The Study Program for the Master of Science degree must be selected with the approval of a thesis advisor.
The course requirements for this degree can be listed as follows:
Students may transfer up to six units of course work completed at other institutions accredited for graduate work. Correspondence courses will not be accepted for graduate credit. This transfer of graduate credit must be requested from the Registrar by the student after he has satisfactorily completed one semester of work at the University of Arizona. A student must take a minimum of 20 units of work in residence.
Every graduate student is required to enroll in the Colloquium, MSE 595, during Fall and Spring semesters. In addition, each student at the M.S. level is required to make one colloquium presentation during the pursuit of his/her degree.
The cumulative grade point average required for graduation is 3.00, based upon courses taken towards the advanced degree. There is a limit of 6 years of total elapsed time from the point of admission to Graduate study to the completion of the M.S. degree requirements.
The Study Program. Each entering student will be assigned an advisor by the Department Head. With the help of his/her advisor, the student will prepare an initial program of studies to begin his/her first semester of work. Before the end of the first semester, the student will prepare a complete program to fulfill the course requirements for the degree toward which he/she is planning to work.
Thesis. The student is urged to select a thesis topic during the first semester. If the faculty member who will direct his research is not the advisor originally assigned to him, the research director will become his advisor and will help him to plan his proposed study program.
In some instances, the project will be defined by the source of financial support he is receiving, such as sponsored research. In other cases, the student is urged to discuss potential research topics with several faculty members, in order to choose a topic that interests him, and for which the Department has the necessary equipment and supplies. When a thesis topic has been selected, a faculty committee shall be appointed by the Department Head in conjunction with the advisor to oversee the research, and to advise the student where appropriate.
It should be kept in mind that an M.S. thesis, while not necessarily of the same length and depth as a Ph.D. dissertation, should be publishable in the technical literature and represent some extension of knowledge in the field.
The student is responsible for the preparation and copying of the thesis. One copy must be provided to the major professor, one copy to the Department, in addition to copies required by the Graduate College.
Notice of Intent to Complete Degree Requirements. This is a form, obtained from the Graduate College, that should be filed with the Graduate College within four weeks after registration for his/her final semester or term.
Final Examination/Thesis Defense. All students accepted as candidates for a Master’s degree are required to pass an oral examination before a faculty committee. The examination shall consist of questions of a fundamental nature, designed to probe the depth of understanding and general knowledge in the student’s thesis area. Students are advised to concentrate their study upon fundamentals and general principles. It is the student’s responsibility to request this examination when all course work has been essentially completed, and a grade average of 3.00 has been attained for all courses taken for graduate credit, and the completed thesis has been accepted and approved by the thesis director. Typed copies of the thesis must be provided to members of the examining committee. The time and place of the examination will be chosen by the advisor.
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