Mechanical Engineering Master’s Degree Requirements

Admission Requirements

• You must meet the general admission requirements that pertain to all master’s degree candidates.
• Your prior education must include an undergraduate or graduate degree in Mechanical Engineering or a closely related technical discipline from a regionally accredited college or university.
• Your prior education must include the following prerequisites: three semesters of college calculus (Calculus I, II and III), two semesters of college physics (Physics I and II), and a course or practical knowledge of a programing language (such as Python, Matlab, or C++).
• Applicants whose prior education does not include the prerequisites listed above may still enroll under provisional status, followed by full admission status once they have completed the missing prerequisites with a letter grade B- or higher. Missing prerequisites may be completed with Johns Hopkins Engineering or at another regionally accredited institution.
• Enrolled students typically have earned a grade point average of at least 3.3 on a 4.0 scale (B+ or above) of their undergraduate studies, though this is not a requirement for admission, nor is it a guarantee.
• When reviewing an application, the your academic and professional background will be considered in its totality, and decisions are made on a case-by-case basis.
• It is strongly advised that you submit a maximum of two page curriculum vitae listing your relevant professional background.

Program Requirements

Students can choose one of two options to fulfill their Master’s degree requirements: the “All-Course” option or the “Thesis” option. The requirements for both options are listed below.

All-Course Option

• Students completing the “all-course” option must take a coordinated sequence of ten courses.
• All courses must be completed within five years.
• Students are required to choose a focus area to follow. The focus area selected does not appear as an official designation on the student transcript.
• The curriculum consists of one core course in mathematics, two core courses from Group 1 and three other courses from Group 1 or 2 of the student’s chosen focus area, and four technical electives.
• At least two of the four electives must be from a core engineering discipline, and at most two can be chosen from the Engineering Management, Systems Engineering, Space Systems Engineering, Information Systems Engineering, Healthcare Systems Engineering, or Environmental Planning and Management programs.
• One of the four elective courses can be substituted for EN.535.820 Masters Graduate Research. This course is intended to give a research experience to those pursuing an “all-course” master’s degree. The research must be conducted at the level of at least a master’s degree, as determined by the student’s research supervisor, which can be an academic advisor, a current full-time faculty member at the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Johns Hopkins University, a research staff member at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, or an active instructor affiliated with one of the Engineering for Professionals programs. Prior written approval of the advisor and the program chair must be received before enrolling in this course.
• Courses from the full-time program (EN.530.XXX) may be substituted subject to advisor approval.

• One computationally-oriented course is strongly recommended and can serve as a technical elective or as a substitute to one of the three courses required from Group 2 of the student’s chosen focus area.

• All course selections outside of the Mechanical Engineering program are subject to advisor approval.

Thesis Option:

• Students completing the “thesis” option must take a coordinated sequence of eight courses and prepare and submit a Master’s thesis.
• All requirements should be completed within five years.
• Students are required to choose a focus area to follow. The focus area selected does not appear as an official designation on the student transcript.
• The curriculum consists of one core course in mathematics, two core courses from those listed in Group 1 and three courses from those listed in Group 2 of the student’s chosen focus area, two technical electives, and a thesis. The thesis should expand the body of theoretical or applied knowledge in the field of the student’s chosen focus area. At least one of the two electives must be from a core engineering discipline, and at most one can be chosen from the Engineering Management, Systems Engineering, Space Systems Engineering, Information Systems Engineering, Healthcare Systems Engineering, or Environmental Planning and Management programs.
• Only one C-range grade (C+, C, or C–) can count toward the master’s degree.
• All course selections outside of the Mechanical Engineering program are subject to advisor approval.
• Students electing to choose the thesis option should get prior written approval from both their academic advisor and the program chair and must work with an approved research advisor.
  • The research advisor can be any current full-time faculty member at the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.
  • Prior written approval should be secured from the program chair if the research advisor will be a research staff member at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory or an active instructor affiliated with the Engineering for Professionals Mechanical Engineering program.
  • An electronic version of the master thesis should be delivered to the Milton S. Eisenhower (MSE) library after its approval by the thesis committee. The thesis committee consists of the thesis research advisor and one other member who is an expert in the research area of the thesis and to be selected by the program chair.
  • The research work should generally start after the student finishes all the course requirements for their chosen focus area and should not take more than three consecutive semesters.
  • While working on the thesis, students must enroll in the two-course sequence EN.535.820 Master’s Graduate Research and EN.535.821 Master’s Thesis Writing, where the research advisor serves as the instructor for both.
  • The prerequisite for these courses is the completion of all course requirements in the student’s focus area and the approval of the program chair. The approval of the program chair follows the submission of a research proposal by the student that is approved by their research advisor. Hence, the student must contact a research advisor and discuss potential research topics of interest to both parties, conduct a literature survey, and present a maximum of three-page research proposal to be approved by the program chair.
  • The latest a proposal can be submitted for consideration is during the third to last semester of the five-year limit.
• Courses from the full-time program (EN.530.XXX) may be substituted subject to advisor approval.
• One computationally-oriented course is strongly recommended and can serve as a technical elective or as a substitute to one of the three courses required from Group 2 of the student’s chosen focus area.