4732 Boelter Hall
Box 951601
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1601
310-825-6542
Department website
Jenn-Ming Yang, PhD, Associate Dean
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 MS 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 MS programs are addressed to those highly qualified employed engineers who, for various reasons, do not attend the on-campus MS programs and who are keenly interested in developing up-to-date know-ledge of cutting-edge engineering and technology.
For admission information, see Graduate Programs Admission.
The following introductory information is based on 2022-23 program requirements for UCLA graduate degrees. Complete program requirements are available at Program Requirements for UCLA Graduate Degrees. Students are subject to the detailed degree requirements as published in program requirements for the year in which they enter the program.
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.
Junghoo (John) Cho, PhD (Computer Science), Area Director
Vwani P. Roychowdhury, PhD (Electrical and Computer Engineering), Area Director
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.
Leslie M. Lackman, PhD (Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering), Area Director
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.
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.
Jennifer A. Jay, PhD (Civil and Environmental Engineering), Area Director
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 in 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.
Ajit K. Mal, PhD (Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering), Area Director
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.
Ali Mosleh, PhD, NAE (Civil and Environmental Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering), Area Director
The program is designed with a fresh perspective that addresses the current needs of the industry for ensuring reliability of engineered products and services, but also anticipates future needs and pushes frontiers into the realms of machine learning, advanced prognostics and health monitoring, and advanced methods to tackle reliability of complex cyber-physical-human (CPH) systems.
Jenn-Ming Yang, PhD (Materials Science and Engineering), Interim Area Director
Systems 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.
Xiaolin Zhong, PhD (Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering), Area Director
The objective of this program is to provide students with a broad knowledge of major technical areas of aerospace engineering in order to fulfill the current and future needs of the aerospace industry. The major technical areas of this program include aerodynamics and computational fluid dynamics (CFD), propulsion, systems and control, and structures and dynamics. Undergraduate and graduate courses in the area of aerospace engineering cover a wide range of fundamental concepts of the science and engineering of aerodynamics, space technology, compressible flow, computational aerodynamics, aircraft and rocket propulsion systems, digital control of physical systems, linear dynamic systems, linear optimal control, design of aerospace structures, dynamics of structures, robust control system analysis and design, and probability and stochastic processes in dynamical systems.
Songwu Lu, PhD (Computer Science), Area Director
Three undergraduate elective courses complement the basic background of the undergraduate 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.
Izhak Rubin, PhD (Electrical and Computer Engineering), Area Director
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.
Ya-Hong Xie, PhD (Materials Science and Engineering), Area Director
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.
Dejan Markovic, PhD (Electrical and Computer Engineering), Area Director
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.
Xiaochun Li, PhD (Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering), Area Director
An advanced program of study that covers fundamental and applied topics in modern manufacturing and mechanical design. The program includes finite element methods in design, mechanics of intelligent materials systems, nano- and micro-manufacturing, material processing, rapid prototyping, composites manufacturing, design with composites, digital control, design of power transmission systems, design of high-temperature components, and design of smart grids. The program prepares students with the higher educational background and the competence that are necessary for today’s rapidly changing technology needs.
Yinmin (Morris) Wang, PhD (Materials Science and Engineering), Area Director
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 non-destructively.
Ajit K. Mal, PhD (Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering), Area Director
An advanced program of study that covers fundamental and applied topics in modern manufacturing and mechanical design. The program includes finite element methods in design, mechanics of intelligent material systems, nano- and micro-manufacturing, material processing, rapid prototyping, composites manufacturing, design with composites, digital control, design of power transmission systems, design of high-temperature components, and design of smart grids. The program prepares students with the higher educational background and the competence that are necessary for today’s rapidly changing technology needs.
Izhak Rubin, PhD (Electrical and Computer Engineering), Area Director
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.
Yinmin (Morris) Wang, PhD (Materials Science and Engineering), Area Director
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.