Engineering, MSE

The Master of Science in Engineering is ideal for those with a bachelor’s degree in any engineering discipline wishing to expand their knowledge. The program allows students to take a multidisciplinary approach to the engineering graduate program, an attractive option for those with interests beyond their chosen engineering major.  The program prepares students for careers in industry, government, or academia with unique applications in healthcare and medicine.

Admission Requirements

Applicants for the master's of science program must hold a bachelor's degree in an engineering discipline.  

Applicants must submit official transcripts and three letters of recommendation. A minimum undergraduate cumulative grade point average of 3.0 (on a scale of 4.0) is required.

Official results of the analytical writing and quantitative portions of the GRE must be submitted. The GRE minimum requirements for admission can be met by one of the four score combinations below:

• Analytical Writing = 3 / Minimum Quantitative Score = 159
• Analytical Writing = 3.5 / Minimum Quantitative Score = 153
• Analytical Writing = 4 / Minimum Quantitative Score = 149
• Analytical Writing = 4.5 / Minimum Quantitative Score = 146

The GRE is waived for engineering graduates of The University of Akron and graduates of programs accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission (EAC) of ABET, www.abet.org.

Applicants whose native language is not English must have a TOEFL score of at least 79 on the internet-based TOEFL.

Important Milestones

Students pursuing this program must:

• During the first semester of study:  work with the Program Director to create an approved Plan of Study showing the specific courses used to meet the requirements below.  Plans of Study can be modified when necessary, with approval by the Program Director prior to course registration.
• Prior to the final semester of study:  identify an appropriate interdisciplinary engineering project for the engineering report, and work with the Program Director to have the proposed project approved.  A student must have a project approved to enroll in GNEN:697 Engineering Management Report.
• In the final semester of study: as part of GNEN:697 Engineering Management Report, submit an approved engineering report documenting the interdisciplinary project work.

Plan of Study

The courses on the Plan of Study must all be specifically approved by the Program Director, and must include credits as shown in the categories below.  Courses not on an approved Plan of Study do not apply to degree requirements.  At the program director's discretion, an individual student's Plan of Study may require additional credits of coursework.

Summary

¹

This requirement must be met with courses taken at the University of Akron; transfer credits do not apply to the Engineering Discipline-Specific Coursework.

Engineering Discipline-Specific Coursework at the 600 level or above

These courses must form a cohesive set within a single engineering discipline to provide technical depth in an area of interest, usually aligned with the student's undergraduate engineering discipline.  Students moving to a new engineering discipline may be required to take undergraduate or graduate bridgework courses not on the Plan of Study. 

No 500-level coursework may be used towards this requirement. No transfer credits may be used towards this requirement.

Interdisciplinary Engineering Courses

These courses may be drawn more broadly from other engineering disciplines, to provide interdisciplinary context.  They may also be from the same engineering discipline as the Engineering Discipline-Specific Coursework.  The courses can be at any graduate level, 500-level and above.

Required Mathematics, Statistics or Natural Science Course

One graduate mathematics, statistics or natural science course must be included in the Plan of Study. The courses can be at any graduate level, 500-level and above.

Interdisciplinary Electives

These graduate courses may be drawn broadly from other disciplines across the university, chosen to complement the technical coursework and depending on the student's interest.  For example, courses from the College of Business could be chosen to enhance knowledge of business management and / or entrepreneurship.  The courses can be at any graduate level, 500-level and above.

Interdisciplinary Engineering Project and Report

The program requires an approved interdisciplinary project documented with an engineering report.