Design MS Focus Area

Objective

Develop design engineers that are industry oriented, experimentally-prepared, self-directed, creative and innovative, and differentiated professionals with project management experience.

Unique Opportunities at ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥ Boulder

The cornerstone of this program is a sequence of courses that begins in the fall semester and culminates four semesters later. The first course in this sequence is Advanced Product Design (APD). APD is a studio class that focuses on consumer product and user-centered design and helps equip students with the tools necessary to conceptualize innovative designs. APD is followed in the spring by Design for Manufacturability (DFM). DFM teaches students how to take their conceptual designs generated in APD, and transform them into products that are ready for manufacturing. Following APD and DFM, the Graduate Design projects course meets formally once per week and is geared toward teams of students completing an industry-sponsored design project. In Graduate Design, teams three to four students, have access to funds from the sponsoring company and meet regularly with a mentor from the sponsoring company and a faculty advisor. Teams are tasked with delivering a near turn-key product at the end of the 9-month project.

Graduate students who have questions about the Design Program or would like more information should contact faculty members Greg Whiting or Dan Riffell.

Recommended Coursework

The information below provides guidance on typical course options interested in Design, some of which are housed by the Design Center.

Strongly Recommended 

All courses listed below can also count towards the Mechanical Design & Product Development Certificate

Specialized 

  • MCEN 5021 Introduction to Fluid Dynamics
  • MCEN 5023 Solid Mechanics
  • MCEN 5032 Sustainable Energy
  • MCEN 5042 Heat Transfer
  • MCEN 5044 Mechanical Behavior of Materials
  • MCEN 5115 Mechatronics & Robotics 1
  • MCEN 5117 Anat and Physiology for Engineers 1
  • MCEN 5125 Optimal Design 
  • MCEN 5127 Biomedical Ultrasound
  • MCEN 5133 Intro to Tissue Biomechanics
  • MCEN 5135 Wind Energy and Wind Turbine Design
  • MCEN 5173 Finite Element Analysis (or ASEN 5007 or CVEN 5511)
  • MCEN 5174 Failure of Engineering Materials
  • MCEN 5183 Mechanics of Composites
  • MCEN 5228 Mechatronics & Robotics 2
  • MCEN 5228 Thin Film Materials
  • ASEN 5022 Dynamics of Aerospace Structures
  • ASEN 5148 Spacecraft Design
  • ASEN 5158 Space Habitat Design
  • ECEN 5616 Optoelectronic System Design
  • ENVM 5044 Life Cycle Assessment - Bringing Objectivity into Subjective Conversations 
  • CSCI 5839 User-Centered Design
  • EMEN 5030 Fundamentals of Project Management