DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
Master of Science Degree in Advanced Manufacturing and Enterprise Engineering
The Master of Science program in Advanced Manufacturing and Enterprise Engineering (M.S. in AMEE) is designed to offer an opportunity to individuals for continued study toward positions of leadership in industry and academia and for continuing technical education in a more specialized area. The graduates of this program will have the fundamental knowledge and understanding of the operational complexity of enterprises, manufacturing and business process improvement/optimization, and integrated product/process/system design. In addition, they will have the cognitive skills to critically evaluate the potential benefits of alternative manufacturing strategies; to use virtual/simulated platforms to facilitate and improve business processes; and to analyze enterprise systems as systems of interacting units, components, and subsystems. The program offers a thesis option and a nonthesis option.
Program Admission Requirements. Applicants must meet University-wide graduate admission requirements as outlined in Chapter 1, Admission, of this catalog. Applicants must also comply with general University regulations as outlined in Chapter 2, General Academic Regulations, and Chapter 4, Master’s Degree Regulations, of this catalog. Due to the multidisciplinary nature of the program, the Graduate Advisor of Record (GAR), in consultation with the Mechanical Engineering Graduate Program Committee and the Department Chair, will evaluate each student’s transcript and determine any course deficiencies on a case-by-case basis. Students admitted with course deficiencies will be required to take additional courses within their Program of Study to make up the deficiencies. Courses taken to make up deficiencies may not count toward the graduate degree. Applicants who have insufficient preparation for the program, or who lack certain supporting documentation, may be admitted on a conditional basis.
Degree Requirements. The minimum number of semester credit hours required for the degree is 30 for the thesis option and 33 for the nonthesis option.
- 3 semester credit hours of a Required Mathematics Course selected from the following:
EGR 5023 Numerical Techniques in Engineering Analysis
EGR 5213 Topics in Systems Modeling
MAT 5603 Numerical Analysis
MS 5003 Quantitative Methods for Business Analysis
STA 5093 Introduction to Statistical Inference
STA 5103 Applied Statistics
- 9 semester credit hours of Required Topical Courses selected from the following:
ME 5503 Lean Manufacturing and Lean Enterprises
ME 5563 Computer Integrated Manufacturing
ME 5583 Advanced Enterprise Process Engineering
ME 5603 Advanced Manufacturing Systems Engineering
- Degree candidates must complete the following course requirements for one of the degree options:
Thesis Option Hours Required Mathematics Course 3 Required Topical Courses 9 Prescribed Electives 6 ME 6953 Independent Study 6 ME 6983 Master’s Thesis 6 Minimum total semester credit hours required for Thesis Option 30 Nonthesis Option Hours Required Mathematics Course 3 Required Topical Courses 9 Prescribed Electives 15 ME 5973 Special Project 6 Minimum total semester credit hours required for Nonthesis Option 33
Prescribed Electives
CS 5233 Artificial Intelligence
CS 5253 Expert Systems
CS 5623 Simulation Techniques
EE 5143 Linear Systems and Control
EE 5243 Topics in Systems and Control
EE 5343 Intelligent Control and Robotics
EE 5413 Principles of Microfabrication
EGR 5233 Advanced Quality Control
EGR 5613 New and Emerging Technologies
IS 5043 Analysis and Design of Information Systems
IS 5143 Information Technology
IS 6433 Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition
ME 5113 Advanced Systems Dynamics and Control
ME 5143 Advanced Dynamics
ME 5503 Lean Manufacturing and Lean Enterprises
ME 5563 Computer Integrated Manufacturing
ME 5573 Facilities Planning and Design
ME 5583 Advanced Enterprise Process Engineering
ME 5593 Advanced Topics in Manufacturing and Enterprise Engineering
ME 5603 Advanced Manufacturing Systems Engineering
ME 6563 Flexile Automation and Manufacturing Systems
ME 6573 Robotics Design and Analysis
MOT 5163 Management of Technology
MOT 5233 Advanced Topics in Project Management
MOT 5313 Emerging Technologies
MS 5003 Quantitative Methods for Business Analysis
MS 5023 Decision Analysis and Production Management
MS 5343 Logistics Systems Management
MS 5393 Topics in Production Operations Management
MS 5453 Management and Control of Quality
MS 5483 Operations Research Methods in Statistics
STA 5073 Methods of Statistics
STA 5093 Introduction to Statistical Inference
STA 5103 Applied Statistics
STA 5803 Process Control and Acceptance Sampling
Students in the nonthesis option are advised throughout their program by the GAR. Students in the thesis option, upon completion of the first 9 semester credit hours of their program, must select a Thesis Advisor from the program's contributing faculty members and obtain the faculty member’s consent to serve in this capacity. After this point, the student’s Thesis Advisor assumes the role of the student’s advisor.
Upon completion of 18 credit hours (typically the end of the second semester), students in the thesis option are expected to form a Thesis Committee in consultation with their Thesis Advisor. In addition to the Thesis Advisor, the Thesis Committee must include two additional faculty members who are also members of the UTSA Graduate Faculty. Thesis option students are expected to defend their research work during their last semester (i.e., completion of 30 semester credit hours).
Master of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering
The Master of Science program in Mechanical Engineering is designed to offer students the opportunity to prepare for doctoral studies and leadership roles in government, industry, or research institutions. The program offers thesis and nonthesis options.
Program Admission Requirements. In addition to satisfying the University-wide graduate admission requirements, admission will be based on a combination of factors: a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering or a related field from an accredited institution of higher education or proof of equivalent education at a foreign or unaccredited institution, satisfactory performance on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), and satisfactory undergraduate grade point average (GPA) in engineering or relevant coursework.
Applicants may be admitted on a conditional basis as determined by the Graduate Committee of the Department. Applicants with a degree in a discipline other than mechanical engineering may be required to make up the deficiencies in the undergraduate mechanical engineering curriculum. Undergraduate courses listed as deficiencies do not count toward the graduate degree. Other applicants, who wish to continue their education in an area of Mechanical Engineering, but do not intend to pursue a Master of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering may seek admission as special graduate students.
Degree Requirements. The minimum number of semester credit hours required for the degree is 30 for the thesis option and 33 for the nonthesis option.
- 3 semester credit hours of a required mathematics course:
EGR 6013 Analytic Techniques in Engineering Analysis
- Degree candidates must complete two core courses selected from the following list:
ME 5113 Advanced Systems Dynamics and Control
ME 5243 Advanced Thermodynamics
ME 5413 Advanced Solid Mechanics
ME 5613 Advanced Fluid Mechanics
- Degree candidates must complete the following course requirements for one of the degree options:
Thesis Option Hours Required mathematics course 3 Core courses 6 Designated electives (with approval of the student’s committee chair) 15 ME 6983 Master’s Thesis 6 Minimum total semester credit hours required 30 Nonthesis Option Hours Required mathematics course 3 Core courses 6 Designated electives (with approval of the Graduate Advisor of Record) 21 ME 5973 Special Project 3 Minimum total semester credit hours required 33
In addition to the coursework and other University requirements for the Master’s degree, candidates must pass a thesis defense administered by the student’s advisory committee and chaired by a full-time graduate faculty member. A successful thesis defense satisfies the University’s comprehensive examination requirement.
Students in the thesis option must select a thesis advisor within the first 9 semester credit hours of coursework and form a thesis committee with a minimum of three faculty members within the first 18 semester credit hours of coursework. Within the first 9 hours of coursework, students in this option must meet with the thesis advisor to develop their program of study. New students, who have not selected a thesis advisor will be advised by the Graduate Advisor of Record.
Students seeking the nonthesis option must develop their program of study in consultation with the Graduate Advisor of Record within the first 9 semester credit hours of coursework. Nonthesis option students are required to complete a special project in consultation with a graduate faculty member. The project must meet with the approval of the Graduate Committee.
