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Automotive Engineering MEng Online & On Campus

Contact Automotive Engineering Admissions

Image of Ronda Hamilton
Ronda Hamilton (Automotive)

Graduate Coordinator

Art Hyde Program Director, Automotive Manufacturing MEng program
Art Hyde

Program Director

James Freudenberg, Professor, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Program Director, Automotive Engineering, ISD
James Freudenberg

Associate Program Director

Automotive Engineering at Michigan Statistics

#6

Best Online Graduate Engineering Programs

#1

by Edmunds

Top 10

engineering and business school on the same campus

19%

female, 13% underrepresented minorities, 31% international students

14:1

student-to-faculty ratio

3

Cutting edge areas of excellence

Our program provides students with:

  • Excellent career prospects. 95% of our graduates are employed within six months after graduation. The average salary of our graduates with an Automotive Engineering MEng is $80,700 with a range of $70,000-$100,000.

  • Flexibility in schedule and location. Students can choose to be either full time or part-time. Most classes are taught as a hybrid, so students can take courses on-campus, remote, or fully online each semester.

  • Multidisciplinary training and integrative thinking. Students acquire depth in advanced engineering knowledge and breadth in product and process development and gain teamwork skills to become effective technical leaders in the global automotive industry.

  • Education by world-class researchers and industry leaders. Students take courses that are taught by world-renowned researchers in automotive engineering and industry leaders who have made outstanding impacts on the automotive industry.

  • Immersive practicum opportunities. Students get to practice their learnings through industry-relevant capstone projects with industry, research, and non-profit organizations, integrating across traditional engineering disciplines like mechanical, electrical and computer engineering, as well as non-engineering disciplines like public policy, to create real-world solutions.

  • World-class resources and infrastructure. Students can benefit from resources like the Center for Entrepreneurship and MCity (Michigan’s center for connected and automated vehicles). In addition, the University hosts a wide range of research institutes and core facilities from which students can benefit.

  • Embedded in the center of the action for automotive engineering globally. Not only is the Detroit region the birthplace of the U.S. automotive industry, but it also hosts engineering technical centers for 7 of the world’s top 10 automakers and produces more cars and trucks than any other U.S. state. Including suppliers, there are over 1,600 automotive-related facilities in Michigan. This provides students with ample opportunities for experiential learning and employment.

  • student programming in CSE
    ONLINE BY DESIGN
    This degree is designed for online delivery, offering students the opportunity to pursue a high-quality graduate engineering education that is flexible and convenient. As an online student, you will have access to the same expert faculty, rigorous coursework, and breadth of resources as those studying on campus. You will also earn the same world-class Michigan Engineering degree.

What can you do with an MEng in Automotive Engineering?

Experts in automotive engineering are poised to develop innovations that will change society and address global problems.

The program provides the opportunity for students to develop and apply expertise in engineering fundamentals, automotive systems, and interdisciplinary optimization combined with teamwork skills, creativity, and sensitivity to societal needs and trends. As a result, students will have the perspectives, tools, and methods necessary to lead the design and development of complex human-centered products that integrate the latest electromechanical and autonomous technologies and lean engineering methods. Graduates of the Automotive Engineering program are prepared to move into the dynamic and rapidly evolving automotive industry as well as other related industries and drive them into the 21st century and beyond.

Align your interest

The curriculum features courses to build state-of-the-art engineering competencies such as:

Powertrain

In a motor vehicle, the powertrain comprises engine, transmissions, drivelines, and energy storage components that generate power and deliver that power to the road surface. Our program covers the spectrum from traditional automotive engines and transmissions to cutting edge electrified powertrains and energy solutions. 

Related Courses

+ Expand
  • Internal Combustion Engines
  • Control of Advanced Powertrains
  • Modeling & Control of Hybrid Electric Vehicles
  • Dynamics & Control of Automatic Transmission
  • Advanced Energy Solutions
  • Sustainable Energy Solutions
  • Fuel Cell & Fuel Processors
  • Energy Generation & Storage Using Modern Materials

Automotive Structures & Vehicle Dynamics

Customers expect attractive, safe vehicles with a quality feel and confident, responsive, and nimble driving characteristics.  Our program gives you an understanding of how to engineer and lead world-class vehicle design and development exceeding those customer expectations

Related Courses

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  • Modeling & Analysis of Vehicle Systems
  • Vehicle Dynamics
  • Automotive Body Structure
  • Vehicle Crashworthiness
  • Advanced Engineering Acoustics
  • Advanced Design for Manufacturability
  • Fatigue of Structures and Composite Materials
  • Vibrations
  • Fundamentals of Vehicle Dynamics

Electrical Systems & Software

Vehicle systems are increasingly integrated with control systems for safety, emissions, self-driving capability, connectivity, comfort and entertainment.  As a result, vehicles now contain millions of lines of code more than aircraft.  This trend is increasing toward vehicles becoming fully integrated electromechanical mobility platforms that will reshape cities and how the world’s population fulfills their transportation needs. Our program is designed to develop the engineers that will lead this mobility revolution.

Related Courses

+ Expand
  • Dynamics & Control of Connected Vehicles
  • Embedded Control Systems
  • Electric Machinery & Drives
  • Foundation of Computer Vision
  • Computational Data Science & Machine Learning
  • Grid Integration of Alternative Energy Solutions
  • Mechatronics
  • Mobile Robotics

Courses Offered

Individualized plans of study will be developed by students in consultation with an advisor. The curriculum includes a capstone project that provides students with an industrially-relevant team project experience. Click on the Bulletin link for a description of each course.

Sequential Undergraduate/Graduate Studies Program (SUGS)

Current University of Michigan engineering students can complete both your bachelor’s and master’s degrees in only five years with SUGS by taking some graduate-level classes during your undergraduate years, so you can save yourself one semester and complete a master’s with only two additional semesters.

SJTU-JI Accelerated Master’s Degree Program (AMDP)

Students who receive an undergraduate BSE degree from the U-M – Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s Joint Institute (SJTU-JI) can also pursue an Integrative Systems + Design Engineering master’s degree at U-M through the U-M-SJTU Accelerated Master’s Degree Program (AMDP)

Setting Ideas into Action

Make an impact by applying the knowledge and skills acquired through your MEng degree in the Automotive Engineering program to solve relevant problems in the industry, research, and non-profit organizations in our community.

Capstone Project

An important element of the program is a capstone project which offers students the opportunity to solve a real-world problem with their new knowledge. The culminating project can be completed individually or on a team, virtually or locally, and in close interaction with faculty and industry leaders.

Practice your passion through projects in:

  • Research in cutting-edge labs
  • Onsite work in top-ranked companies
  • Field-work with meaningful non-profits

Graduate Student Involvement

Graduate Student Advisory Committee (GSAC)

Graduate Student Advisory Committee (GSAC)

Learn More — >

Professional Development

Engineering Career Resource (ECRC)

Engineering Career Resource (ECRC)

Learn More — >
Society of Women Engineers (SWE)

Society of Women Engineers (SWE)

Learn More — >
National Society of Black Engineers group photo
National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE)

National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE)

Learn More — >

Videos

Alumni Bios

Each of these alumni were once in your shoes, deciding on a master’s degree. Explore their educational path and how it set their life in motion.

Image of Samuel Haberl

Samuel Haberl

MEng Automotive Engineering, 2019

General Motors

Business Architect for Electrical components

Image of Priyanka Kulkarni Bapat

Priyanka Kulkarni Bapat

MSE Automotive Engineering, 2015

Ford Motor Company

Research Engineer

Image of Kayaan Kalyaniwalla

Kayaan Kalyaniwalla

M.Eng Automotive Engineering 2015

Roush Industries

Development Engineer

Image of Brendan Diamond

Brendan Diamond

M.Eng Automotive Engineering, 2018

Ford Motor Company

Ford Performance: Powertrain Development Engineer

Image of Aditya Singh

Aditya Singh

M.Eng Automotive Engineering, 2017

IAV Automotive Engineering

Calibration Engineer, Level 2

Image of Samuel Haberl

Samuel Haberl

University of Michigan, BSE Electrical Engineering, 2013

University of Michigan, MEng Automotive Engineering, 2019

General Motors

Business Architect for Electrical components

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Career Summary

I have an interesting path through the Automotive Industry so far. Through University teams (Solar Car and Hybrid Racing) I became connected with several OEMs and automotive suppliers. This led to my first of 2 internships with Toyota working on wiring harnesses and electronics strategy. These internships developed into a full time position working on electronics strategy and heads up displays. This position was instrumental in shaping how I view the engineering process as it gave me the opportunity to read through customer issues, preferences, and other comments in order to understand how they perceived and used the technology we were working on. Often an engineer’s perspective would be wildly different than that of their customer and understanding that gap can be a game changer. In 2015, I was approached by GM and offered an opportunity to work on the HD mapping system requirements for their SuperCruise Feature. This was a high paced wild-west setup where there were fewer rules of thumb for development than other areas of the vehicle. Being able to work with the best in the field with decades of experience in safety systems was eye opening and showed me how data matters above all when making technical decisions. From here I joined the Machine Vision Front Camera group at General Motors. This gave me the opportunity to work on technology related to Neural Networks and their troubleshooting. In addition, this was the time when I became deeply involved in the launching of products. This involved material handling, supply chains, software releases, and managing the integration of multiple tier 1 suppliers. Most recently, I have been promoted to the role of Business Architect for Electrical Components. This has allowed me to dig into components across the vehicle in every platform and work on business and cost strategies to return the most value to our customers. I’m very excited to be working on it and enjoy working on all of the vehicles at once as a single “big picture.” 

How does your Master’s degree differentiate you from others?

My Masters Degree through Michigan has been fantastic at giving me an incredibly broad view of multi-disciplinary engineering. By taking classes on multiple different technologies and strategies, from manufacturing, crash structures, and risk assessment, to systems engineering, emissions, and control strategies: I feel I have one of the broadest knowledge bases on the vehicle compared to my peers purely because of the University of Michigan. I am hoping to utilize this to my full advantage in my new role as Business Architect. 

Reflection on Time Spent at U-M

Working with the Wilson Center on several projects has been the cornerstone that pulled me into the ISD department and a Masters in Automotive Engineering. While working on vehicle projects for the Michigan Hybrid Racing Team (now Michigan Electric Racing) as well as the Solar Car Team, I got exposed to the true multidisciplinary engineering that I love and led me to my graduate degree. During my graduate coursework, I absolutely loved Auto 501 with Professor Bell for its breadth. Anyone considering being an engineer should investigate that course. It covers so many aspects of the vehicle that there’s something to touch on for each discipline. Additionally, I very much enjoyed Professor Peng’s class on Hybrid Control Theory and the classes on Systems Engineering with Professor Bordley and the various classes on vehicle simulation.

Image of Priyanka Kulkarni Bapat

Priyanka Kulkarni Bapat

University of Michigan, MSE Automotive Engineering, 2015

Ford Motor Company

Research Engineer

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Career Summary

I was a part of Integrative Systems + Design (ISD) with a focus on the Controls System. After graduation, I joined Cummins Inc. as a controls engineer in emission controls. I worked there for six months and then moved back to Michigan and joined Ford Motor Company Product Development as a virtual verification and validation engineer for three and half years and recently moved to the Research team for Active Driver Assist Technology.   

How does your Master’s degree differentiate you from others?

One word answer will be Confidence! terminology used in classes is very close to the corporate world so it became a bit easier to take upon new challenges.

The embedded controls and advanced powertrain controls project work helped me a lot in my job at Ford. Matlab-Simulink modeling and Model-in-Loop, Software-in-Loop concepts were more relatable with my actual work which I learned during the assignments. The product development cycle was an essential part of the curriculum which was based on Ford’s process and that helped me during initial days to understand the workflow. Now as a research engineer, I use some concepts of vehicle dynamics taught in classes. Not just on the technical front but the Management and Human Factors credits I took are also important in my career to help me to get into a leadership position.

Reflection on Time Spent at U-M

MDP is a really great way to finish the capstone, work with companies and gain skills which will help to advance in career. A suggestion would be to take at least a few courses regarding hybrid electric vehicles and self-driving cars along with the advantage that M-city offers, will help increase industry awareness and latest trends in automotive technology.

Image of Kayaan Kalyaniwalla

Kayaan Kalyaniwalla

R.V. College of Engineering, B.E Mechanical Engineering 2004

U-M, M.Eng Automotive Engineering 2015

Roush Industries

Development Engineer

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Career Summary

How does your Master’s degree differentiate you from others?

By tailoring my Master’s program towards core engine features, I have definitely had an upper hand in my professional career when it comes to understanding and applying in-depth combustion analysis and engine control strategies.

Reflection on Time Spent at U-M

The M.Eng. in Automotive Engineering program has been one of the most valuable learning experiences in my academic life. All of the course material has been very relevant to the current requirements in the automotive industry.  In fact, four years after graduating, I still refer back to my course notes to brush up on several concepts when applying them at work. The program’s theoretical material coupled with the practical knowledge I gained at the Auto-Lab while completing my Capstone project gave me a very well-rounded knowledge base geared for the automotive industry.

For anyone interested in entering the automotive field, the M.Eng. Automotive Engineering program offers a wide variety of courses allowing you to structure the program to your interests. My personal favorite classes were ME438 – Internal Combustion Engines and ME569 – Advanced Powertrain Control, both of which I still refer back to even today.

Career Timeline

  • Roush Industries - Development Engineer, 2015 - present
  • Roush Industries - Engineering Intern, 2015
  • Red Rooster Performance - R&D Engineer, 2009-2014
Image of Brendan Diamond

Brendan Diamond

University of Michigan, BSE Mechanical Engineering, 2016 

University of Michigan, M.Eng Automotive Engineering, 2018

Ford Motor Company

Ford Performance: Powertrain Development Engineer

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Career Summary

During my time at the University of Michigan, I completed multiple internships at Ford in Powertrain Controls and Calibration and Electrified Powertrain Engineering. After my internships, I received a job offer from Ford approximately one year before graduation for a rotational program, which I happily accepted. Once a full-fledged Ford employee, I worked on many very interesting projects in many different rotations through multiple departments. During my time in Advanced Electrified Powertrain Systems Engineering, I submitted multiple inventions which are now being filed through the USPTO.  I worked on powertrain sizing, future vehicle target setting and cascading, cost save studies, and much more. 

My next rotation took me to Louisville, Kentucky to help launch the new 2020 Ford Super Duty in a Program Management role with a focus on powertrain and chassis systems. I worked long hours to solve production and quality issues before the vehicle was initiated into mass production. My third rotation consisted of calibration and control development for electric motors in which I worked in dynamometer cells to determine the optimal configuration from efficiency, durability, NVH, and performance perspectives. My current rotation is in Ford Performance, where I am working to develop future powertrains for performance vehicles. My final position will be back in Electrified Powertrain Engineering where I will perform a role in a model based calibration optimization group.

How does your Master’s degree differentiate you from others?

My Master’s degree helped me to understand automotive systems and vehicles from an engineering, manufacturing, and systems perspective at a much deeper level. I learned and developed my technical and problem solving skills while also learning about modeling general systems, powertrains, and complete vehicles. My Master’s also gave me hands on experience while performing engine emissions research under Professor Anna Stefanopoulou.  She guided my experimental mindset by teaching me how to design testing procedures, perform data analyses, experiment conclusions, and future research.  My U-M experience opened up doors to more technically challenging positions, provided with me considerable background knowledge in nearly every aspect of every position I have worked, provided additional benefits and compensation, and most importantly, it allowed me to develop the mindset and logic of an automotive/mechanical engineer. 

Advice to Students

Work hard and play hard. School can be very challenging and you need to work hard now to succeed when you graduate, but do not forget that college is where you develop lifelong relationships with friends and colleagues. While I was in school I did not join many clubs as I had my own car restorations and performance builds to attend to, but Formula SAE and Baja would be great ways to gain hands on experience and gain the attention of recruiters for internships. Lastly, make sure you take classes that interest you and that will guide your true passion!

Image of Aditya Singh

Aditya Singh

NIT Allahabad, India, B.Tech Mechanical Engineering, 2014

University of Michigan, M.Eng Automotive Engineering, 2017

IAV Automotive Engineering

Calibration Engineer, Level 2

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Career Summary

I worked as a Calibration Optimization Intern in the Diesel team at IAV while I was studying at U-M and the analytical skills taught in ISD programs at U-M were directly applicable to the advanced calibration topics I was working on at IAV.

After graduating from U-M I started working full-time at IAV as a calibration engineer working on OBD systems calibration. Simulations, modeling and optimization techniques taught in various courses were invaluable and enabled me to be proficient at my work.

How does your Master’s degree differentiate you from others?

The Master’s degree from U-M gave me an edge over other engineers due to industry oriented focus of my graduate education.

Advice to Students

University life is meant to explore your personality and figure out a proper direction for your career so try to push yourself, do as many projects as you can, talk to your classmates and professors, do some volunteer work, work as hard as you can because nothing worth having comes easy. U-M gives you all the opportunities and avenues for this, make sure you make good use of it.

Industries & Companies

Students who graduate from this program have strengths in modern automotive systems, engineering fundamentals, enhanced interdisciplinary skills, and the teamwork skills necessary to guide product and process development in the rapidly evolving automotive sector.

Industries & Occupations

  • Systems Engineers
  • Automotive Test and Validation Engineering
  • Senior Safety Engineer
  • Design Engineer
  • Calibration Engineer
  • Design Release Engineer
  • Software Engineer
  • Systems Integration and Validation Engineer
  • Autonomous Vehicle Engineer

Companies

  • GM
  • Ford
  • BMW
  • Bosch
  • Kohler
  • Nissan
  • Harley-Davidson Motor Company
  • Tesla, Continental
  • Cummins Inc.
  • Roush Industries
  • Fiat Chrysler Automobiles
  • Mercedes-Benz Research & Development North America

Salaries

Discover the value of a master’s degree!

On average, U-M graduates with a master’s degree in an engineering field can earn 15-25% more than those with a bachelor’s degree in engineering. The average salary range of an MEng in Automotive Engineering from ISD is $80,700 for 2018 graduates. Use the link below to research average salaries based on a U-M engineering master’s degree, experience level, and desired work location.