Interdisciplinary Studies in Engineering: Master of Engineering

Goals and Objectives

The Interdisciplinary Studies in Engineering Program leads to the Master of Engineering degree. It is for students seeking in-depth knowledge in fields requiring courses from multiple disciplines, especially those taught by different academic departments. The degree meets the needs of many companies seeking professionals who, working at the intersection of many fields, conduct innovative research from which new knowledge is created and innovative products are made.

Requirements

To obtain the degree, students must satisfactorily complete 30 credits in graduate courses with a Capstone experience and at least one 12-credit graduate advanced certificate in an engineering department or in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering.

The Institute offers these advanced certificates and courses and will create new ones as the program evolves to meet the needs of students and industry. Admission to the program requires a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution, a superior academic record and completion of all prerequisite courses. Applicants who are otherwise sufficiently prepared for admission still may be required to take specific undergraduate and introductory-level graduate courses. Such graduate courses may count toward the master’s degree, depending on the department offering the advanced certificate.

To administer this interdisciplinary program, each academic department has a dedicated adviser (or more than one, if needed, as the program grows). These advisers evaluate applicants for admission. After a student selects the first certificate, an adviser from the relevant department will be the student’s adviser. Advisers help students select courses and determine their progress.

To satisfy the requirements for the Master of Engineering degree, students must complete 30 credits, as described below, and maintain a B average for each certificate.

Requirements:

Students must complete Certificate 1: a 12-credit advanced certificate in any engineering department or in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering.
Students also take additional courses with adviser approval, to total 30 credits.

One or more courses in management are generally encouraged. A student also may choose to complete a second certificate as part of the additional courses beyond the first certificate.

The majority of the 30 credits must be from engineering disciplines, and the first advanced certificate included in the degree must be from an advanced certificate listed below. Prospective students must specify the first advanced certificate as part of their application. This degree program has no option for a thesis. An average GPA of at least 3.0 is required in all graduate courses at Polytechnic for graduate credit. No more than 9 of the 30 credits may be transferred as part of this degree, based upon prior work at other acceptable institutions in subject matter relevant to the degree. No transfer credits may be applied toward any certificate.

The degree will include a Capstone experience in one of the following ways: (a) a Capstone course within one of the advanced certificates included in the degree; (b) a forcredit internship that builds on the program of study within the degree and is monitored by a faculty adviser; or (c) an advanced design course that builds on the program of study and is designated explicitly by the adviser as the Capstone course for the student’s program. Where feasible, Polytechnic will designate in the Institute catalog a capstone course within each advanced certificate. Generally, the course is a laboratory or design project or includes a major design project. The alternative choices for completing the degree are the for-credit internship or advanced design course detailed above.