Mechanical Engineering, M.S. | NYU Tandon School of Engineering

Mechanical Engineering, M.S.

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Master of Science
On Campus
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Mechanical engineers create the physical systems and devices that define modern society — everything from automobiles to air conditioning, robots to power plants, people movers to artificial limbs, and rocket engines to satellites. At the School of Engineering, we groom our students to become the inventors and innovators of tomorrow, to jumpstart the next generation of entrepreneurial ventures. In short, we help them transform our philosophy of invention, innovation, and entrepreneurship — or i2e — into action.

The MS in Mechanical Engineering program is flexible enough for our students to pursue it as a terminal degree or as a stepping stone towards a Ph.D. degree. Many enter such fields as computer engineering, nanotechnology, software development, and financial engineering. They also occupy positions in bioengineering, manufacturing, astronautics, systems engineering, and corporate management and law. Others become leading stewards of the natural environment by advancing resource conservation, more efficient energy consuming devices, and new energy sources.

Admission Requirements

A bachelor’s degree and a good academic record in mechanical engineering from a reputable college or university are generally required for admission to this program. Applicants with degrees from fields other than mechanical engineering may be admitted but may have to complete additional studies to achieve a comparable background. Courses required to achieve this status are specified as part of the admission evaluation. Undergraduate courses specified for this purpose cannot count toward credits for the graduate degree. Graduate programs are subject to prior approval of a graduate adviser designated by the department.

Find out more about Admission Requirements.

Curriculum

To earn a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering degree at the School of Engineering you must select a specialty in Mechanical Engineering and complete 30 credits as outlined below:

  • Required courses - 12 credits
  • Specialty courses - 6 credits
  • ME/ROB electives - 6 credits
  • Free electives - 6 credits

3 Credits Applied Mathematics in Mechanical Engineering ME-GY 6003
The course covers vector and tensor calculus. Topics: Ordinary differential equations. Laplace and Fourier Transforms. Sturm-Liouville problems. Partial differential equations. Applications to structural analysis, fluid mechanics and dynamical systems.
Prerequisite: Graduate standing or advisor approval
3 Credits Thermal Engineering Fundamentals ME-GY 6043
Presentation of basic scientific and engineering principles that all energy systems must satisfy, including thermodynamic, fluid mechanic and heat transfer principles that constrain or facilitate energy systems.
Prerequisite: Graduate standing or advisor approval
3 Credits Introduction to Solid Mechanics ME-GY 6213
The course explores fundamentals of kinematics of solid bodies; displacement and strain measures, introduction to statics of solid bodies, stress tensor, equilibrium equations. Topics include analysis of columns, beams and beams on elastic foundations.
Prerequisite: Graduate standing or advisor approval
3 Credits Linear Control Theory and Design I ME-GY 6703
The course covers modeling of mechanical systems (e.g., mechatronic, vibrational, robotic and smart systems) in state-space. Topics: Description and analysis of linear mechanical systems, transform and transition matrix methods and properties such as stability, controllability/stabilizability, observability/detectability.
Prerequisite: Graduate standing or advisor approval

 

Fluids and Energy Engineering 

A minimum of two additional courses (6 credits) must be selected from

3 Credits Thermodynamics of Hvac Systems ME-GY 6153
Principles of thermodynamics. Description of HVAC systems. Vapor compression and adsorption cycles. Heat pump cycles. Geothermal systems. Solar heating and cooling systems. Phychometric analysis for design and off-design conditions. Indoor environmental quality analysis. Green and sustainable systems.
Prerequisite: ME-UY 3333 or advisor approval
3 Credits Fluid Mechanics for Hvac Systems ME-GY 6163
Fundamentals of fluid mechanics. Centrifugal pumps and system-pump characteristics. Piping systems fundamentals and design. Jets and air diffusers. Fans, fan performance, installation and testing. Duct sizing and design. Design of sprinkler systems.
Prerequisites: ME-UY 3313 or advisor approval
3 Credits Heat Transfer for Hvac Systems ME-GY 6173
Fundamentals of heat transfer. Solar radiation fundamental. Heat transmission in buildings and space heat load calculations. Space cooling load calculations. Energy calculations; degree by day procedure, bin methods and building simulation methods. Energy modeling and conformance with NYS Code. Extended surface heat exchangers. LEED Score sheet and design for green buildings.
Prerequisite: ME-UY 4313 or advisor approval
3 Credits Design of Hvac Systems ME-GY 6183
This course involves the dynamic and sustainable design process to perform a complete design of HVAC systems for a commercial or residential building using state of the art software and processes. Design schematic phase. Design development phase. Construction documents phase. Students work on specific project, design a system through all stages.
Prerequisite: ME-UY 4313 or advisor approval
3 Credits Energy Conversion Systems ME-GY 6813
This course provides description and analysis of current and future energy systems including fuel sources, energy harvesting, energy delivery to the point of conversion, energy conversion to heat or electricity, distribution to end users, basic economics of power plant and environmental impact. Security, reliability and life cycle cost considerations are reviewed and analyzed for impact on selecting the optimum energy systems.
Prerequisite: Graduate Standing
3 Credits Energy Policy, Regulations, and Incentives ME-GY 6823
This course focuses on impact of local, state and national policy on energy choices. Regulatory limitations and incentives influencing energy options and economics. Quantitative trade off analyses of various technically feasible options when policies, regulations and incentives are considered. Environmental impact, positive as well as negative, of energy systems are analyzed. Costs of mitigating negative environmental impact are reviewed and their impact on the choice of a system is analyzed through case studies presented in term papers.
Prerequisite: Graduate Standing
3 Credits Energy Project Financing ME-GY 6833
Analysis of current and projected fuel costs, capital costs, maintenance costs, operating and environmental costs, and infrastructure costs of various competing energy systems. A term project providing an in-depth analysis of one candidate system is required. Student teams present the results of their work advocating for their system. A panel of judges will decide which group makes the best case for its system.
Prerequisite: ME-GY 6823
ME-GY 7063 Please refer to the bulletin for more information
ME-GY 7073 Please refer to the bulletin for more information
3 Credits Radiative Heat Transfer ME-GY 7083
This course covers fundamentals of radiative mechanisms of energy transfer. Topics: Definitions of basic qualities. Equations of transfer, radiative heat flux vector and conservation equations. Properties of surfaces and participating media. Applications to engineering systems.
Prerequisite: ME-GY 6003 and ME-GY 6043 or adviser approval.
3 Credits Viscous Flow and Boundary Layers ME-GY 7113
The course introduces molecular and macroscopic transport. Topics: Reynold’s transport theorem.Concepts of stress and strain and derivation of the Navier-Stokes equations. Similarity principle. Exact solutions to the Navier-Stokes equations. Low Reynolds number flows. Boundary layer theory. Momentum integral equation. Introduction to turbulence.
Prerequisite: ME-GY 6003 and ME-GY 6043 or adviser approval.
3 Credits Compressible Flow ME-GY 7133
The course examines fundamentals of compressible fluid flow, including subsonic, transonic, supersonic and hypersonic flows over two-dimensional and axisymmetric bodies. Topics: One-dimensional flows with friction and heat addition. Shock-wave development in both two-dimensional steady and one-dimensional unsteady flow systems, including flow in shock tubes. Quasi-one-dimensional compressible flow, including flows in inlets, nozzles and diffusers. Introduction to numerical solution of compressible fluid flow.
Prerequisite: ME-GY 6043 or adviser approval.
3 Credits Computational Fluid Mechanics and Heat Transfer ME-GY 7153
The course centers on engineering solution of thermo-fluid problems by finite-difference methods, error and stability analyses, numerical dispersion and damping, matrix inversion methods, solution of model equations: wave, heat, Laplace, viscous and inviscid Burger’s equations. Also covered are implicit and explicit procedures, SOR, ADI, hopscotch and direct solvers for evaluating linear and nonlinear diffusion and convection problems.
Prerequisite: ME-GY 6003 and ME-GY 6043 or adviser approval.
 

ME/ROB xxxx Electives Approved by the Graduate Adviser, Credits: 6.00 total

Free Electives, Credits: 6.00 total

 

Controls and Dynamic Systems Specialty

A minimum of two additional courses (6 credits) must be selected from

3 Credits Mechatronics ROB-GY 5103
Introduction to theoretical and applied mechatronics, design and operation of mechatronics systems; mechanical, electrical, electronic, and opto-electronic components; sensors and actuators including signal conditioning and power electronics; microcontrollers—fundamentals, programming, and interfacing; and feedback control. Includes structured and term projects in the design and development of proto-type integrated mechatronic systems.
ME-GY 5653 Please refer to the bulletin for more information
3 Credits Advanced Dynamics ME-GY 6513
The course covers kinematics and dynamics of a particle in space. Topics: Systems of particles. Two-body central force problem. Kinematics and dynamics of rigid bodies. Euler’s equations. Euleragrange equations with holonomic and nonholonomic constraints. Stability analysis. Introduction to calculus of variations. Hamilton’s principle. Hamilton’s equations.
Prerequisite: Graduate standing or advisor approval.
ME-GY 6613 Please refer to the bulletin for more information
ME-GY 6713 Please refer to the bulletin for more information
ME-GY 7613 Please refer to the bulletin for more information
ME-GY 7623 Please refer to the bulletin for more information
ME-GY 7703 Please refer to the bulletin for more information
3 Credits Robot Perception ROB-GY 6203
fulfil their tasks safely, accurately, and efficiently. This requires an intelligent extraction of both geometric and semantic information from sensory input (mainly visual sensors such as cameras/LIDAR). This course aims to combine the established theories of geometric vision and the recent progress in pattern recognition in the context of robotic/intelligent systems. Students will study and practice the basic theories of computer vision and machine learning through relevant applications. For example, pose estimation of a robotic agent from onboard cameras, 3D reconstruction for map creation, object detection/segmentation for obstacle avoidance, tracking for target following, place recognition from images when GPS is unreliable, and so on.
Prerequisite: Graduate Standing

ME/ROB xxxx Electives Approved by the Graduate Adviser, Credits: 6.00 total

Free Electives, Credits: 6.00 total

 

Mechanics and Structural Systems Specialty

A minimum of two additional courses (6 credits) must be selected from

ME-GY 5243 Please refer to the bulletin for more information
3 Credits Vibrations ME-GY 5443
The course looks at the dynamics of one-, two- and multi-degree of freedom systems with and without damping. Topics: Vibrations of distributed parameter systems: bars, beams and plates. Numerical methods. Introduction to nonlinear oscillations.
Prerequisite: Graduate standing or advisor approval
ME-GY 6223 Please refer to the bulletin for more information
ME-GY 6253 Please refer to the bulletin for more information
3 Credits Additive Manufacturing Fundamentals ME-GY 6413
Additive manufacturing (AM), also known as 3D printing, is the fastest growing industrial field. Numerous examples are available where components manufactured by AM methods are now put into service. This course will focus on fundamentals of AM techniques and will take a broad view on the new possibilities enabled by the new manufacturing methods.
Prerequisite: Graduate Standing
3 Credits Additive Manufacturing of Metallic Materials ME-GY 6423
Additive manufacturing (AM), also known as 3D printing, is the fastest growing industrial field. Numerous examples are available where components manufactured by AM methods are now put into service. This course will focus on one of the largest share of materials used in current industrial scale 3D printing, i.e., metals. The topics will cover the basic characteristics of metals and alloys through discussion of powder characterization, phase diagram, and microstructure to relate them to additive manufacturing process and properties of the manufactured parts. The course will also discuss the applications of metal 3D printed parts and future opportunities.
Prerequisites: Graduate Standing
3 Credits Advanced Dynamics ME-GY 6513
The course covers kinematics and dynamics of a particle in space. Topics: Systems of particles. Two-body central force problem. Kinematics and dynamics of rigid bodies. Euler’s equations. Euleragrange equations with holonomic and nonholonomic constraints. Stability analysis. Introduction to calculus of variations. Hamilton’s principle. Hamilton’s equations.
Prerequisite: Graduate standing or advisor approval.
ME-GY 6843 Please refer to the bulletin for more information
ME-GY 7213 Please refer to the bulletin for more information
3 Credits Advanced Composite Materials ME-GY 7243
The course covers mechanics based analysis of fibrous (continuous and discontinuous) and particulate composites, generalized Hooke’s law for anisotropic and orthotropic materials. Topics: Stress strain transformations and failure criterion for anisotropic materials. Analysis of composite beams in tension, flexure and torsion. Analysis of composite shells and grid-stiffened structures.
Prerequisite: ME-GY 5243 and ME-GY 6213 or adviser approval.
ME-GY 7323 Please refer to the bulletin for more information
3 Credits Non-destructive Evaluation ME-GY 7333
The course introduces various NDE techniques used in engineering applications, xray radiography, ultrasonic imaging, acoustic emission, optical interferometry, magnetic resonance imaging. Also introduced are embedded optical and electromechanical sensors for continuous health monitoring and defect detection.
Prerequisite: ME-GY 6003 or adviser approval.
ME-GY 7353 Please refer to the bulletin for more information
ME-GY 7443 Please refer to the bulletin for more information
ME-GY 8213 Please refer to the bulletin for more information
ME-GY 8273 Please refer to the bulletin for more information

ME/ROB xxxx Electives Approved by the Graduate Adviser, Credits: 6.00 total

Free Electives, Credits: 6.00 total

  • To graduate, you must have a 3.0 GPA or better in each of the following:

    • In the average of all graduate courses taken at the School of Engineering (whether or not some of these courses are being used to satisfy specific degree requirements)
    • In the average of all courses submitted for the graduate degree
    • In each guided studies, readings, projects, thesis, courses, or credits enrolled
  • You must take at least 21 credits out of the 30 credits needed for the degree at the School of Engineering. In other words, 9 credits may be transferred from elsewhere.
  • No more than 6 credits in “Guided Reading” courses are allowed
  • Validation credit is not allowed, but the graduate adviser may waive specific requirements (and substitute designated ones), based upon your prior studies or experience
  • Transfer credits are not granted for the following:
    • Undergraduate courses
    • Courses counted toward satisfying undergraduate degree requirements
    • Courses not related to the graduate program as stated in this catalog
    • Courses that received a grade lower than B
  • You must complete your degree in 5 years, unless a formal leave of absence is approved before the period for which studies are interrupted
  • If you decide to do a ME-GY 996X Masters Project or ME-GY 997X Masters Thesis (9 credits) as part of your work for the degree, those 9 credits will be counted against 3 out of the 6 credits in ME electives, 3 out of the 6 credits in ME Required for the Specialty Area credits, and 3 out of the 6 credits of Free Electives. Formatting guidelines for the submission of a Master's Thesis or Project can be found by clicking here. 
  • You are not allowed to submit more than 3 courses (9 credits), starting with a 5 for MS degree requirements satisfaction
  • Departmental electives include courses with a mechanical (ME), aerospace (AE), or materials (MT) prefix, plus departmental thesis or project credits
  • All courses and program details are subject to adviser approval