Masters Degree in Failure Analysis?

[mechengdude]

I had a PM at work say "so and so" has a Master's Degree in Failure Analysis". I almost choked on my coffee laughing as I beleive the individual is mis-informed.

So my question. Is here anyone aware of an accredited univerity that offers a MS in "Failure Analysis"

Thanks for your input.

 

[KENAT]

Well, in the UK you could get a Masters from research rather then being taught classes etc.

It was essentially a min PHD.

So in that case it's entirely possible that someone might have speant their Masters researching fracture mechanics or something but that's not quite what the PM said.

Or, maybe the guys major project/thesis was related to failure analysis.

Just some ideas.

KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

My alma mater offers a post graduate certifcate in Failure Analysis... but no masters program.

 

[JAE]

Bruno - isn't "post-graduate" usually a Master's Degree?

 

[MintJulep]

Forensic Engineering.

http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/freeabs_all.jsp?tp=&arnumber=963696&isnumber=20803

 

[JAE]

I looked at MIT, Univ. of Texas, and Univ. of Illinois and didn't find any masters in failure analysis.

 

[Gymmeh]

I checked My alma, you can do your thesis on failure analysis.

But it would be a sub category, of Ms Materials or i guess the way it reads, what ever you can get "committee approval" for.

 

[HgTX]

Could just be a reference to a specialization. I have a master's degree in civil engineering with a specialization in structural engineering (we took nothing but structural classes and were segregated from everyone in the other technical areas, but nonetheless we were not one of the few schools that have a separate SE degree). In informal settings I will sometimes say I have a master's degree in structural engineering.

Hg

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[dvd]

It seems like a case of needing to understand the difference between a Masters and a Masters thesis. I would have taken the comment to mean that the individual did a Masters thesis on Failure Analysis. Seems like an innocent mistake.

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

JAE,

In this case the certificate indicates some post graduate studies, but the courseload is less than a master's program (3-4 classes, I believe).

 

[hokie66]

I think, as MintJulep has pointed out, that Purdue's MS in Forensic Engineering is the type of thing we are talking about. Sounds interesting.

JAE, Don't know where BPJ is from, but in many countries, there are certificates and diplomas, some very prestigious, offered by universities as post-graduate work for people not in pursuit of a Masters or PHD.

 

[IRstuff]

That's all assuming that the PM was being literal. In that context, he might just have meant the the subject was THE Subject Matter Expert in FA.

Some of my managers do that occasionally, calling someone DOCTOR so-and-so, as an acknowledgement of their expertise.

TTFN

FAQ731-376

 

[mechengdude]

thanks for all the input.

 

[plasgears]

I had a newly graduated MSME whose specialty was fracture mechanics, and we made dramatic changes in design for manufacture. Apparently, he took selected masters courses and his thesis was in fracture mechanics. He wrote a computer program while at U/ILL called MISCRA, 'missiom analysis of cracked structures.'

He might have loosely claimed to have a masters in Fracture Mechanics.

 

[Maui]

Your PM may not have communicated the information correctly. As others have pointed out, for an advanced degree you will normally specialize in a particular area of interest (failure analysis or fracture mechanics) and your degree will be awarded in the discipline that you studied (Materials Science or Mechanical Engineering).

Maui