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At the Bagley College of Engineering at Mississippi State University, you’ll be part of a vibrant community shaping the future of technology and innovation. With an R1-Very High Research Activity classification from the Carnegie Foundation, MSU ranks among the top 100 research institutions in the nation, according to the National Science Foundation, making it the perfect place for you to pursue your graduate studies.
Imagine collaborating with some of the brightest minds in engineering at one of the few named engineering colleges in the United States. MSU ranks 51st in research and development expenditures among all engineering colleges in the U.S. As an MSU graduate student, you won’t just learn; you’ll engage in groundbreaking research to discover solutions to the world’s most urgent problems. From preventing traumatic brain injuries to designing groundbreaking machinery, the college has facilities to conduct a wide variety of designs, analyses, and testing.
One example of the college’s impactful research is its EcoCAR team, where students like you make waves. The team placed sixth at the EcoCAR Mobility Challenge’s Year 2 Competition in 2024 and was recognised for their overall programme management and presentation and technical report, alongside winning “Best Workmanship” for the integrated vehicle category. Mechanical engineering student Jagdeo Singh was also nominated for a leadership award. This achievement resulted from the incredible teamwork of more than 60 student researchers from different majors in the college, including mechanical engineering, electrical and computer engineering, aerospace engineering, industrial and systems engineering, computer science, cybersecurity and business administration.
The EcoCAR team’s success is due, in large part, to the college’s powerful combination of multi-disciplinary leadership, innovative partnerships and real-world impact.
The Bagley College of Engineering ranks 51st among all engineering colleges in the U.S. in research and development expenditures. Source: Mississippi State University
Eight departments, many research opportunities
The college has eight departments: the Department of Aerospace Engineering, the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, the Dave C. Swalm School of Chemical Engineering, the Richard A. Rula School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, and the Michael W. Hall School of Mechanical Engineering.
Each department has numerous research projects that faculty members and students collaborate with a wide variety of MSU centres, such as the Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems, the High Performance Computing Collaboratory and many others.
The Department of Aerospace Engineering explores computational fluid dynamics and related technologies, experimental fluid mechanics, multidisciplinary design, flight mechanics, composite structures, flight testing, stability/control, data acquisition, and materials testing and evaluation. As a student here, you’ll have access to the Raspet Flight Research Laboratory, the largest university flight laboratory in the nation. This laboratory focuses on designing, fabricating, testing, and analysing uncrewed aircraft systems.
The Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering studies biomedical and environmental engineering, bioenergy and agriculture. The department recently received a US$750,000 grant to improve farm efficiency and develop a technology that measures the interaction of different wavelengths or colours with chemicals found in soil.
The Swalm School of Chemical Engineering has five primary research areas: environmental engineering, biotechnology, energy engineering, materials engineering, and chemical engineering fundamentals. Most recently, researchers secured a significant Department of Energy grant to “unfold the mystery of enhanced brightness” in LEDs and won the Innovation Award at the TechConnect World Innovation Conference and Expo in 2022.
Meanwhile, at the Richard A. Rula School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, researchers investigate the environment, water resources, materials, geotechnicals, structures, transportation and construction – all the aspects that build a thriving city. The school is home to the Construction Materials Research Center, Mississippi Transportation Research Center, and Watersheds and Water Quality Research Lab.
Projects at the Department of Computer Science and Engineering can be divided into three categories: high-end computing and visualisation, artificial intelligence and software engineering. Pushing the boundaries on what computers can do, research here studies the intersection of computer science and various other fields, like medicine and engineering.
Most research at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering emphasises four key areas. Research on computer systems and microelectronics covers every level of computing, communication and electronics, while communications and electromagnetics study electromagnetic waves in communicating devices. Signal processing and machine learning examine technologies that transform, interpret and predict information. Power, controls, and high voltage revolve around power systems, power electronics and high voltage engineering.
Present your research at a regional, national, and international level by applying for the Student Research Travel award programme. Source: Mississippi State University
Ranked 19th nationally for research expenditures, the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering is the best in the country for improving the design and the flow of value from various aspects of an organisation. With five patents and three publications awarded in 2022, the department proves that research here provides innovative solutions to problems faced by corporations operating in today’s global economy. Key research areas you will work on include applied operations research, ergonomics, logistics and transportation systems, management systems engineering and production systems.
As the largest school at MSU, the Michael W. Hall School of Mechanical Engineering is an integral part of the college. Its primary research areas are heat transfer / fluid mechanics and mechanical systems and materials. The former investigates the development and application of the computational fluid dynamics methodology that predicts liquid and gas flows, while the latter solves problems regarding product design and manufacturing.
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