Applicable only to students admitted during the 2025-2026 academic year.

Engineering – MS in Engineering-Mechanical, Online

Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science

Graduate Degrees

The School of Engineering and Applied Science offers the Master of Science (M.S.) degree in Engineering (an online degree program) as a schoolwide degree.

For information about degree programs in specific engineering majors, applicants should consult the program requirements for that major.

Master of Science

Admissions Requirements

Advising

Each student in this program is assigned an Area Director (AD) upon matriculation. The AD’s information can be found on the program’s homepage: https://www.msol.ucla.edu/mechanical-engineering/.

The AD’s primary role (as faculty advisor) is to advise on curriculum, provide course recommendations, and approve academic plans. The program also has a student services advisor (SSA) who interprets degree requirements, program/university policies, and graduation requirements.

New students should contact the program’s student services advisor (SSA) and AD on notification of admission to discuss their program of study. Continuing students are expected to remain in contact with their AD and SSA. Students’ transcripts are reviewed at the end of each quarter by the SSA and the Associate Dean for International Initiatives and Online Programs. Special attention is given if students were admitted provisionally or are on academic probation. If a student’s academic progress is unsatisfactory, students are notified in writing by the Associate Dean for International Initiatives and Online Programs via an academic plan.

All students are strongly urged to consult with the department’s SSA regarding degree requirements, procedures and implementation of policies. In particular, advice should be sought on the Master’s Advancement to Candidacy (MATC) for the M.S. degree, academic planning, and university resources.

Areas of Study

Mechanical https://www.msol.ucla.edu/mechanical-engineering/

Foreign Language Requirement

None.

Course Requirements

Nine courses are required (36 units), of which five (20 units) must be graduate courses at the 200 level (excluding the ENGR 299 Capstone Project course), and meet the Capstone requirement. A max of three 100 level upper division core courses (12 units) are permitted. Students may petition to take no more than one course outside of the core course list. Petitions must be approved by their Area Director. Courses applied toward the degree must be taken for letter grade; S/U grading is not permitted. Courses should be chosen so that the breadth requirements (and the requirements at the graduate level) are met.

A minimum of six core courses must be taken from the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE), of which five (20 units) must be at the 200 level.

Breadth Requirements: (The breadth requirements are only applicable to students who do not have a B.S. degree from an ABET-accredited aerospace or mechanical engineering program). Take the following two courses: MAE 150B and MAE 156A.

Graduate level Requirement: Students are required to take at least one course from the following list: MAE M256A, MAE M269A, MAE M297C.

The remaining core courses may be selected from the following list: MAE 150B, MAE156A, MAE 166C, MAE 168, MAE M183B, MAE C237, MAE 250D, MAE M256A, MAE 256B, MAE 256F, MAE C263C, MAE 263E, MAE M269A, MAE M270A, MAE 270B, MAE M270C, MAE C274, MAE C294A, MAE C297A, MAE M297C, MAE 298, C&EE 235A, C&EE 235B, C&EE 233 and MSE 250B

Electives: The remaining courses may be selected from the list above. Courses from other Engineering departments may be used, provided the courses are offered through the MSOL program.

Additional course information located at https://www.msol.ucla.edu/mechanical-engineering/

Teaching Experience

Not required.

Field Experience

Not required.

Capstone Plan

Students can meet the Capstone Plan requirement in two ways:

Choose (1 option below)

Option 1:

Take and pass the ENGR 299 Capstone Project course.

Option 2:

Take and pass three written exams for three different graduate level courses within the student’s area of specialization. The written exams are held concurrently with the final exam of the graduate level courses. Students may select which exams they would like to count towards the Capstone Plan requirement.

Thesis Plan

None.

Time-to-Degree

Students are expected to complete the degree within nine academic quarters, or seven academic quarters and two summer terms. The maximum time allowed in this program is ten academic quarters (excluding summer terms).

DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
M.S.	9	9	10

Academic Disqualification and Appeal of Disqualification

University Policy

A student who fails to meet the above requirements may be recommended for academic disqualification from graduate study. A graduate student may be disqualified from continuing in the graduate program for a variety of reasons. The most common is failure to maintain the minimum cumulative grade point average (3.00) required by the Academic Senate to remain in good standing (some programs require a higher grade point average). Other examples include failure of examinations, lack of timely progress toward the degree and poor performance in core courses. Probationary students (those with cumulative grade point averages below 3.00) are subject to immediate dismissal upon the recommendation of their department. University guidelines governing academic disqualification of graduate students, including the appeal procedure, are outlined in Standards and Procedures for Graduate Study at UCLA.

Special Departmental or Program Policy

A recommendation for academic disqualification is reviewed by the school’s Associate Dean for International Initiatives & On-Line Programs. In addition to the standard reasons noted above, a student may be recommended for academic disqualification for:

1. Failure to maintain a grade point average of 3.0 in all courses and in those in the 200 series.
2. Failure to maintain a grade point average of 3.0 in any two consecutive terms.
3. Failure of the Capstone Plan.
4. Failure to maintain satisfactory progress toward the degree within the ten-quarter maximum time-to-degree for completing all degree requirements.