6/24/2021 Julia Park
Written by Julia Park
Heading toward its seventh academic year, MechSE’s Master of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering program (M.Eng.ME) has become a firmly established and successful professional, non-thesis graduate degree program.
Showing significant growth for the upcoming academic year, the program is on track to welcome as many as 40 new students in Fall 2021, for an all-time high of an estimated 70 total students enrolled. This would be a dramatic increase from Fall 2020’s 28 new students.
The 2020-21 academic year included 23 graduates of the program, with an average GPA of 3.7 (out of 4.0). Many students and alumni of the program have already launched exciting careers, at companies including SpaceX, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and Abbott Laboratories.
“We are so proud of our current students as well as alumni,” said Dr. Jiajun He, the program’s faculty director. “Clearly, our M.Eng.ME program has had a tremendous impact on young careers and on emerging technology.”
He added that the department is equally excited about the success of the in-person and online versions of the program.
The M.Eng.ME differs from an MS (Master of Science) in that it emphasizes professional development, leadership, and coursework specifically designed for industry-oriented engineers rather than those heading to academia. The rigorous coursework-based program is streamlined and can be completed in as short a time as one year for students enrolled in full-time study. There are two cohorts in the program, on campus and online. The former is typically comprised of students who are enrolled full-time, while the latter is comprised of students who have full-time careers as engineers and are enrolled part-time, typically enrolling in no more than one or two courses per semester. The program offers a good deal of flexibility to students. Working closely with the Faculty Director, each student is able to customize the program to best fit their individual career goals and interests.
“UIUC’s M.Eng. program is challenging. However, the professors were approachable and interested in my success. They care deeply about their specialty and hope you will be interested too. I started on campus taking classes but shifted online when I needed to move for work. The program was flexible enough for me to take most of the classes I wanted while working full-time. The advisors and coordinators were genuinely invested and were quick to work with me to keep going in the right direction,” said alumnus Timothy Cencer (M.Eng.ME '21), Developmental Engineer with the United States Air Force.