Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering

The program calendar is synchronous with the Georgia Tech registrar calendar. 

Each professor determines due dates for assignments and exams for each course. Georgia Tech recommends a one-week delay to professors, but they may alter this recommendation. If you feel meeting their deadline will be impossible for you, we advise you to withdrawal from your class(es) or request an extension from the professor. 

A proctored exam is an exam that is monitored by an impartial individual while the student takes the exam. An approved proctor administers your exams in accordance with Georgia Tech policy. The proctor submits the exam to Georgia Tech and retains a copy for a specified amount of time. Students never have possession of the exam. 

Information Desk: 1-888-225-7804 
Website: www.library.gatech.edu      

The Georgia Tech Library provides students with many services besides borrowing privileges including online access to eJournals and databases and subject and personalized research assistance.  

To start exploring the resources available for your discipline, check out the library’s research guides. The Document Delivery service delivers books and copies of articles from the Georgia Tech Library’s collection to current Georgia Tech online students at no charge. 

To learn more about the library, search our extensive collection of services or chat with a librarian using our Online Chat feature on the library’s website.  

BuzzPort is Georgia Tech’s primary student portal designed to help you interact with Georgia Tech services and campus colleagues. You can use this portal to track your financial aid application, transfer credit evaluations, and to stay in touch with offices on campus.  

Canvas is the new learning management system (LMS) used by Georgia Tech for online courses. All classroom lectures will be captured, edited, and posted on Canvas for students to view. You’ll also be able to access your course syllabus, course content, assignments, and grades through this cloud-based platform.

DegreeWorks provides a comprehensive set of web-based academic advising, degree audit, and transfer articulation tools to help you and advisors negotiate curriculum requirements. 

Students use the OSCAR portal to access their schedule of classes and other content in the Student Information System (SIS). 

All online master’s students are given access to a Georgia Tech email address. Visit Passport to set up or change your Georgia Tech email address. Once your email is activated, you can access your email online at mail.gatech.edu and will use the same username and password for all Georgia Tech accounts. 

BlueJeans allows you to instantly connect to live, face-to-face video conferences with any device. Connect with your professor during their office hours or use it as a collaborative tool with your peers for study sessions or group projects. BlueJeans is available for students enrolled in Georgia Tech online courses and can be accessed at gatech.bluejeans.com. 

Students enrolled in Georgia Tech online courses have free access to Microsoft Office 365, a collection of services that allow you to collaborate and share your schoolwork. The service includes Office Online (Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and OneNote), unlimited personal cloud storage, and SharePoint sites. To see what’s included, visit the Office 365 Education product page, and then sign up with your Georgia Tech email address. 

Skype for Business lets you connect with your fellow peers from around the world. You’ll be able to start conversations with IM, voice, or video calls as well as see when your contacts are available online. Skype for Business is included in your Microsoft Office 365 download. 

WebEx is an online collaboration platform that facilitates on-demand, real-time, collaborative web meetings and conferences. Connect with your professor during their office hours or use it as a collaborative tool with your peers for study sessions or group projects. WebEx is available for students enrolled in Georgia Tech online courses and can be accessed at gatech.webex.com. 

Each May and December, Georgia Tech holds commencement ceremonies for graduate students. Graduation takes place the semester after you take your last class, due to delay for homework assignments and exams. You must complete an Online Application for Graduation prior to commencement. All online master’s students are invited to participate, but it is not a requirement.  

Visit Georgia Tech’s commencement website for all the details you need to prepare for your ceremony including graduation requirements, deadlines, day of logistics, and information regarding academic regalia.  

How to Apply  
In order to graduate from Georgia Tech, a student must first submit an application for graduation. This walkthrough guide shows how to use the OAG, and ensure your application is successfully submitted. 

After Applying 
After your application is submitted, Degree Certificate will conduct two audits on your application, while working and communicating with your advisor. A breakdown of the timing of the two audits can be found on the Registrar’s website. 

To view your degree status, login to Degree Works. Near the top of your audit, under a section titled “Student View,” you will see a field “Graduation Status.” The text that appears in that field is your current degree status. 

In order to graduate from Georgia Tech, students must first submit an Online Application for Graduation (OAG).  

It is the student’s responsibility to apply for graduation and to ensure that the correct name and address is on file with the Office of the Registrar. Diplomas are typically mailed within eight weeks after the graduation date. Students will receive email confirmation with tracking when the diploma is mailed. Additional information about diplomas can be found on the Registrar’s website. 

Students who have petitioned for a degree for the term may request a Letter of Completion from the Registrar’s office stating they have a pending degree, and the degree will be awarded when all requirements for degree are completed. This is not for students who have already been awarded a degree. The Letter of Completion form and instructions can be found on the Georgia Tech Registrar’s website. 

All students are required to sign the Academic Honor Code and are strongly encouraged to seek a full understanding of their instructors’ expectations regarding academic honor. 

Anyone who is qualified is welcome to seek admission to Georgia Tech, and anyone who applies for and accepts admission can be confident that the policy and regular practice of the Institute will not discriminate against him or her on the basis of race, religion, sex, or national origin. The criteria used in determining each applicant’s eligibility for consideration can be found in the admission requirements. 

A student may not apply for transfer credit until after matriculation at Georgia Tech. The courses to be transferred would typically be those appearing on the approved program of study form for the master’s degree. A doctoral student normally does not request transfer credit. The rules relative to and the process for obtaining transfer of credit for graduate-level courses can be found on the Registrar’s website. 

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) protects the privacy of student education records. All rights can be found on the Registrar’s website. 

Georgia Tech desires to resolve student grievances, complaints, and concerns in an expeditious, fair, and amicable manner. Students attending Georgia Tech through online classes who wish to resolve a grievance should follow the steps below. 

Step 1  
Complaints should first be filed internally with the appropriate Georgia Tech authority and then, if necessary, to external authorities. 

• Informal Process: Most complaints can be resolved within the University itself. This can be done initially by engaging in open communication with the individual directly involved. If the issue is not satisfactorily resolved, the next phase will be to contact the supervisor, department chair, or associate dean to investigate the issue. Our Student Services team can serve as a resource to help you through this process. 
• Formal Process: If the informal process is unsuccessful in reaching a satisfactory resolution, the student is encouraged to complete the Institutional Grievance form to expedite a formal complaint with the University. Once the form is completed, it will be submitted to the Office of the Provost. 

Step 2 
If a student feels that the issue was not resolved at the institutional level (Step 1), then they may file a complaint with the appropriate state agency. 

Georgia: Students living in Georgia may file a complaint with the University System of Georgia as part of the 6.26 Application for Discretionary Review.

Outside Georgia: Students living outside of Georgia may file a complaint their home state regulatory agency. 

Additional Resources for Student Complaints 
If the student is not satisfied with the solution provided by the University and the state, they may file a complaint with the University accreditation agency. Accrediting agencies will only review issues addressing significant non-compliance with agency standards, policies, or procedures. This is to be considered a last resort effort. 

• Department of Defense Post-Secondary Education complaint procedure
• NC-SARA complaint procedure
• Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) complaint procedure 
• U.S. Department of Education complaint procedure

Students are assigned a specific time slot during which they may register. This time slot is referred to as a “time ticket.” Students may view their assigned time ticket on the Web Student Access System. Students may access the “Add/Drop Classes” option only during their time ticket. For procedures regarding registration, please review the Registration Information on registrar’s website. 

Any student who wishes to drop a course must do so using by follow the instructions on the registrar’s website. The course will remain on the student’s schedule with a status of “courses dropped by student.” A grade of “W” will be assigned for the dropped course(s) at the end of the term. 

Any student, with the exception of active duty U.S. military personnel, who wishes to withdraw from the Institute must do so by following the instructions on the registrar’s website. All courses will remain on the student’s schedule with a status of “courses dropped by student.” A grade of “W” will be assigned for the dropped course(s) at the end of the term. 

Deadlines for individual course drops and for complete withdrawals from the Institute are posted on the Academic Calendar by term. 

Students who are enrolled at Georgia Tech may not receive credit for courses completed at another institution during the same academic term, unless prior permission has been obtained for cross-registration or concurrent registration. Additional explanation on cross-registration can be found on the Registrar’s website. 

All payments of tuition and fees are handled by the Bursar’s office. For instructions on how to pay, please visit the student payment portal.   

The Georgia Tech Bursar’s Office processes refunds via EFT, also known as Direct Deposit, Monday through Friday. Refunds and overpayments are electronically disbursed to the student’s checking or savings account and should be in the students account on the following day or sooner. You are not always eligible for a refund when dropping a course, so please read over the refund policy.