Master's Requirements

MS students have two options, thesis or non-thesis. A thesis MS student takes one year of courses and then works with an individual faculty member on a research project culminating in a thesis exam. A non-thesis MS student takes two years of courses and must pass the qualifying exam.

• CORE: The following courses are required for all MS: 7001, 7002, 7005, 7006, 7010, 7011.
• SEMINAR: 8090 and 8091 are required in every term.
• RESEARCH: For a thesis MS, a student must take a minimum of 6 credits of 8072R and a minimum of 2 advanced (8000 or 9000 level) graduate level courses.
  
• SPECIALIZATION: For a non-thesis MS, a student must take a minimum of 4 advanced (8000 or 9000 level) graduate level courses.

• THESIS EXAM: For a thesis MS, a student is tested on the thesis and its background science.
• QUALIFYING EXAM: For a non-thesis MS, a student must pass this exam at the MS level by the spring semester of the second year