Mechanical engineering is a diverse subject that derives its breadth from the need to design and manufacture everything from small individual parts and devices (e.g. microscale sensors and inkjet printer nozzles) to large systems (e.g. spacecraft and machine tools). The role of a mechanical engineer is to take a product from an idea to the marketplace. To accomplish this, a broad range of skills are needed. The mechanical engineer needs to acquire particular skills and knowledge. He/she needs to understand the forces and the thermal environment that a product, its parts, or its subsystems will encounter; to design them for functionality, aesthetics, and the ability to withstand the forces and the thermal environment they will be subjected to; and to determine the best way to manufacture them and ensure they will operate without failure. Perhaps the one skill that is the mechanical engineer's exclusive domain is the ability to analyze and design objects and systems with motion. The Mechanical Engineering Department at Columbia was established in 1897. It has enjoyed a national and international reputation for much of its history. Between 1950 and 1980, professors Dudley D. Fuller, Harold G. Elrod, and Vittorio Castelli were the foremost leaders in the field of lubrication theory and practice. In the 1960s, Professor Ferdinand Freudenstein (known as the "Father of Modern Kinematics"), revolutionized the field of mechanical design by ushering in the computer age in kinematics synthesis and the design of the mechanism. In more recent times,... [-]

M.S. Mechanical Engineering

The Department of Mechanical Engineering offers graduate work leading to both the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in mechanical engineering and in materials science. Applicants for admission typically have a general background in one of the following areas, depending on degree program and interest: engineering, physics, applied physics, applied mathematics, materials science, mechanics, metallurgy, or chemistry.

Faculty research in the department falls into two broad categories: solid mechanics-materials science, and fluid mechanics-plasma physics. Much of this work is interdisciplinary and takes advantage of links between the Department and the Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE), the Rochester Center for Biomedical Ultrasound (RCBU) and the School of Medicine and Dentistry (SMD), as well as the Departments of Physics and Astronomy (DPA) and Biomedical Engineering (BME) in the College.... [-]

The master of science degree in mechanical engineering is awarded upon successful completion of an approved graduate program consisting of a minimum of 45 quarter credit hours. A minimum of 36 credits are to be earned in coursework and 9 credits of thesis. A maximum of 9 quarter credits may be transferred from graduate courses taken outside the university, provided such courses complement a student’s proposed graduate program in the mechanical engineering department. Upon matriculation into the MS program, the student should formulate a plan of study in consultation with his or her adviser. Program requirementsThe four elements of study within the MS in mechanical engineering program include core courses (8 credit hours), focus area courses (12 credit hours), elective courses (16 credit hours), and a thesis (9 credit hours). All full-time MS students are required to attend the weekly graduate seminar each quarter they are on campus. A minimum of 45 credits are required for the MS degree. At least 28 credit hours of graduate-level coursework, including the core and focus area courses, must be taken in the mechanical engineering department. Eight credits may be taken as upper-level undergraduate electives (a course number beginning with 0304-6xx) or as technical courses outside of the department, with prior approval. Typical out-of-department courses include advanced engineering, mathematics, and science courses.... [-]