Welcome, prospective PhD students! We invite you to join our community of mechanical engineers听at听Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering.听With a mechanical engineering graduate program听ranked 16th听among public university peers听by听U.S. News & World Report,听our program is one of the top-ranked in the nation.听We offer paths to customize your听degree in support of your unique interests and career goals, a variety of specialty courses taught by experts in the field,听entrepreneurship resources and events like听New Venture Challenge, and opportunities for听听in听air quality, biomedical,听materials, mechanics of materials, micro/nanoscale, robotics and systems design, and thermo fluid sciences.听
We offer funding to听all PhD applicants whom we admit.听Our department anticipates extending full funding to about 70 Fall 2024 PhD applicants. Funding includes:
- a graduate student salary,
- tuition remission,
- mandatory student fees, and
- 91% health insurance coverage.
In your first year, you will be听funded by the department听as a Teaching Assistant (TA) for one semester and as a Research Assistant (RA) for the other semester, which enables you听to find a research lab and to practice working in a classroom setting.听Faculty with alternate sources of funding may petition the department to waive the TA requirement for first year students in their lab. In your second year and beyond, you will be funded by a research advisor as an RA or through other fellowships, pending reasonable research progress and academic performance. If your research advisor has a funding gap, they can apply to the department for gap funding. This way, students have a safety net so that they can continue to be funded throughout their PhD program.
Connect with Us!听We听invite you to watch听one of our fall virtual events. If you would like to meet with a current student in our program, please email us with that request at megrad@colorado.edu.
To receive full consideration, you must submit all application items for a fall program start听by the following deadlines:
- International applicant deadline:听December 1听by 10:00 p.m. MST
- Domestic applicant deadline:听December 15听by 10:00 p.m. MST
Tier-One Research & National Lab Access
As a mechanical engineering graduate student at CU Boulder, you will get to conduct groundbreaking tier-one research.听Boulder is also听home to a variety of well-known companies and labs doing research and development. Our faculty researchers and their research groups regularly collaborate with scientists at federal research labs that are located in the Boulder/Denver area, including the following:
- National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR)
- National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST)
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
We aim to educate and nurture the next generation of socially conscious and听deeply knowledgeable engineers, scientists, and problem-solvers听with high-quality instruction, project-based learning, and cutting-edge research.听The Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering is home to over 60听faculty members conducting both fundamental and applied research in the following areas:听
We encourage you to review听our听Research Overview Slides听to learn more about听our faculty members and their unique capabilities and areas of expertise.听
Our Community
Our graduate community is truly special. You will join a multicultural graduate program that includes faculty, staff, and students from all over the world.听Our faculty, staff, and student leaders will frequently advertise听community events and听professional development听activities to support you听and your unique experience.听You will also have access to seminars, colloquia, and听workshops delivered by notable engineering leaders in education, research, and industry.
Our graduate program leadership is committed听to cultivating听an environment of respect and belonging. We actively partner with our graduate student-led听organizations, including the Committee for Equity in Mechanical Engineering (CEME), our K-12 outreach student organizers, and the听Graduate Engineering Annual Research and Recruitment Symposium (GEARRS) committee. If you join us in Boulder, we hope that you will particiate in听of these groups; they are a great way to make lifelong friends and to contribute to our graduate program's unique and supportive听culture.