M.S. in Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering - Computational Fluid and Solid Mechanics

Admission requirements follow the general admission rules for aerospace and mechanical engineering graduate programs. For admission requirements, refer to Viterbi Graduate Degrees and Requirements at USC Viterbi School of Engineering.

The Master of Science in Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering (Computational Fluid and Solid Mechanics), consistent with the general M.S. degrees in Aerospace Engineering and Mechanical Engineering, prepares the student to practice engineering at an advanced level in a specialization within aerospace and mechanical engineering and to recognize the benefit of solving problems using expertise from other engineering disciplines. Students improve their skills in setting up and solving problems by using contemporary tools and leveraging interaction with peers. In addition, this degree introduces students to the computational techniques and tools used in the analysis and design of systems involving complex flows and solid structures.

The program prepares students for professional careers in engineering companies that develop products using computational tools of fluid and solid mechanics. The program also provides the necessary background for pursuing higher degrees, Engineer and PhD, in aerospace and mechanical engineering with specializations in computational fluid mechanics, computational solid mechanics and computational heat transfer. The degree course work provides a necessary background in basic aerospace and mechanical engineering disciplines (solid mechanics, fluid mechanics, heat transfer), engineering mathematics and numerical methods. The advanced computational technical electives provide practical examples using existing numerical programs to simulate structures, heat transfer and fluid flows as well as commercial packages.

The M.S. in Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering (Computational Fluid & Solid Mechanics) program requires completion of a minimum of 27 units with at least 18 units at the 500 level, and a 3.0 GPA overall. A minimum of 15 units must be AME 500-level courses including AME 525. See details below.

• 4 units of AME 525 Engineering Analysis
• 15 units of Core Requirement courses (see list below)
• One Core Elective course in Fluid/Solid Dynamics (see list below)
• One Core Elective course in Numerical Methods (see list below)
• Remaining units to add to 27 can be from approved 400 or 500 elective courses
  • Elective courses may be from AME, Math, Physics, or other Engineering Departments (ASTE, BME, CE, CHE, CSCI, DSCI, EE, ENE, ENGR, ISE, ITP, MASC, PTE, SAE)
  • No more than 3 units of AME 590 Directed Research can be taken as elective credit
  • No more than 9 units can be taken at the 400 level

**Courses listed are either 3 or 4 units each.**

Applied Math Requirement (1 course = 4 units):
AME 525 Engineering Analysis (4 units)

Core Requirements (4 courses = 15 units):
AME 530a Dynamics of Incompressible Fluids (4 units)
AME 535a Introduction to Computational Fluid Mechanics (3 units)

AME 509 Applied Elasticity (4 units)
or AME 507 Mechanics of Solids I (4 units) (Cross-listed with CE 507; students enroll in CE 507)

AME 528 Finite Element Analysis (4 units) (Cross-listed with CE 529; students enroll in CE 529)

Core Elective in Fluid/Solid Dynamics (select 1 course = 3-4 units):
AME 506 Continuum Mechanics (4 units)
AME 511 Compressible Gas Dynamics (4 units)
AME 513a Principles of Combustion (4 units)
AME 521 Engineering Vibrations II (4 units) (Pre-req: AME 420 or equivalent)
AME 529 Aircraft Structures Analysis (4 units)
AME 651 Statistical Theories of Turbulence (3 units)

Core Elective in Numerical Methods (select 1 course = 3-4 units):
AME 404 Computational Solutions to Engineering Problems (3 units)
AME 415 Turbine Design and Analysis (3 units)
AME 579 Numerical Modeling of Single and Multiphase reactive flows (4 units)
AME 535b Introduction to Computational Fluid Mechanics II (3 units)
CE 529b Finite Element Analysis (3 units)
ASTE 545 Computational Techniques in Rarefied Gas Dynamics (4 units)
MASC 575 Basics of Atomistic Simulation of Materials (4 units)
MASC 576 Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Materials and Processes (4 units)