Naval/Mechanical Engineering - Curriculum 569 (DL)
Program Officer
CDR Caleb MacDonald
Code 74, Watkins Hall, Room 107
(831) 656-2033, DSN 756-2033
caleb.macdonald@nps.edu
Academic Associate
Christopher Adams
Watkins Hall, Room 333
(831) 656-3400
caadams@nps.edu
Brief Overview
The objective of this program is to provide graduate education, primarily in the field of Mechanical Engineering, in order to produce graduates with the technical competence to operate and maintain modern military & space systems.
The Mechanical Engineering program is designed to meet the specific needs of the U.S. Military, U.S. Coast Guard, Industry partners and international partners with a broad-based graduate education in Mechanical Engineering with a focus on thermos fluids, structures, autonomous systems, and space systems. The program is intended to be completed within 36 months, assuming one course or thesis slot per quarter and gives the student a broad naval / mechanical engineering education.
An original research project resulting in a finished thesis, or additional course work and a project is an integral part of the curriculum.
Requirements for Entry
A baccalaureate degree from a school that has Institutional Accreditation is required, preferably in an engineering discipline.
While an undergraduate degree in engineering is preferred, special preparatory programs can accommodate officers with other backgrounds.
The following are eligible for this program:
- U.S. Military Officers & Enlisted Personnel
- U.S. Government Civilians
- Select Department of Defense Contractors
- Qualified International Personnel
Convenes
Fall, Winter, Spring or Summer.
Program Length
36 months/12 quarters
Degree
Requirements for the Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering - MSME or a Master of Science in Engineering Science with a major in Mechanical Engineering – MSES(ME) are met as a milestone enroute to satisfying the educational skill requirements of the curricular program. There must be a minimum of 32 quarter hours of credits in 3000 and 4000 level courses, including a minimum of 12 quarter hours at the 4000 level. Of the 32 quarter hours at least 24 quarter-hours must be in courses offered by the MAE Department.
Graduation research requirements: a thesis (16 credit hours) with 32 credit hours (a total of 8 grad course) or the chair can approve an optional research project (8 credit hours) with 40 credit hours (a total of 10 grad courses).
Outcomes
Graduating students will meet the ABET 1 through 7 outcomes either by previous attainment of an ABET BSME Degree, or by having the knowledge and skills equivalent to an ABET-accredited BSME.
Graduating students will have a minimum of one (1) year of advanced study beyond the bachelor’s level and have advanced level knowledge in Mechanical Engineering as demonstrated by the ability to apply master’s level knowledge in one of the available specialized disciplines of Mechanical Engineering.
Graduating students will have the ability to apply technical knowledge in a leadership role related to national security.
Typical Course of Study
Upon entry into the program students will typically enroll in one course per quarter to be taken via distance learning. Typically, students may stack certificates to complete the coursework requirement of either 8 or 10 courses. Four specialty tracks within the course of study are also offered: Structures, Fluid Thermodynamics, Applied Trajectory Optimization, and Robotics in addition to some Aerospace Engineering and Space Systems courses.
The program of study for each student will be submitted for approval by the Chairman of the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.
Aerospace Engineering (Certificate 118 Track)
Student must take four of these six courses:
| AE4452 | Advanced Missile Propulsion | | 4 | 1 |
| ME3205 | Missile Aerodynamics | | 4 | 1 |
| ME3611 | Mechanics of Solids II | | 4 | 0 |
| ME4703 | Missile Flight and Control | | 4 | 1 |
| ME4704 | Missile Design | | 3 | 2 |
| ME4751 | Combat Survivability, Reliability and Systems Safety Engineering | | 4 | 1 |
Applied Trajectory Optimization (Certificate 299 Track)
| AE3820 | Advanced Mechanics and Orbital Robotics | | 3 | 2 |
| AE3830 | Aerospace Guidance and Control | | 3 | 2 |
| AE4850 | Dynamic Optimization | | 3 | 2 |
| ME4881 | Aerospace Trajectory Planning and Guidance | | 2 | 4 |
Structures (Certificate 122 Track)
| ME3521 | Mechanical Vibration | | 3 | 2 |
| ME3611 | Mechanics of Solids II | | 4 | 0 |
| ME4613 | Finite Element Methods | | 4 | 0 |
| ME4731 | Engineering Design Optimization | | 4 | 0 |
Thermodynamics/Fluids (Certificate 123 Track)
Student must take four of these seven courses to complete the certificate:
| AE4502 | Supersonic and Hypersonic Flows | | 4 | 0 |
| ME3201 | Applied Fluid Mechanics | | 4 | 1 |
| ME3450 | Computational Methods in Mechanical Engineering | | 3 | 2 |
| ME4101 | Advanced Thermodynamics | | 4 | 0 |
| ME4220 | Viscous Flow | | 4 | 0 |
| ME4420 | Advanced Power and Propulsion | | 4 | 0 |
Robotics Engineering (Certificate 223 Track)
| EC4310 | Fundamentals of Robotics | | 3 | 2 |
| ME3420 | Computational Foundations for Robotics | | 3 | 2 |
| ME4800/AE4800 | Machine Learning for Autonomous Operations | | 3 | 2 |
| ME4828 | Fundamental GNC Algorithms of Autonomous Robotics | | 3 | 2 |