Master of Science in Systems Engineering

The master of science program in systems engineering meets the professional needs of engineers who are looking to advance within the technical leadership of engineering organizations. Today’s highly complex, highly inter-operative engineered systems require full life cycle oversight to properly address the challenges of developing and integrating such systems within a global marketplace. The program prepares engineers to further their technical careers by meeting these system design and integration challenges, emphasizing the development of a high-level, interdisciplinary mindset toward system development.

Admission Requirements

An applicant for admission should have a bachelor’s degree from an ABET-accredited engineering program, though applicants with bachelor’s degrees in physical sciences, computer science or mathematics will also be considered. Applicants whose undergraduate GPA was less than 3.0 on a 4.0 scale may be asked to submit two letters of recommendation, a résumé, a statement of objectives and GRE results.

International applicants for whom English is not their primary language must submit paper-based TOEFL scores of 550 (or the equivalent computer-based or Internet-based scores) or higher in addition to the GPA requirement.

General admission requirements and the process of applying are presented in the Academic Overview section of the university catalog.

Degree Requirement

The program requires a minimum of 30 semester credit hours. Students without adequate undergraduate courses in linear and matrix algebra, calculus, probability theory and/or statistics will be required to make up these deficiencies. Courses taken to satisfy these deficiencies or any other admission prerequisites cannot be counted toward the degree requirements. Thesis students must earn at least six semester credit hours of thesis (SYS 5999). More credit hours may be necessary to satisfactorily complete the thesis requirement, but only six may be counted toward the degree requirement. Nonthesis students must successfully complete a capstone design project course (SYS 5380), in which students formulate and solve an industry problem and submit a project system design paper. Nonthesis students must also pass a final program examination. Both the capstone design project and the final program examination must be completed during the student’s final semester before graduation. General degree requirements are presented in the Academic Overview section.

Curriculum

The master of science degree program consists of a set of required core courses and a set of elective courses as outlined below. Students who are newly admitted to the program must submit a program plan of study and have that program plan approved by their designated advisor and department head before registering for any course to be applied toward graduation requirements. Students must not register for any courses not on their approved program plan without the approval of their advisor and department head. Students pursuing this degree as a second or subsequent graduate degree must complete the change of major process and new program plan at least two semesters before graduation and no later than four weeks after starting the program. Only graduate courses in engineering, physical sciences, computer science or mathematics may be counted as transfer credit from the first graduate degree program.

There are five required core courses that all students must take, as listed below. Nonthesis students must take an additional four elective courses plus the capstone design project course, subject to the restriction shown. Thesis students will substitute six semester credit hours of thesis for two elective courses and are not required to take the capstone design project course.

Elective Courses

A comprehensive list of elective courses is maintained by the department and is available on the department’s website. Students must choose the appropriate number of courses from this list (four for nonthesis students, three for thesis students) to meet their elective course requirement. Nonthesis students must also take Systems Engineering Design Project (SYS 5380).

Spacecraft Systems

This intersiciplinary specialization includes electrical and systems engineering, offering a unique opportunity to learn advanced collaborative system design to meet most advanced aerospace industry needs. The curriculum requirements are separated into two parts as follows: