University of California, Santa Barbara

Welcome Prospective Students!

The Department offers programs leading to the degrees of M.S./Ph.D and Ph.D. with a specialization in any of the following five areas: Computational Science and Engineering (CSE); Dynamical Systems, Control and Robotics (DCR); Micro and Nanoscale Engineering (MEMS); Solid Mechanics, Materials and Structures (SMMS); and Thermal Sciences and Fluid Mechanics (TFS).

The Department features outstanding faculty. Ten faculty members hold membership in the National Academy of Engineering, which reflects an exceptionally high national standing. Further, several faculty members have been awarded the most prestigious prizes and awards in their respective fields, including the NSF Career Award, the Sloan Fellowship, the Humboldt Senior Scientist Award, the APS Fluid Dynamics Prize, the ASM Gold Medal, and the SIAM Dahlquist Prize.

Faculty in the department look forward to the opportunity to collaborate with talented and motivated graduate students. Important goals we envision for our PhD students include: (1) a thorough understanding of current literature and the identification of fundamental research problems; (2) the development of a strong theoretical and experimental background and the proposal of innovative solutions to challenging problems; (3) the presentation and publication of research in the most prestigious journals and conferences; and (4) the development of teaching, laboratory, personal communication, team work and presentation skills.

The Department invites applications from keen students and offers a number of attractive fellowships and teaching and research assistantships. All applicants will be considered for financial aid during the review process. Our Department strives to create an environment attractive to all students, independently of race, gender, age, religion, socioeconomic status, and more. We strongly encourage underrepresented minorities and people with different cultures and backgrounds to apply.

It is our experience that students enjoy UC Santa Barbara's tradition of open collaboration and interdisciplinary research. Santa Barbara is a beautiful coastal campus with many cultural and recreational opportunities to augment student life. The overall environment is very supportive of scholarly and creative work.

Good luck!
Frederic Gibou
Graduate Program Advisor

For more information, please contact:

Laura Reynolds
Graduate Program Assistant

Department of Mechanical Engineering
University of California
Engineering II Bldg., Room 2355
Santa Barbara, CA 93106-5070
(805) 893-2239
megrad [at] engineering [dot] ucsb [dot] edu

 

For Prospective Graduate Students with Non-Mechanical Engineering Academic Backgrounds:

Students applying to the UCSB Mechanical Engineering Graduate program who do not have an academic background in Engineering Sciences need to demonstrate knowledge in the following areas:

  • Thermodynamics
  • Fluid Mechanics
  • Vibrations
  • Structures and Materials

UCSB Undergraduate upper division courses covering the above topics include:

  • ME 151A,B,C - Thermodynamics
  • ME 152A,B - Fluid Mechanics
  • ME 163 - Engineering Mechanics: Vibrations
  • MATRL 101 - Intro to Structure and Properties of Materials

The material covered in lower division courses, Statics (ME 14), Strength of Materials (ME 15), and Engineering Mechanics: Dynamics (ME 16) is sometimes covered in majors other than ME.  Students not familiar with these topics are responsible for knowing and understanding their content (please refer to the textbooks listed on the course websites).

Non-ME students will be permitted to take any of the above courses if they meet the prerequisites for the course and if there is space available.  Students should contact the instructors to determine if they meet the course prerequisites and the ME Undergraduate Advisor once they have received permission from the instructor to enroll in the course.