Graduate students in WPI’s master's in mechanical engineering program don’t just ask “why,” they ask “why not?” If you’re a passionate innovator, builder, and problem solver, the collaborative and inspiring environment will help you tackle society’s most critical engineering challenges whether in research or industry.
The mechanical engineering graduate program receives significant funding, including support from such sources as the National Institutes of Health, NASA, the National Science Foundation, and Sandia National Labs.
Our world-class, dedicated faculty members invite MS in mechanical engineering students into their research projects in our various cutting-edge labs. And in our classrooms, you’ll gain a depth and breadth of understanding mechanical engineering practices to assume leadership roles in the industry. Whatever your goals are in our mechanical engineering degree program, our faculty will push you to forge your path and realize your ambitions.
The course work for our mechanical engineering master's degree will include mechanical engineering, mathematics, electives, and a graduate seminar. You may choose to complete a thesis or non-thesis option, the latter requiring more courses in mechanical engineering to replace the thesis requirements.
MS in Mechanical Engineering graduate students may choose from five fields of study to allow the most opportunity to work on current research with WPI faculty. These diverse areas of study include the following:
The diverse research activities within WPI’s master's in mechanical engineering program place graduate students at the center of research that’s advancing key 21st century industries.
Companies that work with WPI’s faculty (and our mechanical engineering master's students):
I enjoy teaching at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Teaching is very rewarding, and it allows me to interact with the students. My teaching portfolio includes undergraduate and graduate level courses in the areas of heat transfer, fluid mechanics, liquid/vapor phase change, thermodynamics, and design of thermal systems.
Autonomous vehicles – aircraft, cars, rovers, over- and underwater vehicles that can move in the real world by themselves without human pilotage – have gained immense importance not only due to the broad spectrum of their potential military and civilian applications, but also due to the concurrent development of sensor technology and embedded systems that enable the realization of true autonomy.
Professor Fischer is the William Smith Dean's Professor and a faculty member in Mechanical Engineering and Robotics Engineering with an appointment in Biomedical Engineering at WPI. He received his PhD in Mechanical Engineering in 2008 from Johns Hopkins University, where he was part of the NSF Engineering Research Center for Computer Integrated Surgery. At WPI he has been an integral part of developing the Robotics Engineering program and teaches primarily junior-level and graduate courses in Robotics.
My research is aimed towards understanding fundamental aspects of reacting flows at thermodynamic conditions of relevance to aircraft, rocket, and automobile propulsion. Reacting flow phenomena occurring in engines are complicated as a result of turbulent flow, interaction with solid boundaries, and extreme thermodynamic conditions. In order to understand and simulate combustion phenomena under such conditions, there is a necessity to develop accurate chemical kinetic and molecular transport models in addition to fluid mechanics models.
My research bridges the gap between human-robot interaction and human movement science. I am particularly interested in the design of human-robot interfaces and assistive robot autonomy, based on the understanding of the perception-action coupling of humans and cyber-human systems. At WPI, I primarily work on tele-nursing robots and assisted teleoperation interfaces. I also have extensive experience in exoskeletons for rehabilitation and tele-surgical robots.
The overarching theme of my research is light-matter interactions and their applications in microscale and nanoscale. Particularly, my research interests include optical trapping, optofluidics, nanophotonics, cavity optomechanics, and fiber optic sensing systems, with an emphasis on optical actuation, damping, and sensing of mechanics in micro-/nano-scale structures and biological specimens. The potential applications of my research include on-chip disease diagnosis, in vivo disease treatments, motion detection in consumer electronics, health monitoring, and biomechanics.
Dr. Panchapakesan is the director of the Small Systems Laboratory (SSL) which is dedicated to the development of multi-functional materials, devices and systems at the macro-, micro-, meso- and nanoscales. Our work spans in multiple areas bridging multiple disciplines and multiple length scales. Facilities at SSL include fabrication and characterization units for advanced materials, device processing and testing and biomaterials characterization. Access to the clean room facilities around the Boston area adds to the excitement of student learning as well as experimentation.
The project mode of education is a significant tenet of WPI; project based courses are common, along with the required Interactive Qualifying Project and Major Qualifying Project. Managing this close knit intellectual activity has m any parallels to coaching sports; watching individuals " light up" is tremendously rewarding. The recent addition of the Great Problems Seminar allows strong interaction with the freshman class as well. The thermofluid area is critical to world sustainability and extends beyond technical expertise to socio- political and economic context.
Dr. Yu Zhong joined WPI as an Associate Professor. He received his Ph.D. from Penn State (2005). After a short-term working as Research Associate, he joined Saint-Gobain High Performance Research Center in Northborough, MA. He had spent his 8-year career there working as an internal technical consultant focusing on the application of thermodynamics and kinetics to various materials R&D projects. In 2013, He moved to Florida International University (FIU) as Assistant Professor.
If you’re considering a mechanical engineering career, a master’s degree in mechanical engineering will help you start your career at well-known, global companies. Graduates are prepared for mechanical engineering jobs as aerospace engineers, manufacturing engineers, nuclear engineers, and many more. If you’re interested in working alongside other like-minded brains in a challenging and rewarding environment, explore our MS in mechanical engineering WPI’s mechanical engineering department is the oldest and largest at WPI. Dedicated advisors help students find the challenging, yet rewarding roles in exciting mechanical engineering graduate jobs or in a graduate school path they’re seeking. What are you waiting for? Apply today.
Do you want a mechanical engineering masters, but need flexibility to complete the degree? Check out WPI’s mechanical engineering master's online which provides the time to balance work, family, and academics.
Our PhD in Mechanical Engineering enables students to gain a higher level of expertise in the fields and specialties where they are driven to discover more. WPI’s PhD in mechanical engineering program helps you forge your own path with pioneering research and alongside our renowned faculty members.
Want to take your technical skills and your managerial skills to the next level? WPI’s Mechanical Engineering for Technical Learning (METL) Graduate Certificate Program will help you do exactly that so you can advance in your career. With a strong focus on leadership and management, this program enables mechanical engineers to accelerate in their field.
Ready to explore a mechanical engineering path but need to get your bachelor’s degree before you move forward? Explore WPI’s BS in mechanical engineering which will provide the essential hands-on skills you need to succeed. Maybe you want to understand mechanical engineering principles to complement your major? A minor might be just what you need. Explore WPI’s mechanical engineering minor program.
