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 EE 698A and EE 698B;
• Report, including the individual instruction report course EE 398R; and
• No Thesis/No Report (Coursework Only).
EE 698B or EE 398R must be taken in the semester you earn the MSE.
EE 698A is taken in a semester prior to taking 698B.
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
During your last semester as a graduate student, you must apply to graduate, in addition to completing other required steps.
Please review the Graduate School website concerning deadlines and submission instructions HERE.
Instructions regarding digital submissions and formatting of graduation materials can be found HERE.
Students pursuing the no-thesis/no-report (courses only) master’s degree must apply by the Graduate School’s 3 p.m. deadline in fall, spring, or summer to earn the degree (or graduate) and successfully complete the remaining coursework on their master’s Program of Work in that same semester. Additionally, students who choose the report or thesis option must have a committee in place consisting of a supervisor and a reader, or two co-supervisors, when they apply to earn the master’s degree; and must send the Curriculum Vitae (CV) of an external co-supervisor and/or reader to the Graduate School: GradStudentSvcs@austin.utexas.edu. By the semester’s 3 p.m. deadline specified by the Graduate School, students writing a report or thesis must upload an approved report or thesis, and send the master's committee approval form with signatures of the supervising committee to GradStudentSvcs@austin.utexas.edu. ALL committee members must sign the master's committee approval form; no proxy signatures allowed.