MS Requirements

You, your adviser, the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS), and the BAE Graduate Program Committee (GPC) Chair work together in a cooperative, iterative process to develop a degree program that meets your goals and all Graduate School, BAE Program, and subject matter requirements. The full GPC sees copies of programs approved by the DGS and GPC Chair, but doesn’t participate in the program approval process unless requested by the student, adviser, DGS, or GPC Chair. If the GPC is asked to consider a degree program and it does not approve the program, the student’s adviser and/or the student may ask the full BAE Graduate Faculty to consider the program.

Members of your examination committee receive copies of approved degree programs.

If you are a full-time student on an assistantship, we want you to submit your program no later than the middle of the second semester you are enrolled. This will allow you to meet Graduate School requirements, which are: master’s programs should be filed after about 10 credits, and doctoral programs must be submitted to the Graduate School at least two semester before the term in which you plan to take their oral examination.

After your degree program is initially approved, any proposed changes to the program must be submitted to the DGS for approval.

M.S. Degree Program Requirements

Degree programs developed by BAE graduate students who do not have an engineering background should include mostly engineering or quantitative courses. Degree programs for students who have an engineering background can include up to one half of the credits in non-engineering and non-quantitative courses.

Your master’s level program must include:

  • a minimum of 30 credits. The credit total must include a minimum of 20 course credits with at least 14 credits in the major field and at least 6 credits in a related field outside the major. BAE 8001, 8002, and 8013 are counted in the major field course credits. M.B.A.E. students can take 30 course credits or 20 course credits and 10 design credits. Plan B students take 20 course credits plus 10 credits in areas agreed upon by the adviser and Graduate Faculty.(See Item 6 of the Operating Procedures for information on program approval.) Plan A students take 20 course credits plus a minimum of 10 thesis credits (BAE 8777).
  • BAE 8001, Seminar I (1cr) and BAE 8002, Seminar II (1cr).
  • BAE 8013, Parameter Estimation (3 cr) unless you can demonstrate to the BAE 8013 instructor that you have already mastered the course material.

Degree programs are expected to include mostly 5000- and 8000-level courses. If the degree program contains more than three 4000-level courses, you and your adviser are asked to include a letter of explanation when the degree program is submitted for approval.

If your program includes more than 4 credits of special problems or advanced problems courses, you and your adviser are asked to include a letter of explanation when the degree program is submitted for approval.

You must maintain a minimum GPA of 2.8 (on a 4.0 scale) for courses included on the official degree program.

You must pass a final oral exam in order to graduate. You and your adviser should discuss in advance whether the exam will cover coursework and/or the projects on which you worked for your degree.

You are encouraged to write at least one article for a refereed journal, or prepare some other scholarly work (for example, literature review, research proposal, extension bulletin, website, or teaching materials).