How Long is a Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering?

How long is a master’s degree in mechanical engineering? If you are planning to pursue a master’s degree in mechanical engineering, two year time span is what you should keep in mind.

Just like any other advanced discipline, a master’s in mechanical engineering usually lasts for 2 years. There are certain universities in European countries like UK, Sweden, Denmark etc. which offer 1-year programs, but these programs are mostly limited to generalized disciplines like management and production. A dense and detail-oriented program like “mechanical engineering” will require you to put in more hours than a general discipline and may require studying full-time if you want to complete your coursework in a short period.

Mechanical Engineering is the most influential discipline of all. Its significance lies in the fact that it is a necessity of all the other disciplines. Every technological area makes use of the products developed by mechanical engineers to automate their processes and improve their efficiency as well as effectiveness. One could easily say that it is the mother of the rest of the engineering disciplines.

The core areas include the design of machine elements, industrial manufacturing, thermodynamics, Heat and Mass Transfer, Fluid Dynamics, automation, and robotics etc. 

Why should you pursue a Master’s in Mechanical engineering?

The reasons for graduates to pursue a master’s degree in mechanical engineering can be manifold. However, here we discuss some of the most important reasons of why you should pursue a master’s in mechanical engineering.

Career Opportunities:

Quality education is one of the key considerations of human resource managers. Every organization wants to hire the best candidate for themselves who can turn out to be an asset for them and not a liability. Having a master’s certificate in your field of study sets you apart from the rest of the candidates because it straight away puts an impression on employers that you are an expert in your area having deep knowledge of the subject which can be beneficial for them. 

Ask yourself this question. If you are an employer and you have the resumes of 30 engineers on your hand with 29 of them having just done bachelor’s while 1 of them having a master’s degree, will you not be inclined towards checking them out first? 

Having a master’s degree makes you stand out from the rest of the applicants in most of the job openings. 

Promotions:

Have you ever been in a position where you put in most hours in your organization, have the best performance reports, never take a day off but still you cannot help but watch the other unambitious and lazy candidates being promoted above you?

The reason may have nothing to do with your abilities or your professionalism. Most of the job promotions have the pre-requisite of higher education, a criterion which your basic bachelor’s certificate just does not fulfil.

A master’s degree can come in very handy for job promotions in such cases. 

Research

If you have a knack for innovation and creativity, you should definitely go for a master’s degree. Most of the times, the bachelor programs are focused on the basic technicalities of the subject offering little to no motivation for research and innovation.

If you find yourself to be a research-oriented person, a master’s degree is for you.

PhD

PhD is the highest academic qualification one can achieve. Having a PhD establishes your authority in your subject, and you are considered the most accomplished professional. Getting a master’s degree paves your way towards the PhD and is in most cases a pre-requisite of the universities.

If you would like to have that “Doctor” tag before your name, you should enroll for a master’s program today so you can pursue your PhD later.

Which subjects are essential for a master’s in mechanical engineering?

The main objective of a mechanical engineer is solving real-life problems and coming up with creative and innovative solutions to make industrial processes effective, efficient, and smoother within the lowest possible cost. 

A post-graduate mechanical engineer needs to have a strong grip on basic subjects like physics, mathematics, materials science, and statistics. The higher your command in these subjects, the higher becomes your probability of success in your higher studies. Variety of mechanical engineering courses are taught to the engineers.

What can lead to a delay in a master’s degree in mechanical engineering? 

As stated before, a 2-year time is what is advertised by most universities for new applicants who are aspiring to study in their institute, but certain scenarios can delay this time. Let us have a look at the most common reasons responsible for these delays:

Lengthy Thesis:

The most common reason for students not being able to complete their degrees in time is their thesis. A post-graduate thesis is usually a mandatory criterion for the successful completion of the degree. Students who opt for complex research topics for their MS thesis which have little to no previous literature available to help them end up taking more time than usual for its successful acceptance resulting in a delay of degree.

Part-time studies:

Since most of the post-graduate students are usually professionals doing jobs in demanding organizations, they go for an gradual approach selecting only two to three subjects at most in each semester. The requirement to complete the minimum number of credits however forces them to spend extra time to complete their degrees.

Failure in subjects:

Lack of attention, inability to comprehend and time constraints are some of the reasons that can cause failure in a subject. Failure in any of the undertaken subjects requires students to retake them until they can acquire adequate grades. 

Online Education: 

Online education is a useful alternative for students who wish to study in a particular institute but cannot travel to the country of their choice due to personal or financial issues. However, the virtual environments usually make it harder for students to do their research due to the unavailability of useful resources like research libraries, university professors, or supervisors. Online students cannot reap the benefits of being in direct contact with fellow researchers to discuss their ideas with. This usually means they have to spend additional time to complete their research.

Hopefully, this articles addresses your search for “how long is a masters degree in mechanical engineering?”.