Master of Engineering in Systems Engineering

Are you are interested in the University of Virginia Master of Engineering program in systems engineering?

Please complete this PRE-APPLICATION FORM so we may give you guidance regarding your eligibility and the next steps in the application process. Information you provide through this form is secure.

We will send you an individual response, and we will not add you to a general mailing list. (Note: People who have substantial experience and have been out of school for a while may not remember exact dates or grades earned in courses. It is permissible to omit questions or list your best guess. We will follow up with you.) 

The deadlines for ME applications for U.S. citizens and permanent residents are Aug. 15 for fall semester and Jan. 15 for spring semester. The deadlines for non-U.S. citizens are Apr. 1 for fall semester and Oct. 1 for spring semester. We seek motivated students from DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS who are eager to partner with us in education and discovery. Information about academic eligibility and the admissions process is available on the UVA ENGINEERING SCHOOL’S GRADUATE ADMISSIONS webpage. All applications are submitted online. Application FEE WAIVERS are available to eligible applicants.

Through the generosity of our friends and alumni, our department is pleased to award scholarships to select exceptionally qualified ME candidates. Recipients receive $5,000 per academic year. All candidates are evaluated by the graduate program directors on academic performance, and at their discretion, the recipients are selected. The selected recipients are notified with a letter from the department.

A candidate for the ME degree must fulfill the general requirements of the Engineering School and complete an approved plan of study consisting of at least 30 credit hours. The plan of study must be prepared under the guidance of the faculty advisor by the end of the first semester of study. It then must be approved by the graduate program directors.

The approved plan of study may be revised if necessary but must be submitted for approval.

Up to 12 credit hours of graduate courses may be transferred. Only courses with a grade of B or better that have not been applied toward another degree may be transferred. The request for credit transfer must include the following documents: a completed REQUEST APPROVAL OF TRANSFER CREDITS FORM, a description of course content and level, and an official transcript. The documents are provided to the ESE Student Services Coordinators to facilitate processing of the request. If the student is already admitted into a UVA program, then the request for credit transfer must be preapproved before the course is taken. All transfer credits are subject to the approval of the student's advisor and the Engineering School dean’s office.

VEO students may transfer up to 15 credits from other schools participating in the VEO program toward their UVA ME degree. The other VEO institutions are George Mason University, Old Dominion University, Virginia Commonwealth University and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech). Students in the on-Grounds ME program may register for up to 12 credit hours of courses offered through VEO.

Time limit: All requirements for the ME/AMP/VEO degree must be completed within seven years after matriculation to the graduate program.

The ME degree in SE program is built of two components:

• Core courses, supplying the fundamentals of systems engineering
• Elective courses, focusing on techniques of analysis and application of fundamentals to a problem area

The plan of study must include at least 30 credit hours of graduate-level work and satisfy the following requirements. In addition, the plan of study should be approved by the student’s graduate advisor and SE graduate program director.

• Nine credit hours of core courses: SYS 6001, plus six credit hours from SYS 6003, SYS 6005, SYS 6007 and SYS 6021.
• At least 21 credit hours of elective courses distributed thusly:
  • At least 12 credit hours of graduate-level systems engineering courses. (These credit hours cannot be earned through Independent Study SYS 6993 and SYS 7993; Supervised Project Research SYS 6995 and SYS 8995; Graduate Teaching Instruction SYS 8997 and SYS 9997; Thesis SYS 8999; and Dissertation SYS 9999.)
  • No more than three credit hours of Independent Study SYS 6993 or SYS 7993.
  • No more than three credit hours of Supervised Project Research SYS 8995.
  • 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.)

Prerequisites: The student who does not have the prerequisites (e.g., calculus, linear algebra, probability and statistics, computer programming) should take articulation courses. The SE ME program advisor will work with the student to identify the required articulation courses. These courses cannot be used to satisfy the degree requirements.

Equivalent Courses: The student who, prior to enrolling in the SE ME program, has already taken a course equivalent to a core course may petition the ME program advisor for the substitution of the core course by an elective course.

Upon admission to the program, the student is assigned to the ME program faculty advisor. The student should meet with ME program advisor to plan their course selection and career objectives before the start of each semester.

Seminars: Students are expected to attend and participate actively in scheduled ESE and UVA seminars.

It is important that graduate students submit administrative forms related to degree requirements in a timely manner to the ESE student services coordinators. These forms can be found on the Engineering School’s webpage for current engineering graduate students.