Curriculum

The Master of Engineering in Instrumentation and Applied Physics is an intensive professional degree program that can be completed in nine months while on campus.

The program is designed as a unique discovery experience, offering greater technical depth than is possible in an undergraduate program, while providing the tools you'll need to successfully work within multidisciplinary teams. The coursework provides opportunities to become proficient within your technical discipline at the graduate level, and the background to become an effective professional physicist.

Students need to complete the following coursework requirements:

Student Handbook        Petition       

Required coursework (16 credit hours)

Course
Title Meeting times Hours 
Physics 503 Instrumentation Physics: Applications of Machine Learning Two 75-minute classes per week 4
Physics 523 Instrumentation and Applied Physics Project (two semesters) Two 3-hour classes each week 8
Physics 524 Survey of Instrumentation and Laboratory Techniques Two 50-minute classes per week 2
Physics 525 Survey of Fundamental Device Physics Two 50-minute classes per week 2
Total     16

Elective coursework (12 credit hours)

Some courses may specify prerequisites, and some may require the permission of the instructor for students to enroll in the course.

Please see the Course Explorer for more information.

Course Title
PHYS 427 Thermal & Statistical Physics
PHYS 436 Electromagnetic Fields II
PHYS 460 Condensed Matter Physics
PHYS 487 Quantum Physics II
PHYS 505 Classical Electromagnetism
PHYS 508 Mathematical Physics I
PHYS 509 Mathematical Physics II
PHYS 514 Modern Atomic Physics
PHYS 540 Astrophysics
PHYS 560 Condensed Matter Physics I
PHYS 561 Condensed Matter Physics II
PHYS 565 Theory of Semiconductors and Semiconductor Devices
PHYS 580 Quantum Mechanics I
PHYS 598 CPA Computational Physics and Astrophysics

Students graduating with eight or more credit hours of electives will be considered to have completed a focus area in Instrumentation and Aerospace Engineering.

Course Title
AE 412 Viscous Flow & Heat Transfer
AE 416 Applied Aerodynamics
AE 420 Finite Element Analysis
AE 433 Aerospace Propulsion
AE 452 Introduction to Nonlinear Dynamics and Vibrations
AE 485 Spacecraft Environment and Interactions
AE 504 Optimal Aerospace Systems
AE 512 Molecular Gas Dynamics

Students graduating with eight or more credit hours of electives will be considered to have completed a focus area in Instrumentation and Astronomy.

Course Title
ASTR 404 Stellar Astrophysics
ASTR 501 Radiative Processes
ASTR 502 Astrophysical Dynamics
ASTR 503 Observational Astronomy
ASTR 504 Theoretical Stellar Physics
ASTR 505 Star Formation
ASTR 506 Galaxies
ASTR 507 Physical Cosmology

Students graduating with eight or more credit hours of electives will be considered to have completed a focus area in Instrumentation and Atmospheric Sciences.

Course Title
ATMS 404 Risk Analysis in Earth Science
ATMS 410 Radar Meteorology
ATMS 411 Satellite Remote Sensing
ATMS 500 Dynamic Meteorology
ATMS 535 Aerosol Sampling and Analysis

No focus area credential available.

Course Title
BIOE/ECE 414  Biomedical Instrumentation 

Students graduating with eight or more credit hours of electives will be considered to have completed a focus area in Instrumentation and Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Course Title
CEE 401 Concrete Materials
CEE 405 Asphalt Materials I
CEE 406 Pavement Design I
CEE 408 Railroad Transportation Engrg
CEE 409 Railroad Track Engineering
CEE 434 Environmental Systems I
CEE 437 Water Quality Engineering
CEE 441 Air Pollution Sources, Transport and Control
CEE 442 Environmental Engineering Principles, Physical
CEE 450 Surface Hydrology
CEE 451 Environmental Fluid Mechanics
CEE 457 Groundwater
CEE 458 Water Resources Field Methods
CEE 461 Reinforced Concrete I
CEE 465 Design of Structural Systems
CEE 470 Structural Analysis
CEE 471 Structural Mechanics
CEE 472 Structural Dynamics I
CEE 473 Wind Effects on Structures
CEE 483 Soil Mechanics and Behavior
CEE 545 Aerosol Sampling and Analysis
CEE 582 Consolidation of Clays
CEE 586 Rock Mechanics and Behavior
CEE 588 Geotechnical Earthquake Engrg

No focus area credential available.

Course Title
CHBE 421 Momentum and Heat Transfer

Students graduating with eight or more credit hours of electives will be considered to have completed a focus area in Instrumentation and Computer Science.

Course Title
CS/ECE 407 Cryptography
CS 411 Database Systems
CS 424 Real-Time Systems
CS 425 Distributed Systems
CS 431 Embedded Systems
CS 437 Topics in Internet of Things
CS 439 Wireless Networks
CS 450 Numerical Analysis
CS 461/ ECE 422 Computer Security I
CS 473 Algorithms
CS 543 Computer Vision
CS 555 Numerical Methods for PDEs
CS 565 Human-Computer Interaction

Students graduating with eight or more credit hours of electives will be considered to have completed a focus area in Instrumentation and Electrical and Computer Engineering.

Course Title
ECE 401 Signal Processing
ECE 402 Electronic Music Synthesis
ECE 414 Biomedical Instrumentation
ECE 416 Biosensors
ECE 418 Image & Video Processing
ECE 420 Embedded DSP Laboratory
ECE 421 Neural Interface Engineering
ECE 422 Computer Security I
ECE 431 Electric Machinery
ECE 437 Sensors and Instrumentation
ECE 443 LEDs and Solar Cells
ECE 455 Optical Electronics
ECE 457 Microwave Devices & Circuits
ECE 464 Power Electronics
BIOE/ECE 467 Biophotonics
ECE 470 Introduction to Robotics
ECE 476 Power System Analysis
ECE 481 Nanotechnology
ECE 486 Control Systems
ECE 489 Robot Dynamics and Control
ECE 491 Numerical Analysis
ECE 520 EM Waves & Radiating Systems
ECE 522 Emerging Memory and Storage Systems
ECE 523 Plasma Technology of Gaseous Electronics
ECE 528 Analysis of Nonlinear Systems
ECE 535 Theory of Semiconductors & Devices
ECE 538 2D Material Electronics and Photonics
ECE 540 Computational Electromagnetics
ECE 558 Digital Imaging
ECE 570 Nonlinear Optics
ECE 572 Quantum Opto-Electronics

Students graduating with eight or more credit hours of electives will be considered to have completed a focus area in Instrumentation and Food Science and Human Nutrition.

Course Title
FSHN 414 Food Chemistry
FSHN 418 Food Analysis
FSHN 460 Food Processing Engineering
FSHN 464 Beverage Science & Technology
FSHN 465 Principles of Food Technology
FSHN 466 Food Product Development
FSHN 480 Basic Toxicology
FSHN 574 Value added biotransformation
FSHN 576 Food Safety for Global Food Security

Students graduating with eight or more credit hours of electives will be considered to have completed a focus area in Instrumentation and Geology.

Course Title
GEOL 411 Structural Geol and Tectonics
GEOL 432 Mineralogy and Mineral Optics
GEOL 436 Petrology and Petrography
GEOL 440 Sedimentology and Stratigraphy
GEOL 470 Introduction to Hydrogeology
GEOL 561 Geomicrobiology & Geochemistry
GEOL 562 Isotope Geology
GEOL 571 Contaminant Fate and Transport
GEOL 573 River Morphodynamics

Students graduating with eight or more credit hours of electives will be considered to have completed a focus area in Instrumentation and Health Technology.

Course Title
HT 502 Human Factors Methods for Health Technology
HT 503 Hardware Engineering for Health Technology
HT 504 Software Engineering for Health Technology

Students graduating with eight or more credit hours of electives will be considered to have completed a focus area in Instrumentation and Information Sciences.

Course Title
IS 445 Data Visualization
IS 464 Information Assurance
IS 477 Data Management, Curation & Reproducibility
IS 515 Information Modeling
IS 525 Data Warehousing and Business Intelligence
IS 537 Theory & Practice of Data Cleaning
IS 541 Copyright for Information Professions
IS 543 Digital Preservation

Students graduating with eight or more credit hours of electives will be considered to have completed a focus area in Instrumentation and Mathematics.

Course Title
MATH 413 Intro to Combinatorics
MATH 415 Applied Linear Algebra
MATH 441 Differential Equations
MATH 442 Intro Partial Diff Equations
MATH 446 Applied Complex Variables
MATH 461 Probability Theory
MATH 463 Statistics and Probability I
MATH 473 Algorithms
MATH 481 Vector and Tensor Analysis
MATH 541 Functional Analysis
MATH 545 Harmonic Analysis
MATH 552 Numerical Methods for PDEs

Students graduating with eight or more credit hours of electives will be considered to have completed a focus area in Instrumentation and Mechanical Engineering.

Course Title
ME 400 Energy Conversion Systems
ME 402 Design of Thermal Systems
ME 403 Internal Combustion Engines
ME 404 Intermediate Thermodynamics
ME 410 Intermediate Gas Dynamics
ME 411 Viscous Flow & Heat Transfer
ME 412 Numerical Thermo-Fluid Mechs
ME 420 Intermediate Heat Transfer
ME 430 Failure of Engrg Materials
ME 445 Introduction to Robotics
ME 447 Computational Design and Dynamics of Soft Systems
ME 452 Num Control of Mfg Processes
ME 458 Additive Manufacturing and Product Design
ME 460 Industrial Control Systems
ME 461 Computer Cntrl of Mech Systems
ME 471 Finite Element Analysis
ME 472 Introduction to Tribology
ME 481 Whole-Body Musculoskel Biomech
ME 482 Musculoskel Tissue Mechanics
ME 483 Mechanobiology
ME 487 MEMS-NEMS Theory & Fabrication
ME 501 Combustion Fundamentals
ME 502 Thermal Systems
ME 504 Multiphase Systems & Processes
ME 522 Thermal Radiation
ME 530 Fatigue Analysis
ME 540 Control System Theory & Design
ME 546 Analysis of Nonlinear Systems
ME 586 Mechanics of MEMS

No focus area credential available.

Course Title
MSE 402 Kinetic Processes in Materials
MSE 403 Synthesis of Materials
MSE 405 Microstructure Determination
MSE 406 Thermal-Mech Behavior of Matls
MSE 420 Ceramic Materials & Properties
MSE 422 Electrical Ceramics
MSE 440 Mechanical Behavior of Metals
MSE 441 Metals Processing
MSE 443 Design of Engineering Alloys
MSE 450 Polymer Science & Engineering
MSE 455 Macromolecular Solids
MSE 456 Mechanics of Composites
MSE 458 Polymer Physics
MSE 460 Electronic Materials I
MSE 464 Magnetic Materials and their Applications
MSE 466 Materials in Electrochem Syst
MSE 470 Design and Use of Biomaterials
MSE 473 Biomolecular Materials Science
MSE 474 Biomaterials and Nanomedicine
MSE 480 Surfaces and Colloids
MSE 485 Atomic Scale Simulations
MSE 487 Materials for Nanotechnology
MSE 488 Optical Materials
MSE 501 Kinetic Processes in Materials
MSE 581 Advanced Electron Microscopy
MSE 582 Surface Physics
MSE 583 Dynamics of Complex Fluids
MSE 584 Point and Line Defects

Students graduating with eight or more credit hours of electives will be considered to have completed a focus area in Instrumentation and Nuclear Technology.

Course Title
NPRE 402 Nuclear Power Engineering
NPRE 421 Plasma and Fusion Science
NPRE 429 Plasma Engineering
NPRE 435 Radiological Imaging
NPRE 441 Radiation Protection
NPRE 442 Radioactive Waste Management
NPRE 445 Interaction of Radiation with Matter
NPRE 455 Neutron Diffusion & Transport
NPRE 470 Fuel Cells & Hydrogen Sources
NPRE 475 Wind Power Systems
NPRE 526 Plasma-Material Interactions

Students graduating with eight or more credit hours of electives will be considered to have completed a focus area in Instrumentation and Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences.

Course Title
NRES 401 Watershed Hydrology
NRES 403 Watersheds and Water Quality
NRES 406 Fluvial Geomorphology
NRES 474 Soil and Water Conservation
NRES 480 Human-Wildlife Interactions
NRES 488 Soil Fertility and Fertilizers

Students graduating with eight or more credit hours of electives will be considered to have completed a focus area in Instrumentation and Statistics.

Course Title
STAT 400 Statistics and Probability I
STAT 408 Actuarial Statistics I
STAT 420 Methods of Applied Statistics
STAT 424 Analysis of Variance
STAT 425 Statistical Modeling I
STAT 428 Statistical Computing
STAT 429 Time Series Analysis
STAT 431 Applied Bayesian Analysis
STAT 433 Stochastic Processes
STAT 440 Statistical Data Management
STAT 530 Bioinformatics
STAT 558 Risk Modeling and Analysis
STAT 571 Multivariate Analysis
STAT 575 Large Sample Theory
STAT 587 Hierarchical Linear Models

Students graduating with eight or more credit hours of electives will be considered to have completed a focus area in Instrumentation and Theoretical and Applied Mechanics.

Course Title
TAM 412 Intermediate Dynamics
TAM 413 Fund of Engrg Acoustics
TAM 416 Introduction to Nonlinear Dynamics and Vibrations
TAM 424 Mechanics of Structural Metals
TAM 428 Mechanics of Composites
TAM 435 Intermediate Fluid Mechanics
TAM 445 Continuum Mechanics
TAM 451 Intermediate Solid Mechanics
TAM 456 Experimental Stress Analysis
TAM 470 Computational Mechanics
TAM 514 Elastodynamics and Vibrations
TAM 524 Micromechanics of Materials
TAM 531 Inviscid Flow
TAM 532 Viscous Flow
TAM 534 Non-Newtonian Fluid Mechanics & Rheology
TAM 549 Asymptotic Methods
TAM 551 Solid Mechanics I
TAM 555 Fracture Mechanics

Professional development coursework (4 credit hours)

Course Title Hours
TE 450 Startups: incorporation, funding, contracts, and intellectual property 3
TE 460 Lectures in engineering entrepreneurship 1
TE 461 Technology entrepreneurship 3
TE 466  High-tech venture marketing 2
TE 565 Technological innovation and strategy 2
TE 566 Finance for engineering management 2
ENG 598 CPD Seminar on topics for Professional Master's students interested in an industry position 1
  Choose 4 credit hours from the courses listed above, or with approval of the program coordinator, other courses in Business, Law, or Economics.
Total   4

Sample programs

Students graduating with eight or more credit hours of electives in a single area (such as Aerospace Engineering) will be considered to have completed a focus area. Keep in mind that some courses may specify prerequisites, and some may require the permission of the instructor for students to enroll in the course.

Course Title Hours Category
Fall semester
PHYS 503 Instrumentation Physics: Applications of Machine Learning 4 required
PHYS 523 Instrumentation and Applied Physics Project (two semesters) 4 required
PHYS 524 Survey of Instrumentation and Laboratory Techniques 2 required
STAT 400 Statistics and Probability I 4 elective
Spring semester
PHYS 523 Instrumentation and Applied Physics Project (two semesters) 4 required
PHYS 525 Survey of Fundamental Device Physics 2 required
SE 400 Engineering Law 4 professional development
STAT 425 Statistical Modeling I 4 elective
STAT 530 Bioinformatics 4 elective