<p>I’m currently an undergrad student majoring in Civil Engineering and I’ve been researching various graduate schools where I could obtain a Masters in Structural Engineering. So far I’ve come across two types of Masters degrees; a Master of Science and a Master of Engineering. Could someone please clarify the differences between the two?</p>
<p>This may be of help: [Master</a> of Engineering - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“Master of Engineering - Wikipedia”>Master of Engineering - Wikipedia)</p>
<p>I’m not sure if my answer is exactly what you are looking for, but there is another distinction between degrees considered to be “Masters of Science”. </p>
<p>One of the distinctions that I have seen is that a Masters of Science in Engineering requires the completion of a BS Engineering in the same field, or equivalent. </p>
<p>A quick Google search leads to some results which verify the distinction I made: “A candidate for the Master of Science in Engineering (Mechanical Engineering) degree must meet the requirements for the Bachelor of Science in Engineering (Mechanical Engineering) degree at this campus, or the essential equivalent to these requirements.” This was one of the first results, and is from UMD. </p>
<p>It is also known as a designated degree. A designated degree has a specific title and a formalized set of courses that must be met. A Masters of Science is called an undesignated degree, and has a slightly less formalized set of courses that need to be taken.</p>
<p>Since I almost went to hulman, I’ll oblige…=).</p>
<p>The answer varies.</p>
<p>At most schools, its common to refer to Master of Engineering as coursework only without a thesis for structural engineering. This is true at schools such as Princeton, MIT, Cornell.</p>
<p>For others a Master of Science degree denotes coursework, and a substantial research component resulting in a project or thesis. This is true at University of Texas, And the schools noted above.</p>
<p>There are some exceptions however, notably Stanford and Berkeley. At Stanford and Berkeley, Master of Engineering denotes a thesis based masters while Master of Science is coursework only for structural engineering. </p>
<p>Therefore you should look at each school. There are clear definitions of the various degree programs or you can call the nice departmental secretaries.</p>
<p>If you want to go into industry, I HIGHLY doubt employers will differentiate. In fact I doubt most hiring managers will care or even know the difference themselves.</p>
<p>My understanding is that a MS/MSE is for those on the PhD-track and M.Eng is a terminal degree that is more geared towards getting a job immediately afterwards.</p>
<p>For a better understanding of what each degree involves at say, Michigan’s aerospace engineering, check these links:
[url=<a href=“http://www.engin.umich.edu/dept/aero/grad/mse.html]MSE[/url”>http://www.engin.umich.edu/dept/aero/grad/mse.html]MSE[/url</a>]
[url=<a href=“http://www.engin.umich.edu/dept/aero/grad/meng.html]MEng[/url”>http://www.engin.umich.edu/dept/aero/grad/meng.html]MEng[/url</a>]</p>