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.