Are 4 courses doable in a non-thesis M.S. Mechanical Engineering Program?+

Beaudreau
Thu, 06 Aug 2020 18:06:40 +0000

@TroyMcClain - 4 hours? At most grad schools, 3 classes equals 9 hours.
Funny, I was just having this discussion with my son, who is starting an online masters program in polymers engineering. His advisor recommended starting with two classes (six hours). This seemed like too few credits for me, but I remembered that the general rule for graduate classes is that each class covers about twice as much material as an undergraduate class would. The competition is greater too. My son decided to start fall semester with two classes. If all goes well, he will bump up to three for spring semester.

Another option we discussed was signing up for three classes and seeing how it goes. If you do this, keep an eye on the deadline for dropping a class without penalty. If you are handling things well, keep all three. If you are having a tough time, drop one of the classes.

My son is going the non-thesis route. He just wants to learn as much as he can and improve his job prospects. His job interviews all got cancelled thanks to Covid. He doesn’t plan on a research career.

Someone in the auto industry may want to weigh in thesis vs. non-thesis question.