The university's General Requirements for Graduate Study for The Master's and Licentiate Degrees apply to all master's degree programs offered in the School of Engineering. However, there are two exceptions:
- Competency in a foreign language is not required.
- The comprehensive examination is not required.
The minimum requirement for the master's degree is the successful completion of an approved program of study consisting of at least 30 semester credit hours. Individual programs may require more than 30 semester credit hours. Two options are available to complete the requirements.
Non-Thesis Option
A student may complete the required semester credit hours through graduate coursework with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0.
Thesis Option
A student may write a master’s thesis whose topic is approved by the appropriate graduate program. The Master's Thesis Topic and Readers Approval Form needs to be completed prior to the mid-point of the first semester of thesis registration. If this option is selected, the student registers for six credit hours of master’s thesis guidance, ENGR 696, taking three credits of the course in each semester. Upon approval of the written thesis, the corresponding six semester credit hours will be posted to the student's academic record and will be counted toward the total number of semester credit hours required for the master’s degree program. If the student is not successful in depositing the thesis after two semesters, they are required to register and pay tuition as a student each semester until they successfully deposit. For students who have completed all other coursework, ENGR 696B Masters Thesis Continuation is zero credits but billed as 1-credit (it does not contribute any additional credits to a student’s record), allowing a student to be continuously registered. The remaining number of semester credit hours of graduate coursework must be completed with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0. For more information about master’s thesis students should consult the Master’s/Licentiate Thesis Handbook