The MSE requires a Program of Work consisting of at least thirty semester hours of coursework (ten courses) primarily or entirely at the graduate level and not taken toward a prior degree, and has three options: 

• Thesis, including the individual instruction thesis courses 698A and 698B;

• Report, including the individual instruction report course EE 398R; and 

• No Thesis/No Report (Coursework Only). 

Course 698A (research project) must precede course 698B (writing period); 698A may not be repeated for credit. The student must register for 698B the semester they intend to graduate. The thesis cannot be accepted before the semester in which the student applies for graduation.

Thesis and Report courses are taken on the credit/no credit (CR/NC) grading basis. Otherwise, all courses that count toward the Program of Work must be regular classroom instruction courses taken for a letter grade. 

By policy of the Graduate School of the University of Texas at Austin, at least eighteen hours (six courses) must be in the major work, including any Thesis or Report courses, and at least six hours (two courses) must be in supporting work. Up to two upper division undergraduate courses (3 hours or more each) may be used toward the MSE Program of Work. However, supporting work must including at least one graduate course. 

More than 18 hours of major work may be required of individual students based on their academic backgrounds. However, which courses may be counted as major work and which may be counted as supporting work can vary not only with the academic track but the interests of the individual student. Ultimately, all major and supporting coursework must be logically related. Each student must work with their ECE GSC member Supervisor, Co-Supervisor or, in the absence of the former, Academic Track advisor to establish their MSE Program of Work. 

For coursework taken at the University of Texas at Austin, a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 3.00 or greater is required in major coursework and, separately, in supporting coursework. Moreover, students may count only one course with a letter grade less than B− and no course with a letter grade less than C toward the Program of Work. 

University policy also forbids transfer of coursework with a grade of less than B toward the Master’s Program of Work. Transfer of coursework must be approved by the Graduate School before completion of 12 hours of graduate coursework at UT Austin.

Prearranged limited exceptions to these policies have been granted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the use of coursework taken in the spring 2020 semester for CR/NC for which a CR grade was earned.

Graduation

In order to graduate on time during your final semester, you must follow several time sensitive steps.

• Step One: On or before the first day of class, you must complete the Program of Work form found HERE. This form confirms that you have taken the proper coursework required to earn your masters degree.
• Step Two: Your Program of Work form will be reviewed and approved by Graduate Advising staff. This process typically takes two weeks to four weeks.
• Step Three: Once your Program of Work form is approved by the Graduate Advising staff, you will receive detailed instructions via email to formally apply to graduate from the Graduate School. 

 Information on the graduate school application process can be found HERE.