Welcome, prospective master's students! We hope you'll consider joining our community of mechanical engineers at Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering.

With a mechanical engineering graduate program ranked 17th among public university peers by U.S. News & World Report, our program is one of the top-ranked in the nation. We offer paths to customize your degree in support of your unique interests and career goals, a variety of specialty courses taught by experts in the field, entrepreneurship resources and events like New Venture Challenge, and opportunities for high-impact research in air quality, biomedical, materials, mechanics of materials, micro/nanoscale, robotics and systems design, and thermo fluid sciences.

If you are interested in conducting research during your time at CU Boulder, be sure to check out our Research Overview Slides and view virtual research presentations recorded by faculty members for our fall 2020 GEARRS event. These resources will help you get to know our faculty members and their unique capabilities and areas of expertise. 

Research Overview Slides

Our Community

As part of our graduate student community, you will join MS and PhD students who come to Boulder from across the world. You will have the opportunity to participate in community gatherings organized by graduate students and department-organized networking and mentorship events to support students and in their unique experiences. You will also have access to seminars, colloquia, and workshops delivered by notable engineering leaders in education, research, and industry. These seminars will allow you to grow in knowledge, network with professionals and peers beyond the classroom and lab, and gain exposure to diverse styles of research presentation in support of your future career. 

We make it our mission to establish an environment of respect and inclusive excellence where high-quality instruction, project-based learning and cutting-edge research are leveraged to educate and nurture the next generation of socially conscious, deeply knowledgeable engineers, scientists and problem-solvers. 

We invite you to visit the University of CO Boulder virtually or in person by signing up for a campus tour!

The Right Master's Program for You

As a prospective MS student, you have multiple programs from which to choose:

Our master's program offers two flexible options: the MS Professional and MS Thesis. Most students interested in earning a master's degree choose the MS Professional, a program that emphasizes project-based and curriculum-driven learning geared toward working engineers interested in furthering their education or current undergraduates planning a career in industry. The MS Professional offers exciting opportunities for a wide range of prospective students from diverse backgrounds.

Our master's program offers two flexible options: the MS Professional and MS Thesis. If your future is in academia, research or the public sector, you should select the thesis option. The MS Thesis Program is intended for MS students interested in a short-term research experience, leading to the preparation and defense of a research-based thesis.

A Bachelor's–Accelerated Master's (BAM) offers currently enrolled CU Boulder undergraduate students the opportunity to receive a BS and MS degree in a shorter period of time. This program has replaced our previous joint BS/MS degree program.

Our Dual Degree Mechanical Engineering & Engineering Management program allows students to pursue further education in engineering management in addition to a mechanical engineering degree. Students in the MS Professional Program may apply for a dual degree in Engineering Management. This program is intended for students seeking a strong education in both technical and fundamental topics as well as the unique skills required to be a successful leader in industry and the public sector.

Either degree-seeking or non-degree-seeking students can enroll in four-course certificate programs offered by our department. These certificates indicate expertise in a focused topic area and are intended primarily for continuing education and non-traditional students, though they can also be pursued as a supplement to the MS or PhD programs. The department currently offers a certificate in Biomedical Engineering, designed to train next-generation professional engineers to interface engineering and medicine with design and problem solving to improve human health. Additional certificate options are in development.

 

Eligibility & Prerequisites

Application Requirements

Important Deadlines

Engineering Management Dual Degree Admissions

MS Visit Day

Funding & Fellowships

Tuition and Fees

For information on tuition, please visit the Bursar's Office website. Under the Graduate Heading there, click on the Tuition and Fees PDFs and review the “Engineering Professional” category for MS Professional Program or the "Engineering" category for the MS Thesis Program.  click on the tuition and fees PDFs listed under the graduate heading and review the 'Engineering' category. For the MS Professional Program, the department offers two competitive partials scholarships. For the MS Thesis Program, most students cover the cost of their education directly or through loans, but you may be eligible for certain outside fellowship opportunities. Find more information by visiting our MS Funding and Fellowships webpage.