Graduate handbook information is updated and maintained by each program. Graduate handbooks are available within each program's office and online at https://utexas.box.com/v/UTAustinGraduateHandbooks. Please contact the program with concerns or questions.

Candidates for a graduate degree in engineering mechanics must meet all the general requirements for advanced degrees. Particular details are given below.

Master of Science in Engineering

Before being admitted to the program, the student must have a satisfactory proficiency in basic and intermediate material in engineering mechanics and mathematics. Students entering without an undergraduate degree in engineering are usually required to do some remedial work at the undergraduate level.

Students seeking the Master’s degree have three options, each requiring a total of 30 credit hours. The thesis option requires 24 credit hours of coursework plus six credit hours for a master's thesis based on research. The report option requires 27 credit hours of coursework plus three credit hours for a master's report based on research. The coursework-only option requires 30 credit hours of coursework without a thesis or report.

Regardless of the option chosen, a student is required to take six credit hours of supporting coursework outside of the technical area. Only courses completed on the letter-grade basis may be counted toward the degree. Only three hours of business-related courses may be counted. Students may count no more than six hours of upper-division undergraduate coursework toward the degree.

Doctor of Philosophy

Students are expected to complete 90 credit hours after their BS degree (including coursework and research credit) to earn a PhD. This expectation, however, may be waived simply by the agreement of the student’s research advisor(s) and/or dissertation committee.

Doctoral candidates must fulfill the basic course requirements prescribed for the Master’s degree. Beyond that, the course program is tailored to each student’s needs.

Before being admitted to candidacy for the degree, the student must pass both a written and an oral qualifying examination on graduate-level material.

After being admitted to candidacy, the student completes coursework, carries out an acceptable program of original research, and writes a dissertation covering this research. The committee appointed to approve the Program of Work and the dissertation examines the student for both breadth and depth of knowledge. Examinations may be oral or written or both and must include a public defense of the dissertation.

Further information about policy, procedure, and requirements is available from the Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics.