MS Program Requirements
Program Timeline
The M.S. program is expected to take between 1.5 and 3 years, but this can vary based on student background, research project, and any number of other variables. All program requirements must be started and completed within a single continuous interval of no more than seven years.
All MSE Graduate Students are required to complete the entrance exam within the first year of enrollment
21 credits of courses and 9 credits of thesis research are required for the M.S. A 3.0 cumulative GPA is required to graduate and the “Required Core” courses must each be passed with a B or better.
The committee consists of your Major Advisor, who serves as committee chair, plus at least two, but no more than four, additional members. The Major Advisor is your primary mentor and must be a member of the graduate faculty within the MSE program.
Upon completion of at least 50% of courses and approval of the supervisory committee, a student is eligible to complete an Application for Admission to Candidacy.
Once this application is accepted by the Graduate College, the student becomes a M.S. Candidate. Candidacy is required at least one semester prior to submitting the thesis and undertaking the final oral exam. For most students, the core courses will also have been completed at time of admission to candidacy.
For the Master of Science degree, the thesis documents original research carried out by you while enrolled in the graduate program. A thesis is characterized by a clearly stated proposition or hypothesis that is investigated using analysis and synthesis of data or other scholarly evidence; the thesis must include a discussion of the relevant literature and demonstrate the ability of the student to independently and successfully address a significant intellectual problem with concepts and methods that are accepted in the major field of study.
As part of your program, you must defend your thesis through a final oral examination. The examination consists of three sequential parts in which you will present and defend your thesis research: (i) a public presentation, (ii) a public question and answer session, and (iii) a private question and answer session conducted by the Supervisory Committee addressing any questions they have on your research. The outcome of the final oral examination can only be pass or fail and is determined by a majority vote of the Supervisory Committee. A student who fails the defense may be permitted to try again according to the rules established in the Graduate Catalog, but a second failure results in dismissal from the program. When the defense is completed with a result of pass, the Supervisory Committee completes the defense committee approval form. The committee may require changes, updates, or modifications to the dissertation. When these requirements have been met to the satisfaction of the Supervisory Committee, the final reading approval page of the dissertation is signed by your Major Advisor.