2017-2018 Master of Science in Engineering Online Programs

7440 Boelter Hall
Box 951601
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1601

310-825-6542
http://www.msol.ucla.edu

Jenn-Ming Yang, Ph.D., Associate Dean

Scope and Objectives

The primary purpose of the Master of Science in Engineering online degree programs is to enable employed engineers and computer scientists to augment their technical education beyond the Bachelor of Science degree and to enhance their value to the technical organizations in which they are employed. The training and education that the programs offer are of significant importance and usefulness to engineers, their employers, California, and the nation. It is at the M.S. level that engineers have the opportunity to learn a specialization in depth, and those engineers with advanced degrees may also renew and update their knowledge of the technology advances that continue to occur at an accelerating rate.

The M.S. programs are addressed to those highly qualified employed engineers who, for various reasons, do not attend the on-campus M.S. programs and who are keenly interested in developing up-to-date knowledge of cutting-edge engineering and technology.

Graduate Study

For information on graduate admission, see Graduate Programs, page 25.

The following introductory information is based on the 2017-18 edition of Program Requirements for UCLA Graduate Degrees. Complete annual editions of Program Requirements are available at https://grad.ucla.edu. Students are subject to the degree requirements as published in Program Requirements for the year in which they enter the program.

M.S. in Engineering Online Programs

Course Requirements

The programs consist of nine courses that make up a program of study. At least five courses must be at the 200 level, and one must be a directed study course. The latter course satisfies the University of California requirement for a capstone event (in the on-campus program the requirement is covered by a comprehensive examination or a thesis); the directed study course consists of an engineering design project that is better suited for the working engineer/computer scientist.

The programs are structured in a manner that allows employed engineers/computer scientists to complete the requirements at a part-time pace (e.g., one 100/200-level course per term). Courses are scheduled so that the programs can be completed within two academic years plus one additional term.

Areas of Study

Engineering Management Program

Leslie M. Lackman, Ph.D. (Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering), Director; llackman@support.ucla.edu.

The engineering management program focuses on providing entering and current engineering management personnel an opportunity to expand their business-related knowledge base and skills to enhance employment performance to the benefit of both the employee and employer. The program offers similar curriculum to that currently offered on campus by the professional schools.

The program has a strong on-campus component to enhance social networking, communications, and team building skills. All Internet-available lecturers are offered 24/7, with a weekly homeroom time to enhance the taped lectures and promote class interaction. The homerooms are held in early evenings to facilitate nonimpact with employee work schedules. All on-campus events are held on Saturday mornings.

Environment and Water Resources Program

Jennifer A. Jay, Ph.D. (Civil and Environmental Engineering), Director; jjay@seas.ucla.edu

Plentiful high-quality water is fundamental for society. However, drought, climate change, contamination, and growing populations pose challenges for water sustainability. Engineers are needed worldwide to find novel solutions providing access to clean water. Key elements in this degree program are surface and groundwater processes, hydroclimatology, watershed response to disturbance, remote sensing for hydrologic applications, membrane separation in aqueous systems, aquatic chemistry, environmental microbiology, and the chemical fate, geochemical modeling, and transport of contaminants in the environment.

Mechanics of Structures Program

Ajit K. Mal, Ph.D. (Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering), Director; ajit@seas.ucla.edu

The main objective of the mechanics of structures program is to provide students with the opportunity to develop the knowledge required for the analysis and synthesis of modern engineered structures. The fundamental concepts of linear and nonlinear elasticity, plasticity, fracture mechanics, finite element analysis, mechanics of composites, and structural vibrations are developed in a series of undergraduate and graduate courses.

These concepts are then applied in solving industry-relevant problems in a number of graduate-level courses. Students develop hands-on experience in using popular finite element packages for solving realistic structural analysis problems.

System Engineering Program

Christopher S. Lynch, Ph.D. (Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering), Director; cslynch@seas.ucla.edu

System engineering has broad applications that include software, hardware, materials, and electrical and mechanical systems. A set of four core courses is offered that form the foundation of the system engineering program. The sequence of courses is designed for working professionals who are faced with design, development, support, and maintenance of complex systems.

For students who already hold an M.S. degree, a separate certificate of completion of the system engineering program can be earned by completing three of the core courses. See http://www.msol.ucla.edu/system-engineering/.

Data Science Engineering Program

Junghoo (John) Cho, Ph.D. (Computer Science), Director; cho@cs.ucla.edu

Vwani P. Roychowdhury, Ph.D. (Electrical and Computer Engineering), Director; vwani@ee.ucla.edu

The exponential growth of data generated by machines and humans present unprecedented challenges and opportunities. From the analysis of this big data, businesses can learn key insights about their customers to make informed business decisions. Scientists can discover previously unknown patterns hidden deep inside the mountains of data. In this program, students will learn key techniques used to design and build big data systems and gain familiarity with data-mining and machine-learning techniques that are the foundations behind successful information search, predictive analysis, smart personalization, and many other technology-based solutions to important problems in business and science.

M.S. in Engineering—Aerospace

Xiaolin Zhong, Ph.D. (Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering), Director; xiaolin@seas.ucla.edu

The main objective of the program is to provide students with broad knowledge of the major technical areas of aerospace engineering to fulfill the current and future needs of the aerospace industry. Major technical areas include aerodynamics and computational fluid dynamics (CFD), systems and control, and structures and dynamics. Courses cover fundamental concepts of science and engineering of aerodynamics, compressible flow, computational aerodynamics, digital control of physical systems, linear dynamic systems, linear optimal control, design of aerospace structures, and dynamics of structures. Through a graduate course, students also gain skills in the development and application of CFD codes for solving practical aerospace problems.

If students have taken Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering 150B, 154B, and 171B or the equivalent at their undergraduate institutions, they can take other online-offered courses, approved by the area director, as substitute courses. In addition, students are required to complete a project on a topic related to the three major areas of this program.

M.S. in Engineering—Computer Networking

Mario Gerla, Ph.D. (Computer Science), Director; gerla@cs.ucla.edu

Three undergraduate elective courses complement the basic background of the undergraduate electrical engineering or computer science degree with concepts in security, sensors, and wireless communications. The graduate courses expose students to key applications and research areas in the network and distributed systems field. Two required graduate courses cover the Internet and emerging sensor embedded systems. The electives probe different applications domains, including wireless mobile networks, security, network management, distributed P2P systems, and multimedia applications.

M.S. in Engineering—Electrical

Izhak Rubin, Ph.D. (Electrical and Computer Engineering), Director; rubin@ee.ucla.edu

The electrical engineering program covers a broad spectrum of specializations in communications and telecommunications, control systems, electromagnetics, embedded computing systems, engineering optimization, integrated circuits and systems, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), nanotechnology, photonics and optoelectronics, plasma electronics, signal processing, and solid-state electronics.

M.S. in Engineering—Electronic Materials

Ya-Hong Xie, Ph.D. (Materials Science and Engineering), Director; yhx@ucla.edu

The electronic materials program provides students with a knowledge set that is highly relevant to the semiconductor industry. The program has four essential attributes: theoretical background, applied knowledge, exposure to theoretical approaches, and introduction to the emerging field of microelectronics, namely organic electronics. All faculty members have industrial experience and are currently conducting active research in these subject areas.

M.S. in Engineering—Integrated Circuits

Dejan Markovic, Ph.D. (Electrical and Computer Engineering), Director; dejan@ee.ucla.edu

The integrated circuits program includes analog integrated circuit (IC) design, design and modeling of VLSI circuits and systems, RF circuit and system design, signaling and synchronization, VLSI signal processing, and communication system design. Summer courses are not yet offered in this program; therefore it cannot currently be completed in two calendar years.

M.S. in Engineering—Manufacturing and Design

Nasr M. Ghoniem, Ph.D. (Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering), Director; ghoniem@ucla.edu

The manufacturing and design program covers a broad spectrum of fundamental and advanced topics, including mechanical systems, digital control systems, microdevices and nanodevices, wireless systems, failure of materials, composites, and computational geometry. The program prepares students with the higher educational background that is necessary for today’s rapidly changing technology needs.

M.S. in Engineering—Materials Science

Jenn-Ming Yang, Ph.D. (Materials Science and Engineering), Director; jyang@seas.ucla.edu

Materials engineering is concerned with the design, fabrication, and testing of engineering materials that must simultaneously fulfill dimensional properties, quality control, and economic requirements. Several manufacturing steps may be involved: (1) primary fabrication, such as solidification or vapor deposition of homogeneous or composite materials, (2) secondary fabrication, including shaping and microstructural control by operations such as mechanical working, machining, sintering, joining, and heat treatment, and (3) testing, which measures the degree of reliability of a processed part, destructively or nondestructively.

M.S. in Engineering—Mechanical

Ajit K. Mal, Ph.D. (Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering), Director; ajit@seas.ucla.edu

The mechanical engineering program offers students advanced study in a number of areas, including mechanical behavior of materials, structures, fluids, controls, and manufacturing.

M.S. in Engineering—Signal Processing and Communications

Izhak Rubin, Ph.D. (Electrical and Computer Engineering), Director; rubin@ee.ucla.edu

The program provides training in a set of related topics in signal processing and communications. Students receive advanced training in multimedia systems from the fundamentals of media representation and compression through transmission of signals over communications links and networks.

M.S. in Engineering—Structural Materials

Jenn-Ming Yang, Ph.D. (Materials Science and Engineering), Director; jyang@seas.ucla.edu

The program provides students with a broad knowledge of structural materials. Courses cover fundamental concepts of science and engineering of lightweight advanced metallic and composite materials, fracture mechanics, damage tolerance and durability, failure analysis and prevention, nondestructive evaluation, structural integrity and life prediction, and design of aerospace structures. Students are required to complete a project on a topic related to structural materials.