The Optomechanical Engineering (OME) emphasis area of the Optical Sciences M.S. program is a multidisciplinary educational program that is designed to provide students with advanced training in this specific field. The field is concerned with the manufacture, stability, packaging, and integration of optical systems. Optical systems typically have stringent demands and tolerances in order for the systems to meet specifications. This training is in high demand within the optics and other associated industries. Students with training in Optomechanical Engineering are highly sought for fields including space instrumentation, satellite development, defense and security, augmented reality, consumer electronics, biomedical device development, and all fields interfacing with optical systems. The emphasis area includes a set of required courses, elective courses, and laboratory courses.
The OME emphasis area has the same application procedure and deadlines as the general M.S. in Optical Sciences, but does involve a separate application instead of the general M.S. application. The application requirements for the OME option differ from the general M.S. option in the following ways:
- Once admitted to the M.S. program with OME emphasis, a student may choose to switch into the general M.S. program without submitting a new application. This change is straightforward. Please email admissions@optics.arizona.edu or call (520)621-8418, if you need to switch between M.S. options prior to admission.
The OME M.S. option is an emphasis area, or sub-plan, of the general M.S. in Optical Sciences program. As such, it follows the requirements of the general Optical Sciences M.S. program, as specified in the Graduate Student Handbook, with the following exceptions:
- The OME option requires the completion of a specific set of core courses, and restricts additional elective and lab courses. The course restrictions are summarized in the Appendices of the Graduate Student Handbook.
- A PDF summary of OME course requirements is available at the top of the Graduate Student Resources webpage.
- The OME option requires the completion of an M.S. Thesis or M.S. Report on a topic relevant to optomechanical engineering, or the completion of an approved technical writing course. The thesis or report topic must be approved by a faculty committee prior to working on the thesis or report in order to ensure that it meets the requirements of the OME emphasis area.
- For this emphasis area, the diploma will state “Master of Science in Optical Sciences with emphasis in Optomechanical Engineering.”