Graduate studies in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE) lead to the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in engineering sciences, with a specialization in one of the following areas: aerospace engineering, applied mechanics, applied ocean sciences, chemical engineering, computational science, engineering physics and mechanical engineering. The instructional and research programs are characterized by interdisciplinary relations with the Departments of Bioengineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Computer Science and Engineering, Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry and with associated campus institutes such as the California Space Institute, Center for Magnetic Recording Research, Center of Excellence for Advanced Materials, Center for Molecular Genetics, Institute for Pure and Applied Physical Sciences, Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UCSD Center for Energy and Combustion Research, Fusion Energy Research Program, Institute for Nonlinear Science.