M. Eng. in Instrumentation & Applied Physics
Master of Engineering in Instrumentation and Applied Physics
An interdisciplinary master's degree
for technical and managerial careers
9 months
time for program completion
No GRE required
93%
of physics master's recipients secure employment within a year of graduation *
* American Institute of Physics, national average
Residential program
WELCOME TO THE COMMUNITY OF PEOPLE WHO BUILD THINGS AND SOLVE PROBLEMS
The Illinois professional master's in Instrumentation and Applied Physics is a two-semester project-based program. Through a mix of laboratory, classroom, and field work we will teach you to take a collaborative project from conception and design through planning, prototyping, calibration, analysis and documentation.
A typical project will comprise a suite of sensors [instrumentation] managed by a microcontroller that transmits data over a radio link to a base station. Sensors might include non-contact infrared thermometers, barometric pressure transducers, or volatile organic compound detectors [applied physics].
The Illinois professional master's degree will hone your skills in circuit design and fabrication, mechanical engineering and rapid prototyping, embedded systems design, project planning, data analysis, and reporting and documenting the progress and conclusions of your project.
View the University Registrar's information about program tuition costs. The University of Illinois’ cost calculator has information about fees and other expenses: you will enroll in the "Instrumentation and Applied Physics – MENG" program for 16 credit hours per term.
Sample projects
- Position and frequency dependence of a symphonic hall's acoustic response
- Measuring/mapping track irregularities on the AMTRAK Illinois Central line
- Bovine methanogenesis
- Monitoring oxygen delivery to intubated patients sharing a respirator
Our tools
- Four Ultimaker 3D printers
- Soldering/desoldering stations
- Table, miter, band saws; hand tools
- Multimeters, oscilloscopes
- EAGLE schematic capture and PCB layout
- TinkerCad and Cura design software
- 8-day PCB fabrication turnaround
- 10-channel visible light spectrometer
- Thousands of sensor breakout boards, microcontrollers, discrete components, solar power managers, non-contact IR thermometers, electret microphones, FRAM memories, proximity sensors, prototyping tools, etc.
Our capabilities
- Record 12-bit audio at 70 kHz
- Synchronize devices to 1 μsec
- GPS position updates at 1 Hz
- ± 0.2 Pa barometric pressure measurement precision
- Methane, VOC detection
- Acceleration/vibration measurements at 500 Hz
- Mavic 2 PRO drone, >300 gram payload
- LoRa 915 MHz radio communications
- Visible and near-IR imaging
- Airborne particulates sensing, and much more...