The Department of Mechanical Engineering at UMaine offers a Master of Science (MS) Program – Accelerated Track to qualified undergraduate students by allowing up to 9 credits^a of approved 400/500-level courses (minimum 3 credits at 500 level) to be double-counted toward their BS^b and MS degrees.

Admission Process

Provisional Admission

To qualify for provisional admission into the MEE MS Program – Accelerated Track, a student must be enrolled in an undergraduate engineering or engineering physics program at UMaine^b and must have:

• Completed between 60 to 100 credit hours of coursework applicable towards graduation.
• Cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher.

Qualified students must submit the following items to the MEE Graduate Coordinator:

• A completed Application to the MEE MS Program – Accelerated Track 
• A current undergraduate transcript (unofficial transcript is acceptable)

Students can choose either the thesis (4+2) or non-thesis (4+1) option of the MEE MS Program – Accelerated Track. After the MEE application review process is completed, a letter will be sent to the student informing them of the admission decision (copying Graduate School).

Program of Study

• Students in the thesis (4+2) option must identify a faculty advisor who will oversee their research and help draft a program of study before taking any graduate-level courses.
• Students in the non-thesis (4+1) option must work with the MEE Graduate Coordinator to develop a program of study before taking any graduate-level courses.

In both cases, the program of study will accompany the provisional admission communicated to the Graduate School.

Final Admission and Matriculation

Provisionally admitted students must submit a formal application to the Graduate School by February 15 in the senior year. A minimum GPA of 3.0 is required for final admission. 
During the senior year, provisionally admitted students would take up to 9 credits of 400/500-level coursework (minimum 3 credits at 500 level) toward the MS degree. These courses would also count towards the bachelor’s degree^b (joint credits) as technical electives and must be part of the MS Program of Study. To be double-counted, the 400-level courses must be considered as technical electives and not standard required senior-level courses in mechanical engineering.

Upon graduation with a bachelor’s degree, and with satisfactory performance (i.e., grade of “B” or better in the completed courses to be double counted), the student may be formally matriculated into the MEE MS Program – Accelerated Track. 

Students who meet these requirements must matriculate in their master’s program within 3 months after receiving their bachelor’s degree to use the joint credits. Under extraordinary circumstances, a student may petition to delay matriculation up to an additional 12 months. 

Credits to be used towards both the bachelor’s and master’s degrees will be transferred in after successful completion of the master’s degree within the allotted time limits.

^a Students enrolled in this program are subject to all the MEE MS program requirements. 

^b Other institutions require an approved MOU with UMaine.

Allotted Time Limits of Graduate Study in MEE MS Program – Accelerated Track

Students in the thesis (4+2) option must complete the requirements for the master’s degree within 27 months after matriculation in the master’s program to double count the credits earned in their undergraduate senior year. 

Students in the non-thesis (4+1) option must complete the requirements for the master’s degree within 15 months after matriculation in the master’s program to double count the credits earned in their undergraduate senior year. 

However, any student who does not complete the degree within the allotted time limit may not count toward the master’s degree any courses also applied to the bachelor’s degree unless the student’s committee petitions the Graduate School for extension due to extraordinary circumstances and the Graduate School grants the exception. 

Switching Between the Thesis and Non-Thesis Options

If a student starts in the thesis (4+2) option and requests to switch to the non-thesis (4+1) option, s/he must complete all the requirements for the master’s degree (non-thesis option) within 15 months of finishing the bachelor’s degree, otherwise the graduate courses taken as a senior may not also be applied to the master’s degree. 

If a student starts in the non-thesis (4+1) option and requests to switch to the thesis option, s/he must complete all the requirements for the master’s degree (thesis option) within 27 months of finishing the bachelor’s degree, otherwise the graduate courses taken as a senior may not also be applied to the master’s degree.