You are in the official 2009-2010 General Catalog for California State University, Fresno.
Master of Science
in Engineering and Computer Science

Engineering - Graduate Programs
Advisers:
M.S. in Civil Engineering
>THOMAS ATTARD
Engineering East Building, Room 178
559.278.2889
tattard@csufresno.edu
M.S. in Engineering
Electrical Engineering Option
>REZA RAEISI
Engineering East Building, Room 266
559.278.6038
gkriehn@csufresno.edu
Mechanical Engineering Option
>IRA J. SORENSEN
Engineering East Building, Room 166
559.278.2368
sorensen@csufresno.edu
M.S. in Engineering
Electrical Engineering Option
Mechanical Engineering Option
Lancaster University Center
45356 Division Street
Lancaster, CA 93535
661.723.6429
Master of Science Programs
The Lyles College of Engineering offers a Master of Science in Civil Engineering and a Master of Science in Engineering (with options in Electrical and Mechanical Engineering). Students in the Antelope Valley Engineering programs (AVEP) at Lancaster University Center may enroll in the Master of Science in Engineering program through the AVEP coordinator. To contact advisers for information on individual programs, see the list of advisers on this page.
Master of Science Programs
M.S. in Engineering
(Options in Electrical and Mechanical Engineering)
The Master of Science in Engineering program has the following goals: (1) to develop the students' advanced analytical skills by developing an in-depth understanding of major theoretical and practical engineering concepts; (2) to develop students' written and oral communication skills applied to technical areas; (3) to achieve an appropriate level of competence by the students in solving practical electrical or mechanical engineering problems; (4) to develop students' critical and creative thinking skills in mastering new topics required to understand and solve complex engineering problems; and (5) to allow the students to demonstrate a sufficient depth of knowledge in a substantive area of electrical or mechanical engineering to pursue advanced academic or industrial work.
Program Objectives
The program has the following objectives: (1) to complete a minimum of 30 units of graduate coursework, including appropriate core courses, (2) to successfully demonstrate knowledge base in culminating experience, and (3) to enhance the students' career goals by increasing their theoretical, research, and problem-solving skills in applied engineering.
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Program Requirements
The program consists of the following:
A. Main Core (1 unit)
ENGR 200
B. Option Core (9 units)
EE Option: ENGR 201, 202, 206
ME Option (choose 3 courses): ENGR 201, 202, 205, 206
C. Electives (14 units)
EE Option: Choose from remaining upper-division and program courses. Maximum
of 9 upper-division units. Maximum of 9 upper-division units. See courses
in Electrical Engineering.
ME Option: Choose from remaining upper-division and program courses. Maximum
of 9 upper-division units. See courses in Mechanical
Engineering.
D. Culminating Experience (6 units)
For either option, choose
- 6 units of electives plus comprehensive exam, or
- EE 298 or ME 298 Project (3 units) plus 3 units of program electives, or
- EE or ME 299 Thesis (6 units)
Total (30 units)
Up to nine semester hours of satisfactory graduate credit may be transferred into the program from other institutions if not used in completing another graduate degree program. Undergraduate courses may be transferred if the courses were not used in completing another degree program. The total undergraduate upper-division semester hours applied to this degree program cannot exceed nine hours.
The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) Aptitude Test is required of all students prior to advancement to candidacy status.
The program requires extensive use of a computer; therefore, students are expected to have their own computer or access to one 24 hours a day.
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Admission to the University. Requirements for admission to California
State University, Fresno are in accordance with Title 5, Chapter 1, Subchapter
3 of the California Code of Regulations.
Admission to the Program. Students who apply to the program are placed in one of the following categories:
- Graduate Standing, Classified. Students with (a) an undergraduate degree in an appropriate engineering discipline from an ABET accredited program, (b) an undergraduate grade point average of 3.0, (c) a minimum GRE quantitative score of 550 are eligible for classified (degree status) graduate standing, and (d) a letter of recommendation from an academic or an industrial source.
- Graduate Standing, Conditionally Classified. Students from non-ABET accredited engineering programs, or with a degree in physical science or mathematics or a different engineering discipline, and who have not met the requirements of category 1, will be given conditionally classified graduate standing. These students may be required to take prerequisite courses as determined by the graduate program at the time of admission. Upon satisfactorily meeting any specified requirements, students will then be advanced to classified standing.
Degree Candidacy. The following requirements must be met prior to advancement to candidacy:
- Classified graduate standing.
- Completion at California State University, Fresno of at least 9 units of the proposed program with a 3.0 average on all completed work appearing on the program.
- A minimum grade point average of 3.0 in all required graduate coursework from the date of commencing the first course of the proposed master's degree program.
- Departmental recommendation for advancement to candidacy.
- Satisfactory completion of the Graduate Writing Skills Requirement.
Nondegree students. Students with a bachelor's degree may take
graduate courses (concurrent with regular students) for credit or audit.
Prior approval is required.
For core courses that may be applied to the programs, click here.
Accelerated Graduate Programs
The accelerated M.S. program will provide a path to students who are talented and want to acquire additional knowledge in specialized areas of interest, as a continuation of their B.S., within a short period of time. The benefits to the students that participate in the program are as follows:
- More efficient use of their fourth academic year leading to a baccalaureate degree
- Ability to focus more rigorously on their areas of professional practice, culminating in a master's degree
- Opportunity to receive both B.S. and M.S. in five years
Eligibility: A student who has completed 75 units of required and elective G.E., math, science, and engineering coursework required for his/her undergraduate program may apply to the accelerated graduate program.
Application Materials: To apply to the accelerated graduate program, a student must submit the following:
- Application form
- A detailed statement of purpose
- Two letters of recommendation, at least one from a faculty member of the program
Timing of Application: Application may be made no sooner than at the beginning of the sixth semester of study of an undergraduate degree program. Students officially enter the program no earlier than the seventh semester of an eight-semester undergraduate program.
Requirements: The applicants must satisfy the following requirements:
- Overall GPA of 3.0 or greater at the time of application
- Satisfactory GRE scores (consult program advisers)
- Complete all the courses specified by the program by the end of the sixth semester with GPA of 3.0 or greater
- Complete no less than 30 units of coursework in residence by the end of the sixth semester
- Complete undergraduate writing requirement by the end of the sixth semester
- Complete all G.E. requirements prior to taking 200-level courses
Progress Toward Awarding of Degree: Students can take up to 10 units of courses that qualify for the M.S. program (but no more than 6 units of 200-level courses per semester) before completion of the B.S. program. Students shall not proceed with further graduate-level coursework until they have obtained the classified standing. The classified standing can be obtained by filing the appropriate form with the Office of Graduate Studies after the completion of the B.S.
Awarding of Degree: Students must meet all programmatic requirements
for each degree. This implies that no coursework, project, independent study,
etc., may be simultaneously applied toward meeting the requirements of the
B.S. and M.S. Students must complete the requirement for the B.S. at least
two semesters prior to completing the requirement for the M.S.
Engineering (ENGR)
ENGR 200. Seminar in Engineering (1)
Orientation to the graduate program, exposure to various areas within electrical
engineering and mechanical engineering, introduction to research methods,
and discussion of project and thesis topics. (Formerly ENGR 291T)
ENGR 201. Systems Modeling and Realization (3)
Prerequisites: graduate standing. Advanced software and hardware engineering
tools and their applications; instrumentation and experimental measurements;
transducers; analog and digital signal conditioning; instrumentation amplifiers;
signal reconstruction; actuators; dynamic systems modeling; realization
of models; spectrum analysis; real-time computations; data analysis. (2
lecture, 3 lab hours) (Formerly ENGR 291T)
ENGR 202. Applied Engineering Analysis (3)
Study of analytical tools used in the analysis and modeling of applied
engineering systems, in addition to the use of simulation software such
as MATLAB. Emphasis is placed on solving problems tied to direct applications
within the engineering disciplines.
ENGR 205. Computing in Engineering Analysis (3)
Prerequisite: a first course in numerical analysis at the graduate level.
Solution of engineering problems using digital computation. Modeling of
engineering systems for numerical analysis.
ENGR 206. Probability Theory and Statistical Analysis (3)
A first course in probability theory and statistical analysis at the graduate
level. Finite sample spaces, conditional probability and independence, one-dimensional
random variables, functions of random variables, two- and higher-dimensional
random variables, poisson and other discrete random variables, continuous
random variables, moment-generating function, reliability theory, sums of
random variables, samples and sampling distributions, estimation of parameters,
testing hypothesis.
ENGR 210. Linear Control Systems (3)
A first-year graduate course covering the analysis, synthesis, and performance
of linear control systems. Partial fraction expansion, Routh's criterion,
the impulse function. Basic servo characteristics and types, block diagrams,
transfer functions. A detailed treatment of the root locus method for analysis
and synthesis. Frequency response, logarithmic and polar plots, Nyquist's
criterion, stability characteristics, phase margin and gain margin.
ENGR 212. Advanced Control Systems (3)
Prerequisite: ENGR 210 or permission of coordinator. Describing function
analysis of nonlinear control systems; phase-plane analysis; Liapunov stability
analysis; discrete-time systems; z-transform-method; linear stochastic systems;
application of statistical design principles; optimal and adaptive control
systems; digital control systems.
For a complete listing and descriptions of all graduate courses, see
Electrical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering.
