Degree Requirements

The following requirements are in addition to, or further elaborate upon, those requirements outlined in The Graduate School Policy Guide.

BS/MS

Total Units Required for the Master's Degree: 12 for the courses only option; 9 for the thesis option

Courses only option:  Students take 12 classes beyond those required for the BS.  Eight of these classes must be advanced MSE classes listed in the Graduate School Bulletin, and 5 of these must be 400 level MSE classes, excluding MAT_SCI 499-0 Projects.  All classes must be taken for a grade rather than pass/fail.

Thesis option: Students may extend their 396 Senior Project into a Master’s Thesis to satisfy the requirements of this program. In addition, students must take six advanced classes, listed in the Graduate School Bulletin.  At least four of these classes should be MSE classes, with at least 3 being 400-level MSE classes.  All classes must be taken for a grade rather than pass/fail.

The time required to complete the M.S. thesis research will depend on the student and on the specific project details.  The following general guidelines are provided so that the student can design a program with sufficient time to complete a strong thesis.

1. In addition to the six classes described above, the student should register for MAT_SCI 596-0 MS Thesis Research during at least three successive quarters.
2. No more than two additional courses should be taken concurrently with MAT_SCI 596-0 MS Thesis Research registration.