MS or ME

I know most guys try and understand what exactly is the difference between these two differing degrees. After all, both must have some difference since in many cases the same university confers both of them. We know the difference essentially is limited to thesis in MS and more courses in ME. However, I would list some description of the two thanks to wikipedia. I will limit the discussion to the US education system and thus please don’t confuse it with the system here in India or UK.

The Master of Arts (Magister Artium) and Master of Science (Magister Scientiæ) degrees are the basic type of degrees in most subjects and may be entirely course-based, entirely research-based or (more typically) a mixture.

Admission to a master’s program is normally contingent upon holding a bachelor’s degree, and progressing to a doctoral program usually requires a master’s degree. In some fields or graduate programs, work on a doctorate begins immediately after the bachelors degree. Some programs provide for a joint bachelor’s and master’s degree after about five years.

In the United States, the Master of Engineering degree is generally a Professional degree offered as a coursework-based alternative to the traditional research-based Master of Science. It is typically a two-year program, and many universities allow students to choose between the Master of Engineering and the Master of Science.

However, in the mid-1980s at least one engineering school, the University of Washington in Seattle, offered a Master of Engineering (M.Eng) degree with the following 1984-86 General Catalog description: “The Master of Engineering program is intended to provide course work and research beyond that for the degree of Master of Science in Aeronautics and Astronautics. The student must complete an approved program of study and research, which usually consists of a prior Master of Science degree, followed by a minimum 30 credits of course work and a 9-credit thesis.” The University no longer offers this M.Eng degree program. Instead, it now has two programs essentially similar to the description in the paragraph above.

Thus in essence, the MS option generally has associated research work. But it can also be finished under the non-thesis option. At the same time, ME is composed of course work and does not have any research or thesis involved. It is geared for a job in the industry unlike MS which paves the way for further research and possibly a PhD.

Top ten MEngg programs in USA according to USNEWS and World Report:

1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2. Stanford University (CA)
3. University of California–Berkeley
4. Georgia Institute of Technology
5. University of Illinois–Urbana-Champaign
6. Carnegie Mellon University (PA)
7. California Institute of Technology
8. University of Southern California (Viterbi)
9. University of Michigan–Ann Arbor
10. Cornell University (NY)

Enrollment Trends in USA

I recently read an article in Engineering trends and decided to share some data pertaining to enrollment trends!

Based on the enrollment data presented, Engineering Trends anticipates continued growth of degrees in mechanical, civil, aerospace, biological, petroleum and nuclear engineering through AY2006-07. Degrees in industrial engineering are expected to remain essentially constant through this period. Electrical engineering degrees will continue to grow slowly for a few years and then remain constant. Geological/mining and chemical engineering will continue to decline slowly for a few years and then become constant.

Decreasing degrees are expected in a number of disciplines in the period through AY2006-07. Management and manufacturing engineering will continue their slow decline. Materials science and engineering and environmental engineering, in spite of their Fall 2002 full-time enrollment data, should show slowly declining degrees. Systems engineering is expected to increase for a few years and then enter a period of degree decline. “Computer” appears to be taking on an entirely new trend. A period of degree decline is predicted.

Acknowledgment
The degree data for this study originated from the annual surveys of the Engineering Workforce Commission of the American Association of Engineering Societies. engineering trends acknowledges their efforts in providing credible data and expresses its gratitude for their services to the engineering profession. The data here is not limited to graduates. But the trend here is a very good indicator of the overall enrollment trends being seen in the States.