Bachelor of Science to Master of Engineering (BS/M.ENG.)

Program Description

The purpose of the Bachelor of Science/Masters of Engineering (BS/M.ENG.) degree program is to enable well qualified and highly motivated undergraduate students majoring in Engineering to obtain both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in a minimum of five years. The BS/M.ENG. Program is applicable to the Bachelor of Science (BS) degrees in the three engineering disciplines (Civil, Electrical, and Industrial Engineering) and the Master of Engineering (M.ENG.) degree within the Clarence M. Mitchell, Jr. School of Engineering. The goal of the BS/M.ENG. Program is to accelerate the production of engineering professionals who are capable of entering into the technology workforce and making significant contributions to society, while safeguarding the environment.

Program Objectives

Students will complete the requirements for and be awarded the Bachelor of Science degree, at least one year prior to completing the requirements for the Master of Engineering degree. The Bachelors of Science degree will be awarded from the respective departments, that is BSEE from the Electrical & Computer Engineering department, the BSIE from the Industrial Systems Engineering department, and the BSCE from the Civil and Environmental Engineering department. The M.ENG. Degree will subsequently be awarded from the School of Graduate Studies. A student may elect to receive only a BS degree, but must complete the requirements for the traditional BS degree program.

The interdisciplinary Master of Engineering (M.ENG.) Degree program is designed to:

• Support the student to be successful in his/her academic and professional objectives;
• Provide program options that can be adapted to fit student's goals and needs;
• Develop an appreciation of the importance of a closer relationship between engineering education and engineering practice;
• Develop an appreciation for engineering design and for the product/process realization continuum;
• Develop a consciousness for and commitment to the importance of life-long learning;
• Provide a complement to basic research-oriented graduate degree programs;
• Develop a philosophy for the role of research, application, and the environment in the product/ process realization cycle;
• Provide an innovative path to the terminal degree; and
• Generate a cadre of well-trained engineering professionals.

General Requirements

All students who seek candidacy into the BS/M.ENG. Program will be required to complete the BS degree requirements of their respective discipline and complete a total of 30 acceptable credit hours of graduate coursework using one of the three options under the M.ENG. program (Course only, Thesis or Project Report).

Admission

The BS/M.ENG. program allows students to begin graduate study (concurrent with undergraduate work) in the second semester of their junior year. Students are allowed to apply for admission into the program upon completion of 76 credits. For consideration of admission into the BS/M.ENG. Program, a student must:

• Complete 76 credits (a minimum of 20 credits of general education requirements; a minimum of 20 credits of Science and Math requirements; and a minimum of 30 credits of Engineering requirements).
• Have a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 3.3.
• Submission of a completed application form, 
• Three (3) written recommendations from MSU faculty, one of which must be from a MSU faculty member within prospective engineering department who would serve as the candidate’s primary advisor, and 
• A plan of study, signed by the anticipated primary advisor, outlining the tentative courses to be pursued in the program and the anticipated major sub-discipline (and minor emphasis, if any) in the program of study. 

The application is submitted in the first instance to the graduate coordinator of the prospective engineering department. Applications determined to be eligible, following consideration by the appropriate committee of the (MSU) engineering faculty, shall be forwarded through the Office of the Associate Dean in the School of Engineering to the School of Graduate Studies.

Meeting the minimum eligibility requirements and submitting all the required documents does not guarantee that an offer of admission will be made to the applicant.  The decision of the Program Admissions Committee involves a review and analysis of all the elements of the application as well as the availability of positions in the program.  The committee then recommends to the Dean of the School of Graduate Studies that an offer admission should be made based on that review.

Candidacy - Maintaining Eligibility

Candidates in the BS/M.ENG. Program are expected to maintain a high level of scholastic achievement. The above constitutes the minimum requirements for consideration for admission into the program. Admitted students must maintain a minimum GPA of 3.0 to remain in good standing as required by the School of Graduate Studies. Candidates who fall below the minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.0 for two consecutive semesters will be removed from the program.  

A student may decide to opt out of the BS/M.ENG. Program; however, they must complete all requirements for the traditional BS degree program. The BS/M.ENG. Program curriculum is designed such that candidates who successfully complete their coursework through the end of the senior year will automatically qualify them for completion of the BS degree requirements. Graduate courses successfully completed up to this time, may be applied to the traditional graduate program. Once a candidate has opted out of the program, the candidate is no longer eligible for the BS/M.ENG. Program degree. In order to receive a Master’s Degree at Morgan State University, the student will then have to apply to the traditional 30-credit Masters Program. Candidates who are removed from the program or otherwise opt out of the program are eligible to receive the traditional bachelor’s degree in their respective engineering discipline major, on completion of the requirements for the BS degree. 

Additional Requirements

Academic dishonesty is a very serious offense in the School of Engineering. Under no circumstance(s) shall a student use the original words or ideas of others without appropriately citing the source. Any student found culpable of academic dishonesty will be asked to withdraw from the Program, and referred to the appropriate School of Engineering and University authorities for additional disciplinary actions which may result in expulsion from the University. The student has the right to appeal the action taken by submitting in writing to the School of Engineering Judicial Committee to request for a hearing on the academic fraud allegation(s) within the same semester by emailing soesss@morgan.edu.

Program Course Requirements

There are three program options for the Master of Engineering degree, which takes the form of a 3-credit hour choice between completing (i) a Project Report, (ii) a Thesis, or (iii) the Course-only option.  Three interdisciplinary courses (9 credit hours) are a core requirement of all students entering the BS/M.ENG. program. These courses are carefully designed and coordinated to stress the interdisciplinary nature of the subject matter, and they will be used to satisfy the requirements of both the Bachelors and Masters programs. The content serves as the philosophical foundation on which all other materials tailored for a specific student are based. The courses are as follows:

Students accepted for candidacy into the BS/M.ENG. Program may begin taking these core courses in the second semester of their junior year, and candidates will complete the course requirements for the Masters degree during the fifth year. Note that the remaining twenty-one (21) credits of elective courses must be taken from within the Department in which the student is enrolled. Elective credits are directed toward building strength in a sub-discipline. The following Civil engineering-related sub-disciplines are available, which are applied mechanics, environmental engineering, geomechanics, geotechnical engineering, groundwater hydrology, hydrology, infrastructure planning and engineering, structural engineering, structural mechanics, and transportation engineering. For Electrical Engineering there are sub-disciplines in the areas of embedded systems, wireless systems and communications, cybersecurity and computer engineering. For Industrial Engineering, the sub-disciplines are in the areas of Manufacturing and Production Systems, Reliability and Quality Engineering, Systems and Information Engineering, Energy Systems and Industrial Technology, Ergonomics and Human Engineering Systems, and Interdisciplinary Studies such as Engineering Education. For Transportation, there are sub-disciplines of transportation planning, traffic engineering, and transportation management. 

Plan of Study

The typical plan of study requires enrollment in a minimum of nine (9) credit hours per term to remain full-time.  Not every course is offered every term, and the following plan of study is an illustration.  At the initial conference with an advisor, a preliminary plan of study will be established, and this will be reported to the School of Graduate Studies (using the SGS Plan of Study Form) for placement in the student’s official file.  At this time, any anticipated exceptions or anticipated transfer credits will be noted.  An estimated time for completion of the thesis/dissertation must be included.  Changes to the plan of study will be reported to the School of Graduate Studies.  The student and the advisor will sign the form submitted to the School of Graduate Studies.

See below for an example program of study based on thirty (30) credit hours of graduate coursework for the ME degree, and 120/121 credit hours of undergraduate coursework to satisfy the BS degree. Note that the Senior design project I & II courses (CEGR 492/3, EEGR 490/1, IEGR 496/8) remain as an undergraduate curriculum requirement.