The US job market currently employs 1.6 million engineers. On
average, engineering jobs have been growing at a 7% rate in recent
years. The median salary for engineers with master’s degrees is 15 -
20% higher than engineers with bachelor’s degrees alone. Besides the
dramatic increase in earning potential over a career, engineers with
master’s degrees have greater opportunities for career advancement.
The Master of Science in Engineering (MSE) degree at GVSU produces
engineers with a practical, hands-on, graduate education rooted in a
strong theoretical foundation that our industry partners depend on to
meet their evolving needs. Located in the vibrant heart of downtown
Grand Rapids, our MSE program was established in 1998 to meet the
increasing demand for engineering talent in West Michigan, one of the
fastest growing technical, manufacturing, and industrial regions of
the state.
Our graduate program is flexible and designed to deepen student's
expertise -- offering opportunities for both, the student seeking a
more traditional, full-time research-based experience, and the working
professional choosing to attend part-time.
The MSE program prepares students to become technical leaders in
their profession as well as strong candidates for doctoral programs.
Our graduates go on to work with multinational companies like GE,
Stryker, and Ford, as well as smaller, local companies like
Dornerworks and Twisthink. A growing number of our graduates are also
pursuing PhDs at prestigious universities like Penn State,
Northwestern, and University of Michigan.
The MSE requires a minimum of 33 credit hours of graduate coursework
including emphasis-specific courses, electives, and a culminating
experience. Full-time students (9 graduate credits) typically complete
their graduate coursework in 4 semesters.
Each student works with the GPD to plan a course of study tailored to
their needs. For students with a non-engineering undergraduate degree,
this course plan will include undergraduate prerequisite courses to
fill in any knowledge gaps.
Most of our classes are offered in the evening providing convenient
scheduling for working professionals.
MSE students can choose to specialize in the following areas:
Applicants to the MSE program must have a Bachelor of Science
degree in Engineering, or a closely related field like Physics,
Mathematics, Biomedical Sciences, Engineering Technology etc.
Applicants must have a cumulative undergraduate GPA of at least 3.0
on a 4.0 scale. Applicants must submit an essay, three letters of
reference, their official transcripts, and a resume. Application fee
waiver requests may be made to [email protected], the engineering
program does not grant application fee waivers. Requests must include
an explanation of why you need the waiver.
International applicants must also submit satisfactory GRE scores
(≥300 for verbal+quant, ≥ 2.5 in writing) and show evidence of
proficiency in English via TOEFL (≥ 80), IELTS (≥ 6.5), Duolingo (≥
110), or ME Lab. More information for international applicants can be
found here.
Deadlines: March 31st for Fall semester (Sept - Dec)
start and September 1st for Winter semester (Jan - Apr) start.
Applications are accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis throughout
the year, but timely application is strongly encouraged to secure
course enrollment and for funding consideration.
GVSU is one of the very few universities to offer any funding
at the Master's level via Graduate Assistantships (full or
half). All funding decisions are made separate from the
admissions decision and there is no separate application that needs to
be filled out for funding consideration. Funding decisions are made on
a merit basis by the committee after it has reviewed all the admitted
students. We have a limited number of GAs to help support the teaching
mission of our program by working in the labs, supporting the
first-year engineering sequence, and helping our outreach efforts.
The combined degree program offer students the opportunity to
complete both an undergraduate and graduate degree, meeting their
unique personal, academic, and career goals. Pursuing a combined
degree program can reduce the cost and total time required to complete
both degrees, since up to 12 credits taken at the bachelor's level and
price can be counted towards the master's degree.
Only current GVSU engineering students are eligible to apply for the
Combined BSE/MSE Program.
Current students pursuing a BSE in Computer Engineering also have
the opportunity to do a combined degree and get an MS in Applied
Computer Science i.e. BSE/MS.
Accelerated MSE Program ("Faster Master")
The MSE program can be completed in three semesters/one academic year
via a 12/12/9 course credit format to complete the necessary 33
credits. Earlier degree completion allows students to start earning
earlier and recoup their program costs faster.
Applicants who have a Bachelor's degree and are not enrolled in the
MSE program can take graduate engineering classes at GVSU as a
non-degree seeking student. A maximum of 12 credits hours taken as
non-degree may be applied to a future MSE degree.
A digital badge, or badge, is a record of achievement that recognizes
a student's completion of a coherent and meaningful academic
experience. Engineering offers graduate badges in two areas:
An 8-credit badge designing electronic products that can be
successfully tested for EMC compliance.
An 8-credit badge that integrates hardware and software to design
microcontroller-based applications
Admissions to complete a digital badge is open to both degree and
non-degree seeking domestic students, and degree seeking international
students. If you are not currently a GVSU student, start your
application here.
Mission Statement: To prepare graduate students to become accomplished professionals; to contribute to our professions through active scholarship in all its forms; and to support society with expertise, leadership, and service
