Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics
The MEAM Master’s Degree Program offers several avenues for students to participate in research. Participation in research in Penn Engineering can enrich a student’s curriculum, as well as provide research skills and opportunities not found anywhere else.
Current MEAM MSE students must meet with the Graduate Program Coordinator before starting work on their proposals for the Independent Study or Thesis.
Independent study courses (MEAM 5990) can accommodate students’ special interests that are not served through Penn Engineering’s regular course offerings. They create opportunities for research projects and mentoring relationships between students and faculty.
See the MEAM MSE Student Handbook for full details, policies, and procedures.
MEAM 5990 may only count towards the General Elective requirement, and students may only take a maximum of two independent study courses towards their MEAM MSE degree. The faculty supervisor must be a member of the MEAM Graduate Group.
Prior to the semester in which the student wants to take the independent study, the student and the faculty supervisor must develop a proposal:
Students should use the MEAM 5990 & 9990 Proposal Submission Form to request departmental approval. Independent Study proposals are due at least three (3) weeks before the start of the semester in which the independent study will commence.
The MEAM Master’s Thesis option allows top MEAM MSE students to incorporate original research into their course plan. The MEAM MSE Thesis allows students to:
Students may propose to do a thesis after they start their MEAM Master’s Degree programs, and usually after they complete their first semesters. Most students do the thesis over two semesters during their second year of study. Students take MEAM 9990, which counts as either a MEAM elective or General Elective, during these semesters, effectively incorporating research into the 10 CU program curriculum.
Doing a thesis is subject to the availability of advisors with suitable research projects. The thesis must be done over consecutive courses and MEAM 9990 CUs cannot be taken simultaneously.
Students may take MEAM 5990 (Independent Study) for one semester and then expand the project into a thesis by taking MEAM 9990 for a second semester of the research project. Students taking this route must first successfully complete MEAM 5990 and then submit a new MEAM 9990 proposal for approval by the MEAM MSE Program Chair and the MEAM Graduate Group Chair.
The new proposal must clearly demonstrate how the Independent Study project will be expanded into a thesis, including original research by the student. The thesis committee will evaluate the entire scope of the thesis, including the work completed during the Independent Study.
Students hoping to extend their Independent Study project into a thesis are not guaranteed that their proposals will be approved.
The MEAM MSE Thesis Committee is made up of 2-3 Penn faculty members: The thesis advisor, the thesis committee chair, and a thesis committee member (optional). The thesis advisor and the thesis committee chair must be MEAM Graduate Group members. The optional third thesis committee member may be any Penn faculty member, with approval from the thesis advisor and the MEAM Graduate Group Chair. The two MEAM Graduate Group committee members are chosen before the proposal is approved, while the third, optional member may join the committee after the proposal is approved.
The student will work with their thesis advisor to produce a written thesis proposal. The proposal should contain,
The thesis proposal must be submitted at least three (3) weeks before the start of the semester in which they will begin the Master’s Thesis research, when they will take MEAM 9990 for the first time.
The thesis must be prepared and submitted following the general Penn Engineering and University of Pennsylvania guidelines. The student then must publicly defend their thesis.
The thesis defense is a public presentation of the research, after which the Thesis Committee will give final approval or disapproval. A typical thesis defense uses the following structure:
MEAM Master’s students are encouraged to connect and work with Penn faculty and PhD students in their research labs. Penn’s research labs are an exceptional way for master’s students to apply their knowledge, as well as develop and practice engineering skills and research methods.
View MEAM Faculty Labs
