The Master of Science (MS) Thesis Option is a research and thesis degree. Students interested in a PhD. degree are encouraged to directly pursue the PhD degree without first earning an MS degree.
The degree of Master of Science Non-Thesis recognizes achievement in which design is emphasized, in contrast to the typical MS degree that has emphasis on research. For students entering and accepted for an MS non-thesis degree and with adequate undergraduate preparation, an MS Non-Thesis degree should be completed within two years of full-time study.
Master of Science (MS)
Thesis Option
Thesis Option Overview
Complete a minimum of 30 credit hours in courses level 6000 or above
- 20 credit hours of coursework
- 12 out of the 20 credits must be MSE courses. Exceptions to this rule are at the discretion of the student’s Supervisory Committee
- Of the required 18 credits of MSE courses, 12 credits will be dedicated to core MSE courses (MSE 6032, MSE 6034, MSE 6011, and MSE 6001) - 4 semesters (2.0 credits) of MSE Graduate Seminar (MSE 7800/7801)
- Minimum of 10 hours of Thesis Research (MSE 6970)
All coursework must be completed at a cumulative 3.0 GPA (B grade average). All courses must be passed with a B- or better.
Students will also be required to complete the following requirements during the course of the program:
- Supervisory Committee
- Program of Study
- Thesis and Defense
Required Courses
All entering MS students are required to take the following MSE core courses within their first two semesters, regardless of where they received their undergraduate degree.* These courses will count towards the 20 hours of MSE coursework hours.
- MSE 6032 - Advanced Thermodynamics (3 credits)
- MSE 6001 - Engineering Materials (3 credits)
- MSE 6034 - Kinetics (3 credits)
- MSE 6011 - Advanced Materials Techniques: Experiment, Theory, and Characterization (3 credits)
*EXCEPTION: Students who received a B.S. degree from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Utah, and received a B or better in MSE 5034 and MSE 3001 will not be required to take MSE 6034, 6011 and 6001. These students are allowed to substitute these three required courses with any other 6000/7000 level MSE or MET E course.
Graduate Seminar
Students are required to take 4 semesters (0.5 credit hours each semester) of MSE Graduate Seminar.
- MSE 7800 - Graduate Seminar I (0.5 credits) Fall Semesters
- MSE 7801 - Graduate Seminar II (0.5 credits) Spring Semesters
One oral presentation is required.
MSE Graduate Seminar Independent Study
If students are unable to attend the Graduate Seminar in a given semester due to an academic or work related conflict, they will be required to make up the credit through an independent study. Students will still be required to register for MSE 7800/7801, as the credit hours are required for the graduate program. However, it will be the student’s responsibility to attend at least 10 seminars or lecture during the duration of the semester.
The seminars or lectures must be related to the field of Materials Science & Engineering. The seminars or lectures can be on or off campus. They could also be pre-recorded and viewed from various media platforms (example YouTube).
Students must write a one page (typed, single spaced, 12 pt. font) paper addressing the following topics:
• How the topics relates to your research
• One full paragraph should discuss the research style and communication skills of the speaker.
• Students should give advice on how the presentation could have been better
The 10 one-page papers are due the last day of classes in the given semester.
Thesis Hours
Students must complete at least 6 hours of Thesis Research (MSE 6970, Thesis Research: Master of Science.). The candidate must also be regularly enrolled at the University and registered for at least one course during the semester in which the final oral examination (thesis defense) is taken.
Registration Restrictions
- Graduate credit may be transferred from other regionally-accredited institutions with department and advisor approval. Credits transferred from another institution may be used for only one degree. Up to six semester hours of transfer credit may be applied toward fulfillment of graduate degree requirements if they are of high letter grade (B or higher; ‘credit only’ grades are unacceptable), are recommended by the student’s supervisory committee, and were taken within four years of semester of admission to the University of Utah for master’s students.
- Only nine semester hours of non-matriculated credit, taken no more than three year prior to approval, can be applied toward a graduate degree.
- No candidate for a graduate degree is permitted to register for more than 16 credit hours in any single semester. A schedule of nine credit hours is considered a full load for doctoral degree candidates.
- Only 3 hours of MSE 6980 - Faculty Consultations can be counted towards the MS degree provided there is proper documentation. This can take the place of 3 MSE coursework hours on the Program of Study.
- Only 1 hour of MSE 6950 - Independent Study can be used towards the MS Thesis degree.
- Students in the College of Engineering cannot simultaneously be candidates for an MS in one department and a ME, MS or PhD candidate in the same or in another department.
English Proficiency
The University of Utah Admissions Department sets the requirements for English Proficiency, not the department. This requirement cannot be waived. Applications will not be processed without official test results dated within two years. For more information, please see the admissions page on English Proficiency found here.
Non-thesis Option
Non-thesis Option Overview
Complete a minimum of 30 credit hours in courses level 6000 or above
- 20 credit hours of coursework
- 12 out of the 20 credits must be MSE courses. Exceptions to this rule are at the discretion of the student’s Supervisory Committee.
- Of the required 18 credits of MSE courses, 12 credits will be dedicated to core MSE courses (MSE 6032, MSE 6034, MSE 6011, and MSE 6001). - 4 semesters (2.0 credit hours) of MSE Graduate Seminar (MSE 7800/7801)
- Minimum of 10 hours of Special Project - M.S. Non-Thesis (MSE 6590)
All coursework must be completed at a cumulative 3.0 GPA (B grade average). All courses must be passed with a B- or better.
Students will also be required to complete the following requirements during the course of the program:
- Supervisory Committee
- Program of Study
- Project and Defense
Required Courses
All entering MS students are required to take the following MSE core courses within their first two semesters, regardless of where they received their undergraduate degree.* These courses will count towards the 22 hours of MSE coursework hours.
- MSE 6032 - Advanced Thermodynamics (3 credits)
- MSE 6001 - Engineering Materials (3 credits)
- MSE 6034 - Kinetics (3 credits)
- MSE 6011 - Advanced Materials Techniques: Experiment, Theory, and Characterization (3 credits)
*EXCEPTION: Students who received a BS from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Utah and received a B or better in MSE 5034/6034 - Kinetics will not be required to retake this course.
Graduate Seminar
Students are required to take 4 semesters (0.5 credit hours each semester) of MSE Graduate Seminar.
- MSE 7800 - Graduate Seminar I (0.5 credits) Fall Semesters
- MSE 7801 - Graduate Seminar II (0.5 credits) Spring Semesters
One oral presentations are required. Graduate Seminar credit hours cannot be used to satisfy the 22 credit hours of MSE coursework.
MSE Graduate Seminar Independent Study
If students are unable to attend the Graduate Seminar in a given semester due to an academic or work related conflict, they will be required to make up the credit through an independent study. Students will still be required to register for MSE 7800/7801, as the credit hours are required for the graduate program. However, it will be the student’s responsibility to attend at least 10 seminars or lecture during the duration of the semester.
The seminars or lectures must be related to the field of Materials Science & Engineering. The seminars or lectures can be on or off campus. They could also be pre-recorded and viewed from various media platforms (example YouTube).
Students must write a one page (typed, single spaced, 12 pt. font) paper addressing the following topics:
• How the topics relates to your research
• One full paragraph should discuss the research style and communication skills of the speaker.
• Students should give advice on how the presentation could have been better
The 10 one-page papers are due the last day of classes in the given semester.
Special Project Hours
Students must complete at least 6 credit hours of Special Project - M.S. Non-Thesis (MSE 6590). The candidate must also be regularly enrolled at the University and registered for at least one course during the semester in which the final oral examination (thesis defense) is taken.
Registration Restrictions
- Graduate credit may be transferred from other regionally-accredited institutions with department and advisor approval. Credits transferred from another institution may be used for only one degree. Up to six semester hours of transfer credit may be applied toward fulfillment of graduate degree requirements if they are of high letter grade (B or higher; ‘credit only’ grades are unacceptable), are recommended by the student’s supervisory committee, and were taken within four years of semester of admission to the University of Utah for master’s students.
- Only nine semester hours of non-matriculated credit, taken no more than three year prior to approval, can be applied toward a graduate degree.
- No candidate for a graduate degree is permitted to register for more than 16 credit hours in any single semester. A schedule of nine credit hours is considered a full load for doctoral degree candidates.
- Only 3 hours of MSE 6980 - Faculty Consultations does not count towards fulfillment of degree requirements.
- Only 1 hour of MSE 6950 - Independent Study can be used towards the MS Non-Thesis degree.
- Students in the College of Engineering cannot simultaneously be candidates for an MS in one department and a ME, MS or PhD candidate in the same or in another department.
English Proficiency
The University of Utah Admissions Department sets the requirements for English Proficiency, not the department. This requirement cannot be waived. Applications will not be processed without official test results dated within two years. For more information, please see the admissions page on English Proficiency found here.
Supervisory Committee Overview
Each supervisory committee consists of three faculty members. In compliance with The Graduate School’s policy, the supervisory committee chair must be a regular faculty at the University of Utah. The majority of the committee members must be tenure line faculty in the MSE department.
Supervisory Committee Request Form
Program of Study Overview
During the second year of graduate study, MS students are required to complete a Program of Study. This form is not a selection of courses that satisfies the minimum requirements, but will be a list of all course work and research hours proposed for the MS degree that will be approved by the Supervisory Committee. It is important that students understand that the Supervisory Committee makes the final decision for the courses that will appear on the Program of Study for the MS.
Procedure to Complete
The procedure to complete the Program of Study form is as follows:
- Students must arrange a meeting with their Supervisory Committee Chair to present the proposed course for the Program of Study form. At the meeting, the Supervisory Committee Chair will review and approve the student's courses for their degree.
- In some cases, the Supervisory Committee Chair may require extra course work that exceeds the minimum requirements for a MS degree based on the thesis topic.
- As stated in the Graduate School's policy requirements: coursework used to complete requirements for one graduate program may not be used to meet the requirement of another.
Thesis and Defense
Thesis Overview
Students should become familiar with the information on the Thesis Office website.
The style and format for the MS Thesis are determined by Departmental policy and registered with the Thesis Editor, who approved individual theses in accordance with Departmental and The Graduate School policy. The approved style guides can be found on The Graduate School’s website.
Please be sure to check the Thesis Office manuscript tracking system to see if your thesis has been uploaded to ProQuest.
Preliminary Formatting
What is a preliminary formatting review?
This lower-stakes, shorter review will help reveal significant formatting issues in manuscripts that will be an impediment to speedy approval by the Thesis Office. Students are allowed to turn in a chapter or more of a manuscript for a preliminary review, or may sign up for a 20-minute, in-person format review consultation. The Thesis Office will have an appointment calendar for students in place by Spring 2018.
How will this affect my graduation?
Students who do not complete a preliminary review will not be barred from graduating. However, students who do not complete a preliminary format review will no longer be guaranteed that their manuscripts will be approved in time for graduation in the semester the manuscript is submitted.
Preliminary reviews will be conducted by the Thesis Office up to two weeks before the first manuscript deadlines. Following that time, no requests for preliminary reviews will be accepted until the next semester.
What are the important dates?
Review deadlines are updated on the Thesis Office website.
Does a student need to wait until the semester they’re graduating to have a preliminary review?
No. If the student learns the correct formatting early in the writing process and implements it in their writing, it is more likely that the manuscript will exhibit no major formatting problems.
If a student is off-campus, how can they have a preliminary format review?
Students may ask a colleague to submit their manuscript for a preliminary review, just as they may for their final manuscript review. Students who wish to have a colleague pick up an edited preliminary format review must sign a FERPA form (available on the Thesis Office website). Off-campus students who wish to have an in-person preliminary format review may arrange with a Thesis Office representative to have a Skype or phone-in appointment.
Will students who have had a preliminary formatting review be prioritized by the Thesis Office when they turn in their manuscript for the final manuscript review?
Manuscript review submission to the Thesis Office will continue to operate in a first-come, first-serve basis. This will be reflected in the Thesis Tracking Tool, available for students and administrators on the Graduate School website.
Students who fail to have a preliminary formatting review and who have no major formatting issues will continue to graduate in the semester they submit. A student who has not had a preliminary formatting review and has major formatting errors that bar them from publication (as explained in the Thesis Office Handbook) may have their manuscripts be given a low priority for follow-up or have their manuscripts rejected for graduation that semester.
Whom can I contact if I have further questions?
Questions can be directed to the new Thesis Office general email address, thesis@gradschool.utah.edu.
Defense
The draft or final thesis document will serve as the written basis for the presentation and should be submitted to the Supervisory Committee four weeks prior to the oral defense.
The oral defense date is set by the supervisory committee and is open to the public. After the oral presentation, a question and answer period must be allowed. At the conclusion of the public participation, the committee may excuse the public and conduct further questioning on the thesis and related topics. The outcome of the thesis defense is reported on the Report of the Final Oral Exam and Thesis for the Master’s Degree form. These forms are the responsibility of the student and can be found on The Graduate School’s website.
When should you defend in order to graduate in a specific semester?
The earlier you defend in a given semester, the more likely you are to be able to graduate that same semester. Check the Thesis Calendar to see when the submission deadline is. You need to defend far enough ahead of that deadline that you can make any changes to the text required by your committee and ensure that the manuscript adheres to your chosen style guide and Thesis Office requirements by the deadline. Be aware that if you submit your manuscript on the deadline and there are any formatting errors you will not graduate that semester. The sooner you turn your manuscript in the more likely you are to graduate in that semester. As a general rule of thumb, plan to defend in the first 2 months of the semester if you want to graduate that semester.
Registration
Students must be registered for at least 3 credit hours of MSE 6970 during the semester of their defense. Once the student defends and the thesis has been accepted by their supervisory committee the student is not required to register for another semester. International Students should check with the International Center once they have defended to make sure that they do not go out of status while completing requested rewrites.
Thesis Defense Information
Graduate School and Thesis Office Information:
Special Project
Special Project Overview
The Special Project must be written in the form of a report that is submitted to the student’s Supervisory Committee. Students are then required to present the results of their project in an oral presentation to the Supervisory Committee and other designated audience.
Both the report and presentation are required for completion of the MS Non-Thesis. A copy of the final written Special Project is provided to the Academic Advisor to be retained in the student’s file, once it has been approved by the Supervisory Committee and been presented in the oral presentation.
To graduate, the “Report the Final Examination for the Master’s Degree” form needs to be completed and signed. This form is processed by the Materials Science and Engineering Academic Advisor after the completion of the oral presentation of the special project.
Registration
Students must be registered for at least 3 credit hours of Research (MSE 6970) during the semester of their presentation. International Students should check with the International Center once they have defended to make sure that they do not go out of status while completing requested rewrites.