion of research and coursework. You are required to dedicate ~half of your units to performing research. The remainder of your units are devoted to technical and professional development coursework. As part of your technical coursework, you will have the opportunity to expand on your mechanical engineering curriculum through courses offered by other departments in the College of Engineering, School of Computer Science, and Mellon College of Science. Detailed curriculum can be found in the most recent handbook.

Research advisor selection process

A key part of this degree is performing research under the guidance of a faculty advisor. Advisors may be faculty members from any department within the College of Engineering, School of Computer Science, or Mellon College of Science. The department will facilitate the advisor search process after you have enrolled in the degree program.

Research report and symposium

This degree culminates with a final research report and presentation to faculty and students at the Department of Mechanical Engineering's annual Masters Research Symposium each spring. Awards are given for the best posters as determined by a panel of judges consisting of faculty members and potentially industry professionals. Your external publication can be submitted to the department to fulfill the research report requirement.

Internship and summer research opportunities 

In this program, the summer semester is considered a vacation semester. You may elect to use this time to pursue optional experiences, such as:

• An internship to gain real-world professional experience in industry, the government sector, or in other areas. 
• A summer research experience in your research advisor’s lab, an alternate lab at CMU, or a summer research experience at another institution. 
• Volunteer work, summer classes, etc. 

Admission to the M.S. in Mechanical Engineering–Research program does not guarantee admission into our Ph.D. program. Ph.D. students are accepted through our direct Ph.D. program.

Post-graduation outcomes

Approximately 80% of the graduates of this degree program have pursued careers in industry or government sector while 20% have pursued further education. Employers include ANSYS, General Motors, HBO, Vanderbilt University, and XYZ Robotics You can learn more about post-graduation career outcomes in thisOpens in new window interactive dashboard.

Tuition

Our master’s degrees are self-supported or have an outside funding source (such as the student’s employer) to pay for tuition and living expenses. To see annual tuition rates, visit Carnegie Mellon’s The HUB website.

Note that immigration regulations do not allow Carnegie Mellon University to issue visa documents for part-time master's programs.