Graduate Programs

The Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering offers programs of study leading to M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in mechanical engineering. Graduate students will have the opportunity to work closely with internationally recognized faculty members on research at the leading edge of technology in fields such as:

• Aerospace technology through the Kentucky Space Grant Consortium and EPSCoR programs. Research awards are competitive and often involve working with NASA on research methods for future NASA missions
• Next-generation manufacturing through the Institute for Sustainable Manufacturing. ISM seeks to create products, processes and systems designed to significantly enhance manufacturing productivity, efficiency and quality – pioneering new manufacturing standards which respect the planet’s resources
• Energy and environmental solutions through the Institute of Research for Technological Development (IR4TD). Areas of study include experimental combustion studies, fire research, painting technology research, lean manufacturing systems and scale modeling in engineering
• The Power and Energy Institute of Kentucky (PEIK) was created to broaden power and energy education programs at the University of Kentucky through the development of new courses and undergraduate and graduate certificate programs, as well as offering professional development/continuing education programs to current engineers who require additional education to address current power and energy issues

The department, in collaboration with the College of Engineering’s UK Center for Manufacturing (UKCM), has several research laboratories: Acoustics Lab, Advanced Structures Lab, CAD/CAM/CAE Lab, Combustion and Fire Research Lab, Computational Fluid Dynamics Systems (CFD) Lab, Engineering Metrology Lab, Fluid Mechanics Lab, Machine Vision Lab, Machining Dynamics Systems Lab, Machining Research Lab, Manufacturing Simulation and Tribology Research Lab, Nonlinear Dynamics Research Lab, Metal Forming Research Lab, Non-traditional Manufacturing Processes Lab, Phase Change and Microgravity Heat Transfer Lab, Radiative Transfer and Optics Lab, Rapid Prototyping Lab, Robotics Lab, Thermal Sensing Lab, and Welding Research Lab.

Graduate Bulletin