Graduate mechatronics education in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Utah

The Department has been a leader in the development and delivery of mechatronics education. We have developed a basic course that is required for all mechanical engineering students. We offer an undergraduate Certificate of Mechatronics which provides a recognition of more advanced work. We are now implementing a graduate certificate program, for which there are two motivations; to be an outreach to working engineers who do not have the time or need for a full degree and to be part of several graduate certificates that in combination can become the major part of a Master's Degree. The anticipated result is an increase of graduate students in the department. In a graduate program, it is relatively difficult to make sure that the student is given the necessary prerequisites, as the students have a variety of backgrounds, schools, and times since their undergraduate degree. Our solution is to require all students to take one graduate-level mechatronics course before continuing with elective course work. Initially, the core course will be taught in a class room situation. Using the materials developed from the classroom course, a Web-based class will be offered from then on. The content of this course and the graduate certificate program will be discussed in this paper.