Masters of Science in Engineering - Interdisciplinary

[AbaNader]

Hello,

I am thinking of doing a Masters of Science in Engineering - Interdisciplinary from Purdue (non-thesis, all course work). Are non-thesis interdisciplinary degrees looked down upon in academia? I am doing this as a stepping stone to getting into a good PhD program of my choice (Caltech hopefully) with funding.

My undergraduate degree is in Mechanical Engineering but I am more interested in Aerospace/Aeronautical Engineering. It seems I can't get a Masters in Aeronautical Engineering if I don't have a Bachelors in that field; hence me going for a masters in interdisciplinary engineering.

Also, I want to do this through Purdue's professional education program (100% long distance/online). Does anyone has experience with this or something similar? I'm a little apprehensive about the whole thing because it seems to be "too good to be true" and don't want to get jipped in the long run.

Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

IH

[AbaNader]

Bump

[UnlikelyGrad]

Hello,

I am thinking of doing a Masters of Science in Engineering - Interdisciplinary from Purdue (non-thesis, all course work). Are non-thesis interdisciplinary degrees looked down upon in academia? I am doing this as a stepping stone to getting into a good PhD program of my choice (Caltech hopefully) with funding.

My undergraduate degree is in Mechanical Engineering but I am more interested in Aerospace/Aeronautical Engineering. It seems I can't get a Masters in Aeronautical Engineering if I don't have a Bachelors in that field; hence me going for a masters in interdisciplinary engineering.

Also, I want to do this through Purdue's professional education program (100% long distance/online). Does anyone has experience with this or something similar? I'm a little apprehensive about the whole thing because it seems to be "too good to be true" and don't want to get jipped in the long run.

Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

IH

I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with interdisciplinary degrees (my older sister did an interdisciplinary PhD, and is now a professor at a relatively prestigious school). I think the real problem here is that you would be doing a non-thesis option, which many sci/eng programs consider as inferior to thesis options.

My other worry with this program is that you will be doing it 100% long distance. The issue with this is that you will likely not develop a personal rapport with your professors, and schools like Caltech will expect you to submit LoRs from your master's level professors.

Here's my suggestion: compare the course of study between a BS in mechanical engineering and a BS in aerospace. I expect there's a decent amount of overlap; what are the obvious differences? Take the courses you're missing (as a non-degree student), then apply to master's programs in Aerospace engineering.

[wifey99999999]

Hello,

I am thinking of doing a Masters of Science in Engineering - Interdisciplinary from Purdue (non-thesis, all course work). Are non-thesis interdisciplinary degrees looked down upon in academia? I am doing this as a stepping stone to getting into a good PhD program of my choice (Caltech hopefully) with funding.

My undergraduate degree is in Mechanical Engineering but I am more interested in Aerospace/Aeronautical Engineering. It seems I can't get a Masters in Aeronautical Engineering if I don't have a Bachelors in that field; hence me going for a masters in interdisciplinary engineering.

Also, I want to do this through Purdue's professional education program (100% long distance/online). Does anyone has experience with this or something similar? I'm a little apprehensive about the whole thing because it seems to be "too good to be true" and don't want to get jipped in the long run.

Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

IH

I would also recommend you go for UCLA's M.S., Engineering program. This is also interdisciplinary engineering master degree designed for working professionals, but it would require you to do a capstone project at the end.

If you want to go for PhD, I'd recommend that you do an on-campus degree. I don't think you can get into PhD program without developing relationship with professors, who you need to write good recommendation letter. Also, you need to have research project or papers to be considered for PhD. These can not be done away from campus.

But if you are going directly into industry after master degree, then it doesn't really matter you get the degree off campue or on campus.

[AbaNader]

Thanks!

[mathyka]

Hey, did you ever give Purdue a try, or did you get talked out of it and doing something else?

I just got accepted by the online Interdisciplinary Engineering program and I too would like to do Aeronautics concentration. Because of my circumstances I don't have a choice but to go online. Just want to make sure that I will be able to use this for something.