Systems Engineering

Master of Engineering (M.E.) is a graduate professional degree for those wishing to pursue careers in industry, consulting, or government. Our program is designed to provide a blend of fundamental knowledge and professional skills needed by

• practicing systems engineers,
• management engineers,
• entrepreneurial engineers.

It is an intensive, non-thesis, 12-month program built of five components.

A candidate for the Master of Engineering degree must fulfill the general requirements of the School of Engineering and Applied Science and must complete an approved plan of study consisting of at least 32 credit hours.

Required Credits

The plan of study must include at least 32 credit hours of graduate-level work and must satisfy the following requirements.

• 9 credit hours of core courses SYS 6001, SYS 6043 or SYS 6003, SYS 6005 or SYS 6045
• 18 or more credit hours of elective courses distributed thusly:
  • At least 9 credit hours of systems engineering courses at the 6000 or 7000 level. These credit hours cannot be earned through Independent Study SYS 6993 and SYS 7993, Supervised Project Research SYS 6995 and SYS 8995. Students enrolled in the Accelerated Master’s Program complete SYS 6002, Systems Integration, in lieu of SYS 8995.
  • No more than 3 credit hours of Independent Study SYS 6993 or SYS 7993
  • No more than 3 credit hours at the 5000-level from the School of Engineering and Applied Science. (The 5000-level courses in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences are nominally equivalent to 6000-level courses in the School of Engineering and Applied Science.)
• 2 or more credit hours of Systems Engineering Colloquium, SYS 7096. The student should register for one credit hour in each semester, the Fall semester and the Spring semester. Students enrolled in the CGEP Master’s of Engineering Program take a 2 or 3 credit elective in lieu of SYS 7096, typically SYS 8995.
• 3 or more credit hours of Supervised Project Research, SYS 8995. The student must complete a project under the guidance of a faculty advisor. It should be a state-of-the-art application of systems engineering methodology or technique to a real-world problem, documented in a written report.  Students enrolled in the Accelerated Master’s Program complete SYS6002, Systems Integration, in lieu of SYS 8995.

Fall Semester

Nominal plan of study for on-grounds students.
Credits: 13

• SYS 6001 - Introduction to Systems Analysis & Design Credits: 3
• SYS 6003 - Optimization Models and Methods I Credits: 3
• SYS 6005 - Stochastic Modeling I Credits: 3
• Elective = 3 Credits
• SYS 7096 - Systems Engineering Colloquium Credits: 1

Spring Semester

Credits: 13

• SYS xxxx Systems Engineering Elective Credits: 3
• SYS xxxx Systems Engineering Elective Credits: 3
• SYS xxxx Systems Engineering Elective Credits: 3
• XXX XXXX Elective Credits: 3
• SYS 7096 - Systems Engineering Colloquium Credits: 1

Summer Session

Credits: 6

• SYS 8995 - Supervised Project Research Credits: 1 to 12
• Elective Credits: 3

Minimum total number of credit hours 32

• The on-line application.
• Transcripts of all academic work.
• Three letters of recommendation.
• Applicant’s Statement of Purpose essay.
• $85 fee paid with VISA, MasterCard, Discover, or American Express
• Graduate Records Exam (GRE) general test scores (Institution code 5820)
• TOEFL or IELTS scores for applicants whose native language is not English. If you are a Permanent Resident of the U.S. or if you have a bachelor degree entirely at an institution where English is the primary language of instruction, you do NOT need to provide these scores.

Want to improve your English level for admission?

Prepare for the program requirements with English Online by the British Council.

• ✔️ Flexible study schedule
• ✔️ Experienced teachers
• ✔️ Certificate upon completion

📘 Recommended for students with an IELTS level of 6.0 or below.

Enroll in the course

Scholarships

The U.Va. School of Engineering and Applied Science offers financial support to graduate students through assistantships and fellowships ordinarily consisting of a stipend and payment of all tuition and fees including health insurance. Most superior students in research degree programs (Master of Science and Ph.D.) can expect to receive aid of some kind for up to five years, though support will vary by department and funding source. Students must be nominated by their department to be considered for a fellowship or assistantship. Students receiving financial aid from the School of Engineering and Applied Science must be registered as full-time graduate students during the period of the award, defined as at least 12 credits of lecture-laboratory courses and/or research during the academic year, must maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 and must also maintain satisfactory progress toward a degree. Graduate research assistants must register for a minimum of 6 credits of research during the summer term. Students receiving financial aid are not permitted to have other employment without approval of the Office of Associate Dean for Graduate Programs. Students are awarded financial assistance to enable them to devote maximum effort to graduate studies. Financial aid for graduate students is available in several forms:

Graduate Research Assistantships

Graduate Research Assistants are assigned to work with a faculty member on a specific research project which should culminate in a project report, thesis, or dissertation. Full-time graduate research assistants may not carry a load of more than 9 credits of lecture-laboratory courses but must register each semester for enough additional credits of teaching/research to maintain full-time student status.

Graduate Teaching Assistantships

Graduate Teaching Assistants are assigned to assist a faculty member teaching a specific lecture/laboratory course. The assigned duties will depend on the course and instructor. Graduate teaching assistants may not carry a load of more than 9 credits of lecture-laboratory courses but must register each semester for enough teaching/research credit to maintain full-time student status.

Fellowships

Fellowships are intended to allow graduate students to devote full time to learning opportunities in the classroom and laboratory. No work duties, in a pay for service sense, are required, but good academic progress, including research for the thesis or dissertation, is essential. Some programs, during fellowship support, will include research and teaching duties as part of the usual academic requirements for the degree. Stipends are competitive with those offered by other universities.