Preamble
The research program in the Department has experienced significant growth over the last ten years. Mechanical and Industrial Engineering faculty members, with extensive scholarly and professional experience, offer high level research and graduate study opportunities to graduate students who are supported through research assistantships, teaching assistantships, or fellowships. Annual research expenditures on externally funded research have ranged between $3.5 and $4.5 million during the last five years.
Mechanical Engineering faculty members span general areas of expertise ranging from the traditional ones such as mechanical systems (design & control), materials science & engineering, and thermal-fluid science and combustion, to more novel ones such as micro/nano-systems (design and fabrication) and molecular-level engineering. The ME faculty is primarily involved in research related to Energy,Materials & Manufacturing, Aerospace and Bio-Technology applications. Research is funded through grants from federal agencies (NSF, NASA, DoD, DoE, etc.), state government (Louisiana Board of Regents), national laboratories, and various industries.
Industrial Engineering faculty members expertise are in human factors & ergonomics, supply chain, operations research, information technology, and safety. Their research is related to Energy, Information Systems and Health Care applications and is funded by federal agencies (e.g. NASA) but mostly from the State and private sectors.
General Information
The Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering offers programs leading to:
- Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering (MSME)
- Master of Science in Industrial Engineering (MSIE)
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph. D.) in Mechanical Engineering
- Graduate Minor in Mechanical Engineering
The Department also participates in the College of Engineering's interdisciplinary Engineering Science Degree Program, through which a Ph. D. in the areas of Industrial Engineering and Materials Science can be obtained.
A Materials Science & Engineering Certificate is also offered to the MSME and Ph. D. degrees through an interdisciplinary campus-wide program.
In order to pursue an advanced degree offered by this Department, you must hold a B.S. degree from an engineering Department accredited by the Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology (ABET), or an equivalent. Special programs can be developed if your degree is from another discipline. The graduate faculty of the Department must approve these programs.
As a potential graduate student, you must meet the minimum requirements for admission to LSU’s Graduate School before being considered for admission into the Mechanical or Industrial Engineering graduate programs. The admission requirements of the Department are in addition to those of the Graduate School and are generally more restrictive. Typically, a minimum undergraduate grade-point average of 3.0 (“A” = 4.0) and a GRE (verbal + quantitative) score of 1200 are required.
Interdisciplinary Information
The College of Engineering offers programs leading to two interdisciplinary graduate degrees:
- Master of Science in Engineering Science
- Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering Science
These programs provide a mechanism for you to pursue advanced degrees in areas not covered by the graduate programs administered by the Departments of the College. For example a Ph. D. degree in the areas of Materials Science or Industrial Engineering can be pursued through the Engineering Science Program. The program is administered by the Associate Dean for Academic Programs of the College of Engineering, who is the point of contact if you are interested in participating. You may also consider contacting the appropriate faculty within the Department depending on your areas of interest.