Master of Engineering

Associate Dean for Research & Graduate Studies and Graduate Coordinator: Dr. Kari Babski-Reeves
160 McCain
Box 9544
Mississippi State, MS 39762
Telephone: 662-325-3786
Fax: 662-325-8573
E-mail: tswann@bagley.msstate.edu
Website: http://www.bcoelearning.msstate

An Interdisplinary Program

Graduate study is offered through the Office of the Dean, James Worth Bagley College of Engineering, leading to the degree of Master of Engineering (M Eng)  The M Eng, designed primarily for the professional engineer, is a non-thesis, interdisciplinary program which is delivered online and combines graduate-level courses from different engineering programs into an advanced-level educational experience.  All courses are delivered in a flexible, web-based format.  This program is restricted to off-campus students only.

The M Eng upholds the same rigorous academic requirements as all engineering programs offered on the MSU campus and is a unique program in the state of Mississippi.  Students enrolled in courses in this program may use credit hours to satisfy continuing education hours for the Mississippi Engineering Board of Registration.  Licensed professional engineers from other states also may use these courses to satisfy licensing requirements.

All students admitted to the M Eng should become familiar with all academic requirements and processes associated with graduate studies in the Bagley College of Engineering and Mississippi State University as noted in the MSU Graduate Catalog in the General Requirements of the Graduate School and General Master’s Degree Requirements sections. The Catalog is available at http://catalog.msstate.edu/graduate/ .  For specific information about the program, contact Tamra Swann, Coordinator for Distance Education, James Worth Bagley College of Engineering.

Admission Criteria

In addition to meeting the requirements set forth by the Graduate School as noted in the admission section of this publication, the basic requirements for admission to the M Eng include a 3.00/4.00 GPA on a B.S. degree in an engineering discipline area or remedial engineering coursework.  Students should refer to the General Requirements for Admission section in the Graduate School Bulletin regarding University admission policy.  A satisfactory performance is required on the GRE for students with a degree from a program that is not EAC/ABET-accredited.  Consideration may be given to students who hold non-engineering undergraduate degrees on a case-by-case basis. Admission decisions are made by the Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies.

As part of the standard engineering undergraduate program, a student will have had mathematics through ordinary differential equations, one year of calculus-based physics, a general chemistry class, a class in electric circuits, and several courses in engineering mechanics.  The commonality in fundamental coursework in ABET-accredited engineering programs generally allows for the offering of graduate-level engineering courses with a prerequisite of “graduate standing.”  A student with an unusual amount of practical work experience in an area will have “consent of Instructor” as a standard prerequisite.  If specific, significant prerequisites are required for any course, these will be clearly identified when the course is posted.

Provisional Admission

A student who has not fully met the GPA or other requirements stipulated by the University may be admitted on a provisional basis.  The provisionally-admitted student is eligible for a change to regular status after receiving a 3.00 GPA on the first 9 hours of graduate courses at Mississippi State University (with no grade lower than a C).  The first 9 hours of graduate courses must be within the student's program of study.  Courses with an S grade, transfer credits, or credits earned while in Unclassified status cannot be used to satisfy this requirement.  If a 3.00 is not attained, the provisional student shall be dismissed from the graduate program.  Academic departments may set higher standards for students to fulfill provisional requirements; a student admitted with provisional status should contact the graduate coordinator for the program’s specific requirements.  While in the provisional status, a student is not eligible to hold a graduate assistantship.

Unclassified Admission

In certain circumstances, a student may be granted admission in unclassified status. Only 9 hours of graduate coursework received as an unclassified student may be transferred to the M Eng with the approval of the Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies.  Hours completed in unclassified status may not be used to satisfy provisional admission requirements.

Accelerated Program

Highly qualified undergraduates in the departments of Aerospace Engineering; Agricultural and Biological Engineering; Chemical Engineering; Civil and Environmental Engineering; Computer Science and Engineering; Electrical and Computer Engineering; Industrial and Systems Engineering; and Mechanical Engineering are encouraged to consider applying to the Accelerated Program.  This program permits students to earn up to 9 hours of graduate-level coursework during their final year of undergraduate studies. Students in the Accelerated Program take graduate-level courses and earn both undergraduate credit and graduate credit simultaneously.  Students need to consult with the Master of Engineering Graduate Coordinator to ensure graduate credit could be applied to a program of study for the graduate degree.  Application to this program may be made as early as the end of the junior year (i.e., after completion of 90 or more hours of graded undergraduate courses).  Students interested in applying to the Accelerated Program should contact the Master of Engineering Graduate Coordinator for more details.

At the time a student applies to the Accelerated Program, she or he must complete the following requirements.

• Be enrolled at Mississippi State University in one of the 11 undergraduate degree programs in the Bagley College of Engineering
• Have completed a minimum of 60 credit hours toward a Bachelor's degree
• Have an overall GPA of 3.5 or higher for all undergraduate work

An application packet to be submitted to the Graduate Coordinator of the Master of Engineer Program must include the following.

• Application form
• One-page résumé
• Three letters of recommendation from references who are knowledgeable about the applicant's academic work
• Admission into the Accelerated Program requires a GPA of 3.50 or higher on a 4.00 system for all undergraduate work

For students enrolled in an Accelerated Program , the MSU Graduate Council has established these guidelines in cooperation with the Registrar's Office.

• Once the student is accepted into the Accelerated Program, the student and the advisor may select up to 9 hours that will satisfy both undergraduate and graduate requirements.  These courses may be split-level (i.e., 4000-6000) or 8000 level classes.  The student should take the courses for graduate credit (i.e., 6000-level or higher).  The combination of undergraduate and graduate credit hours may not exceed 13 hours within a semester.
• The student should use the Undergraduate Enrollment in Accelerated Degree Program form (http://www.grad.msstate.edu/forms/pdf/accel.pdf ) to (i) receive from the Office of the Graduate School a level override that enables the student to enroll in the graduate course(s) and (ii) activate a process with the Registrar's Office to obtain both undergraduate and graduate credit for the course.  After successfully completing the graduate-level class(es), the Registrar will grant credit for the undergraduate course with the same grade as received for the graduate course.  For a split-level class, the transcript will show credit for both the 4000- and 6000-level on the transcript.  In the case of an 8000 level class, a special topics undergraduate course of the same title will be entered on the transcript to allow dual credit.  
• Students are permitted to opt out of the accelerated program at any time, at which point they would complete only the undergraduate portion of the program.  No additional dual counting of courses would occur after the student opted out of the accelerated degree program.
• Students are expected to apply to the graduate degree program during the last semester in which they are enrolled in the bachelor's program.  Application to the graduate degree program would be made through the standard application process via the Office of the Graduate School.  Students will receive the bachelor's degree once the requirements for the bachelor's degree are met.  Students will be required to complete all of the requirements for both the bachelor's and graduate degrees in order to receive both degrees and those requirements will be identical to the requirements for students enrolled in traditional bachelor's and graduate degree programs.  Students will be classified as undergraduates until they fulfill all the requirements for the undergraduate degree.  At that time, upon admission to graduate school, they will be classified as graduate students and will be subject to all the guidelines pertaining to the graduate degree.

Graduate Committee

All graduate students are required to have a graduate committee.  A graduate committee for a student in the M Eng is comprised of the Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies as major professor and two committee members who hold graduate faculty status in the Bagley College of Engineering.  A student will select the two committee members in consultation with the Associate Dean.

Academic Performance

To be in good academic standing, a student is expected to maintain a cumulative graduate GPA of 3.00 after admission to the program.  If a graduate student’s cumulative GPA falls below 3.00, the student will be placed on academic probation.  The student must raise the cumulative GPA to 3.00 on the next 9 hours of approved coursework in order to return to satisfactory academic performance. 

A student may be dismissed from the M Eng if:

• In any subsequent semester the student’s cumulative GPA again falls below 3.00
• A student makes a grade of D, F, or more than two Cs.

In the case of academic dismissal, the student may appeal his/her academic dismissal according to Appeal of Academic Dismissal as outlined in the MSU Graduate Catalog .

Student Support Services

A student enrolled in the M Eng can access the MSU University Library System via the web to utilize resources for class assignments.  Using his/her MSU ID number, a student can access Library databases online and order articles electronically.  A link on the M Eng Website directs the student to the services provided by the Library, including the following.

• library Instruction
• research services
• borrow/order materials
• workshops
• Instructional Media Center

The student may contact Library personnel by e-mail or telephone; all contact information is provided on the Library Website.  A page on this Website is dedicated to Distance Education; information includes Requesting Help; Getting Connected; Getting Library Materials; and Doing Research.

Master of Engineering

8XXX	Graduate-level coursework	15
Additional graduate-level coursework 1		18
Total Hours		33

1	Up to 6 hours may be taken from outside the engineering field (normally business, science, mathematics, or statistics; upon petition to the Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies, other areas may be considered).

The curriculum for the M Eng is flexible with a minimum requirement of 33 hours of graduate coursework.  Coursework is selected from courses offered across the Bagley College of Engineering.  Any graduate courses offered through the Bagley College of Engineering via distance may be applied toward the M Eng.  With the permission of the Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies, a student may take up to 6 hours of coursework outside the engineering discipline (normally mathematics, science, business). There are no core requirements associated with the program.

A student pursuing the M Eng is required to pass a written comprehensive examination related to all graduate courses taken toward the degree. In order to take the examination, the student must be enrolled at MSU during the semester in which the examination is administered, must have a cumulative 3.00 GPA in all courses taken after admission to the program, and must be in the terminal semester of coursework or within 6 hours of completing coursework.

A student completing the degree must apply to take the comprehensive examination through the office of the Manager for Graduate and Distance Education, James Worth Bagley College of Engineering.  The examination will be administered by the Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies.  The examination will be open-book and open-notes and will be administered either in person or using testing tools available in WebCT.  Each student is required to secure a proctor to monitor his/her comprehensive examination; the proctor must be approved by the associate dean at least two weeks prior to the examination.  The student’s graduate committee will grade the examination with either a Pass or Fail as the final assessment.  A student who fails the examination cannot apply to retake it until four months from the date of the original test.  Two failures will result in the student’s being dropped from the M Eng program.