The Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering administers the Master of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering (MSAE) and the Master of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering (MSME), as well as the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in both Mechanical Engineering and Aerospace Engineering. MAE is home to approximately 400+ graduate students, divided about evenly between MS and PhD students.
The graduate program in MAE is organized into three broad areas, as detailed below, although considerable opportunity exists for students to work on projects that overlap more than one group. In fact, interdisciplinary research is strongly encouraged within MAE and many faculty members and graduate students work across traditional disciplines. The three organizational groupings include:

Dynamics, Systems and Control (DSC)
The Dynamics, Systems and Control Group is a collaboration of faculty
and students studying all aspects of dynamic systems, with DSC
encompassing faculty members working in robots and autonomous systems,
biodynamics, nonlinear control theory and applications, energy systems,
aerospace and astronautics, including small satellites, vehicle dynamics
and structural optimization. Cutting edge research is being conducted
in many areas including theoretical development, modeling and
computational simulation, and experimental testing.

Solid Mechanics, Design and Manufacturing (SMDM)
The SMDM group is a collaboration of faculty and students studying all
aspects of design, solid mechanics and manufacturing, with SMDM
encompassing faculty members working in bone- and biomechanics,
nanomechanics, tribology, advanced composites, orthopaedic design, rapid
prototyping, advanced manufacturing, biomimetics, high-stress and
high-strain materials modeling, computational mechanics, cellular
mechanics, FEA analysis, design optimization and structural analysis.
State-of-the-art research is being conducted in theoretical development
and modeling, computational simulation, and experimental testing.

Thermal Sciences and Fluid Dynamics (TSFD)
The Thermal Sciences and Fluid Dynamics research group is comprised of
faculty with a broad range of research interests related to the
fundamentals of thermo-fluid dynamics as well as applications to
mechanical and aerospace engineering, materials, thermal processing,
biomedical, and other mechanics disciplines. Research areas include
heat transfer, combustion and propulsion, computational multiphysics,
acoustics, renewable and solar energy, laser-material interactions and
diagnostics, experimental fluid mechanics, CFD, air conditioning and
refrigeration, micro aerial vehicles, fuel cells and advanced power
cycles.