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Mechanical Engineering

Master's
Overview
Application Requirements
Career Outcomes
Faculty
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Application Deadlines
Fall: Jan 15
Spring: Nov 15 (domestic only), Oct 15 (international)
Summer: n/a
School/Department
Mechanical Engineering
Contact
gradadmissions@tufts.edu
Location
Medford/Somerville
Format
On-campus
Commitment Options
Full-time
Part-time (Daytime)
Average Duration
12 - 24 months
Credits
30

Overview

In the Department of Mechanical Engineering, you'll work extensively with the tools you need to succeed across many different engineering industries, such as automotive, aerospace, shipping, power, heating and cooling, and machinery‚ as well as the new and emerging fields of robotics, micro-devices and nano-devices, and medical equipment.

Program Highlights

The master's program in mechanical engineering provides students with opportunities to strengthen their technical backgrounds for pursuing successful professional careers in engineering research, development and management.

Our program is distinguished by its opportunities to work closely with faculty. Graduate students have the chance to collaborate with and learn from some of the most renowned experts in the country, all while seamlessly transitioning from graduate studies to a full-time career.

Applicants do not declare a thesis or non-thesis option upon submitting their application. After matriculation, a thesis option may be selected with the support of a faculty advisor.

Common research areas include:

  • Thermo-fluid systems
  • Material mechanics and processing
  • Robotic, autonomous, and aerospace systems
  • Product design and human factors engineering
  • Engineering education

Graduate Cooperative Education (Co-Op) Program

The School of Engineering's Graduate Cooperative Education (Co-Op) Program provides students with the opportunity to apply the theoretical principles they have learned in their coursework to real-world engineering projects. Gain up to six months of full-time work experience, build your resume, and develop a competitive advantage for post-graduation employment. Learn more about the Co-Op Program.

Program Outcomes

Mechanical engineers participate in every phase of the research and development process. Regardless of what industry you're in, you'll invent, analyze, and manufacture mechanical components and systems to help solve a particular problem or create a new product.

With an MS from Tufts School of Engineering, you'll graduate with a high level of comfort working in computational design and simulation tools‚ allowing you to apply the principles of your mechanical engineering degree to virtually any field. That's the beauty of mechanical engineering. Countless industries need designers and thinkers with a systems background in solving complex engineering problems‚ and that's exactly what you'll offer.

Careers for graduates include:

  • Manufacturing engineer
  • Systems engineer
  • Aerospace engineer
  • Robotics engineer
  • Automotive engineer
  • Waste management engineer
  • Marine and ocean engineer
  • HVAC engineer
  • Nuclear engineer
  • Bioengineer
  • Agricultural engineer

Application Requirements

A key admission requirement is strong academic background in mechanical engineering or a related technical discipline.

  • Application Fee
  • Resume/CV
  • Personal Statement
  • Transcripts
  • Three letters of recommendation
  • Official TOEFL, IELTS, or Duolingo test scores (if applicable)
    • Mechanical Engineering requires a minimum TOEFL score of 100, IELTS score of 7.5, or Duolingo score of 120 for admittance
  • GRE General Test scores are not required
  • Portfolio (optional)

Tuition and Financial Aid

We recognize that attending graduate school involves a significant financial investment. Our team is here to answer your questions about tuition rates and scholarship opportunities.

Please contact us at gradadmissions@tufts.edu.

Career Outcomes

Engineers solder wire to a metal device

Average Salary: $99K+

Projected Job Growth (2022-2032): 10%


*Sources: Average salary and projected job growth statistics are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook.

Faculty

faculty photo

Jason Rife

Professor and Chair of Mechanical Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
navigation, safety-critical transportation systems, state estimation, human-robot interaction
faculty photo

Nadine Aubry

Professor and Senior Advisor to the Dean of Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
Fluid dynamics, turbulence, reduced modeling of complex systems, dynamical systems theory, chaotic mixing, microfluidics, electrohydrodynamics, manipulation and assembly of nanoscale particles in microfluidics, biofluids
faculty photo

Luisa Chiesa

Professor
Mechanical Engineering
sustainable energy, superconducting materials, materials science
faculty photo

Ryan Cosner

Visiting Assistant Professor
Mechanical Engineering
Ryan's research lies at the intersection of control theory, machine learning, and robotics, with the goal of enabling provably safe and dynamic robot autonomy in uncertain real-world settings. His work bridges theory and practice through the development of risk-aware control frameworks, efficient deployable algorithms, and validation on a wide range of robot platforms. His ultimate goal is to create safety methods that inspire trust and provide us with the confidence needed to deploy high-performance autonomous robots at scale. **Recruiting new PhD students for admission in Fall 2026.**
faculty photo

Jeffrey Guasto

Professor
Mechanical Engineering
biophysics and soft matter, microscale fluid mechanics and transport phenomena, microfluidic devices
faculty photo

Daniel Hannon

Professor of the Practice
Mechanical Engineering
human factors, airspace systems
faculty photo

Trevion Henderson

Assistant Professor
Mechanical Engineering
Engineering education; Diversity, equity, and inclusion; team-based engineering pedagogies; engineering design thinking
faculty photo

Marc Hodes

Professor
Mechanical Engineering
heat transfer, apparent slip, thermal management of electronics, mass transfer in supercritical fluids and thermoelectricity, material science
faculty photo

Felix Huang

Lecturer
Mechanical Engineering
human factors, human motor learning, human motor control, neuro-rehabilitation, robotics, virtual reality, surgery skill training
faculty photo

James Intriligator

Professor of the Practice
Mechanical Engineering
Human Factors Engineering, Innovation, Design Thinking, AI-powered Innovation and R&D, Human Machine System Design, Robotics, Machine Learning, Perception, Psychology
faculty photo

Mark Kachanov

Professor
Mechanical Engineering
Mechanics of materials; effective properties of heterogeneous materials; microstructure-property relationships; applications to material science
faculty photo

Erica Kemmerling

Associate Teaching Professor
Mechanical Engineering
Fluid mechanics, flow in the human body, hemodynamics, aneurysms, heart development, flow in tumors, cardiac assist devices
faculty photo

Hungtang Ko

Visiting Assistant Professor
Mechanical Engineering
Hungtang Ko's research focuses on the collective organization of biological collectives and robot swarms in fluid environments. He conducts animal experiments, simulates agent-based models, and designs biomimetic robots to investigate the physical interaction among insect swarms and fish schools. Beyond his core research, his diverse research interests extend to traffic flow, animal biomechanics, and the physics of wok tossing. **Recruiting new PhD students for admission in Fall 2026**
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Hoda Koushyar

Assistant Teaching Professor
Mechanical Engineering
biomechanics, applied mechanics, materials characterization, engineering education
faculty photo

Gary Leisk

Teaching Professor
Mechanical Engineering
machine design, nondestructive testing
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Douglas Matson

Professor
Mechanical Engineering
solidification processes, thermal manufacturing, machine design, materials science
faculty photo

Markus Nemitz

Assistant Professor
Mechanical Engineering
Pushing towards his vision of rapidly designing robots and materializing them at points of impact, Prof. Nemitz's research interests encompass 3D-printable robots, real-time adaptive additive manufacturing, and automated discovery processes for robotic materials.
faculty photo

Chris Rogers

John R. Beaver Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
Engineering Education, Human Robot Interaction, Mechanical Engineering, Music Engineering, Artificial Intelligence and Image Processing
faculty photo

Anil Saigal

Professor
Mechanical Engineering
materials engineering, materials science, manufacturing processes, quality control
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Igor Sokolov

Professor
Mechanical Engineering
Present: Engineering for Health -> Physics of cancer and aging -> Mechanics of biomaterials at the nanoscale, Synthesis and study of functional nanomaterials for biomedical imaging and drug delivery, Advanced imaging for medical diagnostics, Novel processes and materials for dentistry: nano-polishing and self-healing materials. Favorite experimental techniques: atomic force microscopy/scanning probe microscopy, confocal microscopy and spectroscopy, nanoindenters. Favorite theoretical methods: contact models, machine learning methods. Past: quantum field theory, theory of gravity, cosmology, Casimir effect.
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Kristen Wendell

Associate Professor
Mechanical Engineering
learning sciences, engineering education, design practices, classroom discourse, engineering knowledge construction
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Robert White

Associate Professor
Mechanical Engineering
Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) fabrication, modeling, and testing. Particularly acoustic MEMS (microphones, ultrasound), and aerodynamic measurement technologies (skin friction sensors, aeroacoustic sensors). High altitude atmospheric sensing and acoustics for planetary science. Acoustics, vibrations, dynamics and controls. Electromechanical systems including robotics. Finite element methods and system modeling. Electronics for measurement. Mechanical measurements.
faculty photo

Michael Wiklund

Professor of the Practice
Mechanical Engineering
human factors
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Michael Zimmerman

Professor of the Practice
Mechanical Engineering
novel polymer electrolytes for batteries, liquid crystal polymers, composite materials, materials science

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