Degree Programs and Requirements

Graduate students in the Master of Science degree program may choose from two options to fulfill degree requirements: a traditional course work option (MSE degree) or a master’s thesis option (MS degree).

30 credit hours minimum required for the program to include:
6-8 credits: 2 Cognate Courses – must include one (1) Mathematics Course
18 credits A minimum of 18 credit hours of NAME courses; 16 credits of which are 500 level or above selected from the following list
4 – 6 credits Additional approved coursework
Selected courses:
NA 510 Marine Structural Mechanics
NA 520 Wave Loads on Ships and Offshore Structures
NA 531 Adaptive Control
NA 540 Marine Dynamics III
NA 550 Ocean Engineering Analysis II
NA 562 Marine System Production Business Strategy and Operations Management
NA 570 Advanced Marine Design
NA 580 Optimization, Market Forecasts and Management of Marine Systems
NA 582 Reliability and Safety of Marine Systems
NA 568 Introduction to Probabilistic Mobile Robotics
NA 620 Computational Fluid Dynamics for Marine Design (currently called “Ship Design”, changed during Fall’09 when the COE Curriculum Committee meets)

The thesis option is available to students who wish to include a research experience as part of their graduate program. A six-credit hour, written research thesis under the supervision of and approved by at least one NAME faculty is required as part of the 18 credits in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering.

Joint M.S.E. (NAME) / M.B.A. Degree

In addition to the master of science degree requirements, students must also complete:

  • 31.5 credits of M.B.A. core courses
  • 13.5 credits of elective courses in business administration

Qualified students can finish the joint program with as few as 63 credit hours.

Interdepartmental Degree

Students may combine the M.S.E. or M.S. degree program in this department with any other engineering department degree program administered by the Rackham School of Graduate Studies for a program of study leading to a single master’s degree and are required to:

  • Receive approval from both departments and the Rackham School of Graduate Study.
  • Complete 40 credits of graduate work in an approved course of study.

Dual Master’s Degrees

Students may pursue two distinct master’s degrees while allowing for some overlap in course requirements. The student is required to:

  • Receive approval from both departments and the Rackham School of Graduate Study or the College of Engineering.
  • Complete the 30 credits required for each department. However, 10 credits may be dually counted, resulting in 50 credits total.

Doctor of Philosophy

Though there are no specific course requirements for the Ph.D degree, the department requires 9 credit hours of math and 50 total classroom hours, as a minimum of graduate level work. The applicant with a master’s degree in a closely-related field should generally plan to spend a minimum of one additional year in organized classroom studies. Thereafter, the number of courses to be taken will decrease as more time is spent on individual study and research.

Candidates for the Ph.D. degree must:

  • Pass a written qualifying examination consisting of mathematics plus two areas selected from structures; hydrodynamics; rigid body dynamics; probabilistic methods; and control.
  • Successfully complete research projects and oral exam.
  • Hold Semi-Annual progress reviews with candidate’s dissertation committee.
  • Complete a dissertation of original and independent research in an area of department activity and interest.
  • Orally present and defend the dissertation.
  • Fulfill the Graduate School Rackham Fee Total obligation.

The written qualifying examinations, the oral examination, and prospectus are normally completed by the end of the student’s second year. Candidacy is therefore achieved within two and one-half years. It typically takes a total of four years to fulfill the requirements for the Ph.D. degree and students are expected to have one or two publications before graduation.