M.S. Program in Mechanical Engineering

This section of the graduate handbook is intended to help students enrolled in the M.S. program, their major advisors, and their supervisory committees during the student's work on his/her Master of Science Degree in the ME Department. The section includes:

• The ME Department philosophy and a short description of the M.S. degree program;
• Summary of the roles and responsibilities of the student, his/her advisor, and his/her supervisory committee;
• Requirements for the M.S. degree in mechanical engineering; and
• List of milestones and requirements a student needs to meet in order to earn his/her M.S. degree.

       Philosophy about the M.S. Program in Mechanical Engineering

The philosophy taken by the ME Department with the M.S. Program is to empower the student, his/her major advisor, and supervisory committee to tailor the student's studies according to his/her background, skills, interests, and challenges within the student's area of interest.
The milestones and requirements of the M.S. program are described herein, subject to the requirements of the NDSU Graduate School. It is expected that they will often be expanded as necessary by the student's major advisor and supervisory committee in order to ensure that the student receives the background he/she will need upon leaving NDSU.
This philosophy makes it imperative that the student begin working closely with his/her major advisor and supervisory committee as soon as possible. The student can expect the following:

• The student's major advisor will typically be the expert in the student's area of interest and will have the greatest knowledge of what is needed to do M.S. level research in the student's chosen area; and
• The student's supervisory committee members will typically be experts in related areas, which can provide greater breadth of knowledge than one person can provide.

Together, the student's major advisor and supervisory committee help guide the student towards completion of his/her M. S. degree by:

• Helping to develop the student's technical skills (i.e. helping to develop a Plan of Study) to the point where he/she has the skills necessary to conduct research at the M.S. level;
• Helping the student learn what is involved in conducting original research at the M.S. level; and
• Helping to develop the student's research skills.

This philosophy places responsibility of watching the student's progress on the major advisor and the supervisory committee for overseeing the student’s progress, and if necessary, terminating the student's studies if the student is not making sufficient progress.

      Selection of Major Advisor

Students are encouraged to select their major advisor by the end of their first year of graduate studies. The student's major advisor is responsible for working with the student to define their Plan of Study, select a thesis topic, and guide that student as he/she develops their skills for conducting original research.

       Plan of Study and Supervisory Committee

All students must consult with their major advisor and submit a Plan of Study by the end of the second semester of study. After being completed by the student, and recommended by the major advisor, the Plan of Study must be submitted to the ME Graduate Program Coordinator and the NDSU Graduate School. In addition, all students should select their supervisory committee at this time. The supervisory committee consists of at least four faculty members (including the major advisor) with backgrounds generally related to the proposed thesis topic. One member of the supervisory committee is appointed by the Graduate School; however, suggestions for this appointee are encouraged. The supervisory committee serves to help guide the student as he/she investigates his/her research topic and develops his/her skills in conducting original research.

       Meeting with the Major Advisor and Supervisory Committee

Since the student's major advisor and supervisory committee are empowered to help the student develop the technical and research skills to conduct Master's level research, the student must meet with the supervisory committee to present his/her research proposal at least one semester before the final defense (the Graduate School Appointee need not attend the meeting but should be invited to do so). Regular meetings with the major advisor and other committee members allow the faculty a chance to work with the student, helping to develop the student's research and technical skills, keeping the student on track for graduation in a timely fashion, and refining his/her Plan of Study as new courses and new interests arise. 

An Advising HOLD will be put on each students account during Advising Week and will only be removed after meeting with the advisor and turning in the signed advising hold card.  Student files will be checked out of the office, using the student’s ID or other form of verification as a place holder until the file has been returned.  Students will NOT be able to register until the hold has been removed. 

       Time Limitation

Graduate credit for any course work that is more than 7 calendar years old at the time of the final examination cannot be used to satisfy degree requirements. The final exam must be retaken if the final 5 copies of the approved thesis/paper are not delivered to the Graduate School or if any other degree requirements have not been completed within one year of the date of the final exam.

      Requirements for the M.S. Degree in Mechanical Engineering

A minimum of 30 graduate credits is required for the M.S. degree at NDSU. The following options are available in the Mechanical Engineering Department:

• Thesis option, which emphasizes research, the ability to analyze data, and preparation of a scholarly thesis; and
• Comprehensive study option, which emphasizes a broader understanding of the major area.

The main difference between the two options for an M.S. degree is that the final document developed by the student is a thesis under the thesis option and it is a paper under the comprehensive study option. Only students enrolled in the thesis option are eligible for GTAs or GRAs in the ME Department.
M.S. Thesis (Thesis Option): A thesis typically documents the student's first exposure to the research process. This document often includes:

• Problem statement (the objective, or hypothesis, of the thesis);
• Explanation of present knowledge related to the problem; and
• Presentation of the new knowledge created by the student in meeting this objective, or in testing the hypothesis.

The requirements for how thorough and significant the latter two sections must be are determined by the student's major adviser and supervisory committee. Students who select the thesis option need to work closely with both their major adviser and supervisory committee as they move forward on the research. Significant guidance from the major adviser and supervisory committee is expected since this is often a student's first exposure to the research process.
M.S. Paper (Comprehensive Study Option): This paper (non-thesis) requirement is for students who are more interested in understanding existing knowledge, possibly as the foundation for later work in industry. Exact definitions of what sort of research can result from a Master's Paper are determined by the student's major adviser and supervisory committee. Some examples of a paper would be:

• Survey of existing literature in a given area along with an original example demonstrating and contrasting these methods; or
• Development of a new product along with a survey of how it compares with existing devices.

The limited new knowledge developed in the examples above prevents the paper from being a thesis. If, however, the student adds to his/her work and develops a technique to significantly improve previous methods, the work may constitute an M.S. Thesis.  The format for the Master's Paper typically includes the following:

• Problem statement;
• Explanation of present knowledge; and
• Original example demonstrating or assimilating several existing techniques.

Requirements: Thesis Option

Course Credits (21 – 24 credits)

• A minimum of 21 course credits from approved graduate courses is required, with a minimum of 18 from didactic courses (numbered 601-689 and 700-789).  The remaining course credits may come from other approved graduate level courses, such as Individual Study (ME 793), Field Experience (ME 795), or Special Topics (ME 696/796).
• Of the required course credits, a minimum of 15 credits must come from graduate level ME courses (600-700 level), with a minimum of 9 credits from 700-level ME courses.
• Of the required didactic courses, at least one must be an advanced mathematics course, and a minimum of two additional core courses must be from the ME curriculum.
• The mathematics requirement may be fulfilled by taking ME 711 (Advanced Engineering Analysis), or another approved graduate level math course offered by another department (i.e., Math or Statistics).
• The two additional required core courses may be selected from the following list (note that the list of acceptable core courses may be amended periodically upon approval by the ME faculty):
• Advanced Dynamics (ME 721)
• Advanced Mechanics of Materials (ME 722)
• Advanced Vibrations (ME 729)
• Advanced Thermodynamics (ME 751)
• Heat Transmission I (ME 761)
• Mechanical Behavior of Materials (ME 731)
• Substitutions to the core courses may be made on an individual basis upon approval of the student’s major adviser, supervisory committee, and the Graduate Program Coordinator or Department Chair. Only didactic, 700-level ME courses may be substituted for core courses.

Research (Thesis) Credits (6 – 9 credits)

• A minimum of 6, but not more than 9, thesis credits (ME 798) may be applied towards the M.S. degree.
• A typical M.S. thesis in the ME Department is worth 6 thesis credits. All graduate students in the Thesis Option are recommended to submit an article to a refereed journal or refereed conference based on their thesis research.
• To be considered for 9 thesis credits to be applied to the M.S. degree, a student must have one article accepted to a refereed journal based on research work performed at NDSU. The student’s major advisor, supervisory committee, and the Graduate Program Coordinator or Department Chair must approve the request for 9 thesis credits.

Graduate Seminar (ME 790)

• As part of the requirements for graduation, all M.S. students are required to enroll in ME Graduate Seminar (ME 790) for three semesters during their pursuit of the M.S. degree. ME 790 is offered as a 0 credit, required course and grades will be given only as pass/fail.
• Seminars will be scheduled, on average, every other week, with approximately 8 seminars per semester. Seminars may be offered by graduate students or faculty members within the ME Department, or by students, faculty, or visiting researchers from outside the department.
• Each student enrolled in ME 790 is required to present a seminar based on their thesis research, as well as attend a minimum of 5 other seminars during that semester in order to receive a passing grade (unless otherwise noted).
• Any student who attends less than the required number of seminars may petition the ME Graduate Committee, in consultation with the student’s major adviser, to make up the missed seminars (e.g., by attending seminars offered by other departments).
• All full-time graduate students in the ME program are required to attend graduate seminars every semester (minimum of 5 per semester) during the course of their studies, regardless of whether or not they are enrolled in ME 790.

Thesis Proposal
The purpose of the thesis proposal is to allow the student to demonstrate that he/she can identify a problem in his/her area of interest and formulate a strategy on how to apply his/her skills in addressing the problem. Note that at this stage, the student is not expected to have any concrete results, but rather an understanding of the problem and how he/she might approach it.
The thesis proposal is to be both a written and an oral presentation on what the student proposes to work on for his/her M.S. thesis. This proposal should include the following:

• Objective of the student's work, or the hypothesis he/she wishes to investigate;
• Explanation of why this topic is significant;
• Literature review and an explanation of what others have done in the area;
• Explanation of what method the student proposes to use to attack this problem; and
• Speculation on what the results may be.

The thesis proposal must be presented to the student's major adviser and supervisory committee no later than one semester prior to the final thesis defense.

Final Examination
At the conclusion of their graduate studies, each student must pass a comprehensive oral examination (final defense) on the Master’s thesis and coursework taken, demonstrating a fundamental knowledge of the material.

Publication
Students in the Thesis Option are required to write and submit a manuscript to a refereed journal, or to a refereed conference (as determined by the student's major adviser and supervisory committee). Evidence of the submission should be presented to the supervisory committee at the thesis defense. A 1 to 2 page technical summary, based upon the student's thesis, must also be submitted to the Graduate Program Coordinator.

Requirements: Comprehensive Study Option

Course Credits (27 credits)

• A minimum of 27 course credits from approved graduate courses is required, with a minimum of 21 from didactic courses (601-689 and 700-789).  The remaining course credits may come from other approved graduate level courses, such as Individual Study (ME 793), Field Experience (ME 795), or Special Topics (ME 696/796).
• Of the required course credits, a minimum of 18 credits must come from graduate level ME courses (600-700 level), with a minimum of 9 credits from 700-level ME courses.
• Of the required didactic courses, all ME graduate students are required to take at least one advanced mathematics course, and a minimum of two additional core courses from the ME curriculum, as noted under the Thesis Option.

Paper Credits (3 credits)
A research paper must be completed as part of the degree requirements. No more than 3 credits of ME 797 (Master’s Paper) may be applied to the degree as part of this requirement.

Graduate Seminar (ME 790)
All graduate students are required to meet the requirements for Graduate Seminar as described under the Thesis Option.

Final Examination
At the conclusion of their graduate studies, each student must pass a comprehensive oral examination (final defense) on the Master’s paper and coursework taken, demonstrating a fundamental knowledge of the material.
Exceptions to any of the requirements noted above may be granted only upon approval by the student’s major adviser, supervisory committee, and Graduate Program Coordinator or Department Chair.

       Thesis/Paper Defense (Final Examination)

Each student must present his/her thesis/paper in an oral defense. This defense will be administered by the student's major adviser and supervisory committee.
The final draft of the thesis/paper needs to be submitted to the major adviser at least two weeks prior to the oral defense. Upon approval by the student’s major adviser, and at least two weeks prior to the defense, the student must submit the following:

• Request to Schedule Examination form to the NDSU Graduate School; and
• Thesis Defense Announcement form to the ME Graduate Program Coordinator

Once the thesis/paper has been approved by the major adviser, the student must provide it to the supervisory committee, at least ten days prior to the final defense.
Two or more negative votes by the supervisory committee members will result in failure of the defense. If the supervisory committee requires further revisions to the thesis/paper, the Thesis Revision Requirements form must be completed as a condition of passing the defense. The thesis/paper defense may be attempted only twice.

       Summary of M.S. Program

     Ph.D. Program in Mechanical Engineering

This section of the graduate handbook is intended to help students enrolled in the Ph.D. program, their major advisers, and their supervisory committees during the student's work on his/her Ph.D. degree in the ME Department. The section includes:

• The ME Department philosophy and a short description of the PhD. program;
• Summary of the roles and responsibilities of the student, his/her adviser, and his/her supervisory committee;
• Requirements for the Ph.D. degree in mechanical engineering; and
• List of milestones and requirements a student needs to meet to earn his/her Ph.D. degree.

       Philosophy about the Ph.D. Program in Mechanical Engineering

The philosophy taken by the ME Department with the Ph.D. Program is to empower the student, his/her major adviser, and supervisory committee to tailor the student's studies according to his/her background, skills, interests, and challenges within the student's area of interest.
The milestones and requirements described herein are intended to be minimal in nature, subject to the requirements of the NDSU Graduate School. It is expected that they will often be expanded as necessary by the student's major adviser and supervisory committee in order to ensure that the student receives the background he/she will need upon leaving NDSU.
This philosophy makes it imperative that the student begin working closely with his/her major adviser and supervisory committee as soon as possible. The student can expect the following:

• The student's major adviser will typically be an expert in the student's area of interest and will have the greatest knowledge of what is needed to conduct Ph.D. level research in the student's chosen area; and
• The student's supervisory committee members will typically be experts in related areas, which can provide greater breadth of knowledge than one person can provide.

Together, the student's major adviser and supervisory committee will help guide the student towards completion of his/her Ph.D. degree by:

• Helping to develop the student's technical skills (i.e. helping to develop a Plan of Study) to the point where he/she has the skills necessary to conduct research at the Ph.D. level;
• Helping the student learn what is involved in conducting original research at the Ph.D. level; and
• Helping to develop the student's research skills (i.e., helping to develop the student’s dissertation proposal for the student's comprehensive/preliminary exam).

This philosophy places responsibility on the major adviser and the supervisory committee for overseeing the student’s progress and, if necessary, terminating the student's studies if the student is not making sufficient progress.

      Ph.D. Degree Requirements

This handbook includes only the additional policies and procedures that apply specifically to the ME Graduate Program. Students must, therefore, also refer to the documentation provided by the Graduate School for the policies and procedures that apply to all graduate students.

      Major Adviser and Supervisory Committee

Ph.D. students are encouraged to select their major adviser and supervisory committee by the end of their second semester of graduate studies. These individuals are responsible for tailoring the Ph.D. program to meet the student’s specific needs. Requirements of the major adviser and the supervisory committee are as follows:

• The major adviser must be a full or associate member of the graduate faculty in the ME Department (typically, the major adviser is an expert in the student’s area of interest); and
• The supervisory committee must consist of at least four members : 1) the student's major adviser who chairs the supervisory committee; 2) a second faculty member from the ME Department, who is typically an expert in a related area; 3) a third member who is an expert in a related area (this can be a faculty member from the ME Department, another department at NDSU, or, with Graduate School approval, a qualified expert from outside NDSU); and 4) the Graduate School appointee, who is an NDSU faculty member from outside the ME Department.

The Graduate School appointee serves as a form of quality control for NDSU. This appointee serves to ensure that comparable standards are used across campus, in each department's Ph.D. program. The student and his/her major adviser are encouraged to suggest an individual to serve in this capacity, but the Graduate School reserves the right to select their own candidate.

5.4       Meeting with Major Adviser and Supervisory Committee
Since the student's major adviser and supervisory committee are empowered to help the student develop the technical and research skills to conduct Ph.D. level research, the student is expected to meet with the supervisory committee periodically throughout his/her graduate studies (the Graduate School appointee need not attend all the meetings but should be invited to do so). At a minimum, the student must meet with the supervisory committee to present his/her research proposal (comprehensive/preliminary examination) no later than one semester before the final defense. Regular meetings with the supervisory committee allow the student an opportunity to work with the faculty to receive help in developing their research and technical skills. It also allows the faculty members to keep the student on track for graduating in a timely fashion, as well as refining his/her Plan of Study as new courses and new interests arise.
Failure to meet with his/her major adviser and/or supervisory committee on a regular basis after the Plan of Study has been submitted may be perceived as an indication that the student is not making progress, or has lost interest, in pursuing a Ph.D. degree at NDSU.

      Ph.D. Residency Requirements and Time Limitation

Graduate study for the Ph.D. degree in mechanical engineering requires a minimum of three years, and more typically four years of full-time study beyond the baccalaureate degree.  A student who has a Master’s degree must devote at least one academic year of study towards the Ph.D. degree in residence at NDSU.
Graduate credit for any course work that is more than 10 years old at the time of the final examination cannot be used to satisfy degree requirements. The final exam must be retaken if the final 6 copies of the approved dissertation are not delivered to the Graduate School or if any other degree requirements have not been completed within one year of the date of the final exam.

       Requirements for the Ph.D. Degree in Mechanical Engineering

A minimum of 60 graduate credits beyond the M.S. degree, or 90 credits beyond the B.S. degree, is required for the Ph.D. degree in mechanical engineering. In addition, each student must pass a comprehensive/preliminary examination, consisting of a written component and an oral component, before being formally admitted to candidacy for the Ph.D. degree. Once the student’s dissertation has been completed, he/she must pass a final oral examination, focusing on the dissertation, before being awarded the Ph.D. degree. Specific details of the curriculum requirements and examinations for the Ph.D. degree are included below.

Curriculum Requirements

• A student enrolling in the Ph.D. program directly after obtaining a B.S. degree (i.e., without having an M.S. degree) may elect to first obtain an M.S. degree (M.S./Ph.D. option), or directly pursue a Ph.D. degree (Ph.D. option). The requirements for both the M.S./Ph.D. option and the Ph.D. option are listed below.

• M.S./Ph.D. Option:  The course and research (thesis) credit requirements listed for the M.S. degree must be completed.
• Ph.D. Option:  The course credit requirements listed for the M.S. degree must be completed.  The remaining 6 – 9 research credits, normally awarded for the completion of an M.S. thesis, may be replaced by any approved graduate level didactic courses.

• A minimum of 24 additional course credits from didactic courses (601 – 689 and 700 – 789) must be completed, with a minimum of 15 of these credits from 700 level courses.
• Of the required Ph.D. course credits, a minimum of 15 credits must come from graduate level (600-700 level) ME courses, with a minimum of 9 credits from 700 level ME courses.
• A minimum of 24 research (Ph.D. dissertation) credits must be completed.
• The remaining 12 credits may consist of any approved graduate level credits, including didactic courses, Individual Study (ME 793), Field Experience (ME 795), Special Topics (ME 696/796), or Ph.D. dissertation credits.

Graduate Seminar (ME 790)

• As part of the requirements for graduation, all Ph.D. students are required to enroll in ME Graduate Seminar (ME 790) for three semesters during their pursuit of the Ph.D. degree. ME 790 is offered as a 0 credit, required course and grades will be given only as pass/fail.
• Seminars will be scheduled, on average, every other week, with approximately 8 seminars per semester. Seminars may be offered by graduate students or faculty members within the ME Department, or by students, faculty, or visiting researchers from outside the department.
• Every student is required to attend a minimum of 5 seminars each semester in which they are enrolled to receive a passing grade (unless otherwise noted). In addition, each student is required to present a seminar during one of the three semesters enrolled.
• Any student who attends less than the required number of seminars may petition the ME Graduate Committee, in consultation with the student’s major advisor, to make up the missed seminars (e.g., by attending seminars offered by other departments).

Comprehensive/Preliminary Examination
All students admitted into the ME Ph.D. Program must pass a comprehensive/preliminary examination before being formally admitted to candidacy for the Ph.D. degree. This examination consists of a written component (qualifying exams) and an oral component (dissertation proposal), and is to be taken after the greater portion of the coursework has been completed.

Qualifying Exams
The qualifying exams represent the written component of the comprehensive/preliminary examination. These exams focus on the coursework completed by the student during his/her graduate studies and are taken after the greater portion of the coursework has been completed. The qualifying exams consist of the three following written exams:

• One examination covering mathematics and numerical methods; and
• Two additional exams on subjects selected from the following list: (note that this list may be amended periodically upon approval of the ME faculty):
• Mechanics of Materials
• Mechanical Properties of Materials
• Thermodynamics
• Heat Transfer
• Fluid Mechanics
• Dynamics
• Biomechanics

A reference list will be provided to all students in advance to assist them in preparing for the exams.
Examination dates will be scheduled on a semi-annual basis (once during the fall semester and once during the spring semester). All written exams will be 3 hours in length, and will be administered over a 3-day period (1 exam per day).
The qualifying exams will be developed, administered, and graded by a committee comprised of Graduate Faculty within the ME Department. The information below applies to situations where a student fails one or more exams.

• Retakes:  If a student fails one of the three qualifying exams, only that exam must be retaken the following academic semester (the exam can, however, be taken earlier at the discretion of the student, his/her major adviser, and the ME Graduate Program Coordinator).  If the student fails two or more of the exams, he/she must retake all three exams the following semester.
• If both attempts to pass the qualifying exams fail, the candidate may request to take the examination a third time. This request requires the support of the student’s supervisory committee, ME Graduate Program Coordinator, ME Department Chair, and the Dean of the Graduate School.
• If a student fails to pass the qualifying exams a third time, that student will no longer be eligible to obtain a Ph.D. degree from the ME Program and will be asked to withdraw within one year. If the student does not already possess an M.S. degree in mechanical engineering, he/she will be permitted to complete the requirements for that degree during that one year period.

Dissertation Proposal
The dissertation proposal represents the oral component of the comprehensive/preliminary examination. This component is taken after the student has passed the qualifying exams, typically within one academic semester after completion of the written exams.
This oral exam consists of a presentation and defense of the student’s proposal for his/her dissertation research, and it may also cover material from coursework that is fundamental to the dissertation. This exam will be administered by the student’s supervisory committee.
Permission to schedule the oral exam must be requested through the Graduate School at least two weeks prior to the examination.
At the conclusion of the oral exam, the examining committee will record, in writing, its approval or disapproval of the student’s presentation and defense, and will file its report with the Dean of the Graduate School. A negative vote by more than one member of the student’s examining committee will signify failure of this exam. Upon permission of a majority of the student’s supervisory committee, the student will be allowed to take the oral exam a second time. The examining committee will specify a period of time, not less than 1 month, that must elapse before the exam can be repeated (an exception to the time limit may be granted by the Dean of the Graduate School upon consultation with the examining committee members). If both attempts to pass the exam fail, the student may request to take it a third time. This request, will, however, require the support of the supervisory committee, ME Graduate Program Coordinator, ME Department Chair, and the Dean of the Graduate School.
After passing the exam, the student will formally be admitted to candidacy for the Ph.D. degree.

Publication
All Ph.D. students are required to publish their dissertation in a peer reviewed journal (acceptance of a paper, or acceptance pending modifications, will meet this requirement). The student's major adviser and supervisory committee will make the decision regarding what is an acceptable journal. Evidence of publication should be presented to the supervisory committee at the final defense.

Final Examination
Each student is required to pass an oral final examination after all coursework and the dissertation have been completed. This examination will be concerned primarily with the dissertation, but it may also cover material from coursework, especially those courses fundamental to the dissertation. This examination will be administered by the student’s supervisory committee.  The requirements for the final exam are listed below.

• At least one academic semester must elapse between the preliminary and final exams.
• Permission to schedule the final oral exam must be requested through the Graduate School at least 2 weeks prior to the exam.
• At the conclusion of the final exam, the supervisory committee will record, in writing, its approval or disapproval of the student’s final exam, and will file its report with the Dean of the Graduate School. A negative vote by more than one member of the student’s supervisory committee will signify failure of this exam. Upon permission of a majority of the supervisory committee members, the student will be allowed to take the exam a second time. The supervisory committee will specify a period of time, not less than 1 month, that must elapse before the exam can be repeated (an exception to the time limit may be granted by the Dean of the Graduate School upon consultation with the supervisory committee members). If both attempts to pass the exam fail, the student may request to take the exam a third time. This request will, however, require the support of the supervisory committee, ME Graduate Program Coordinator, ME Department Chair, and the Dean of the Graduate School.

• Continuous enrollment is required until all degree requirements have been met.
• To participate in commencement, the student must have passed the final exam.

       Summary of Ph.D. Program