Thesis Option
The following describes the program requirements specific to the thesis option. For requirements shared by all MS students, please see the Master of Science Program Requirements page.
The thesis option requires a minimum total of 30 hours, consisting of a minimum of 24 hours of course-work, and six hours of ME 6000 Master's Thesis.
Page Contents
Required Coursework
• Nine hours of course-work must be selected from the designated core courses in the students’ selected area (please see list of core courses in each area).
• At least six hours of course-work must be in the designated breadth areas (breadth areas are areas outside the students’ core area, but within Mechanical Engineering).
• All thesis students are required to take 6 hours of advanced mathematics.
• In addition to the core and breadth courses, students must take an additional 3 hours of graduate level course-work designated as graduate free elective. This free elective could be selected from any of the areas inside the ME department, other engineering departments, and/or sciences (independent study or special topics are also acceptable). Also, if a student participates in a graduate internship/Co-op, an ME 7000 may be included on their official degree plan to replace/satisfy the free-elective requirement.*
• No ME 7000 is allowed on the official degree plan without internship/Co-op.
• In situations where the student’s thesis is highly interdisciplinary and requires extensive course work outside the department, the two breadth courses and the additional free elective may all be taken in other departments or colleges as needed. The faculty advisor must notify the graduate advisor of this necessity in written.
Time required to complete the thesis option Master's degree is usually between 18 and 24 months.
*F-1 international students may not use a graduate internship/coop as graduate research, ME 7000, unless it is an integral part of the student's academic program and is stated so in writing by the student's academic advisor (per United States immigration regulations).
Thesis
The Master's thesis represents the results of original and significant research work in Mechanical Engineering conducted by the student under the supervision of the Faculty Advisor and Advisory Committee. The thesis must be prepared in strict conformance with the requirements described in the booklet Instructions for Preparing and Submitting Theses and Dissertations available at the Texas Tech University Bookstore. As stated in the booklet, it is the student's responsibility to be sure that English usage is proper and that the physical form (margins, spacing, etc.) is acceptable. Students are encouraged to employ assistance (typically students majoring in English) in correcting their thesis or report manuscripts prior to submittal to their Faculty Advisors. Masters candidates are required to defend their thesis in an oral presentation to their Advisory Committees. A draft of the thesis must be provided to the Advisory Committee at least one week prior to the defense. The date and place of the defense presentation must be advertised two weeks in advance of the defense and the presentation must be open to the public. Failure to follow these guidelines may delay graduation.
TTU, Mechanical Engineering Dept., 7th and Boston, Lubbock, TX 79409
806.742.3451