Thesis Option

General Guidelines for Master of Science Degree (Thesis Option)

The minimum requirement for graduation is 30 hours, of which six hours relate to thesis. At least six hours but no more than twelve hours must be taken outside the major area of study. All courses in your major area must be taken for grade. No more than 50% of your minor courses may be taken on a credit/no credit basis. 

Only graduate and upper division undergraduate courses will apply towards the MS degree.  A maximum of nine hours of upper division undergraduate work is allowed with no more than six hours in either the major or supporting area.

During the first semester of your MS program you should select a supervising professor. By the end of the semester you and your supervising professor should have a detailed objective and scope outlined for the thesis. To do this some literature review is required. It is essential that you personally invite at least one faculty members in addition to your supervising professor to serve on your thesis supervising committee. The members of the supervising committee should be kept informed of the progress of your research. It is your obligation to submit an acceptable thesis to the Graduate School. Therefore, every effort should be made to complete your thesis before you leave campus and take employment elsewhere.

Each student’s Program of Work must include at least 21 semester hours of graduate courses, including at most six hours of thesis courses. Course 698A (research project) should precede course 698B (writing period); 698A may not be repeated for credit. Both 698A and 698B must be taken on the credit/no credit basis. Students must register for 698B in the semester they intend to graduate. Civil Engineering and Environmental and Water Resources Engineering majors (code 621700 and 640100 respectively) register for CE 698A/B. Thesis is taken on a CR/NC basis. 698B may be repeated if the thesis project is incomplete but will only be counted once in the Program of Work, in the final semester.

Both 698A and 698B count for 3 hours registration (despite their 600 level).

Early in the semester you plan to graduate you should read about graduation guidelines and deadlines on the Graduate School website: https://gradschool.utexas.edu/academics/graduation/deadlines-and-submission-instructions. Included in this material is a list of deadlines you must meet during the semester in order to graduate. The following steps constitute the usual procedure for preparing to graduate:

a) Register for CE 698B in your final semester.

b) Submit your MS_Program of Work form to your advisor.  After your advisor, the form routes automatically to the Graduate Coordinator, who will set up your electronic routing.  Students will be required to have a GPA of at least 3.0 for courses included on the POW.

Once approved, you will receive an email prompt to complete the online Master's Graduation Application Form online before the posted deadline in the semester of graduation.

c) After your Thesis is complete, route the Master's Committee Approval form (signature page) to your faculty for signatures. (Please note you must save this as a PDF and email it to the Graduate School: Docusign helps us collect the faculty signature but does NOT route to the Graduate School.)

Upload a pdf of your thesis to the Texas Digital Library (TDL): https://gradschool.utexas.edu/academics/theses-and-dissertations/digital-submission-requirement

Then email the Master's Committee Approval form PDF to the Graduate School by the posted deadline. 

Depending on your research, you may also need these pages:

Docusign Request to Delay Publication
Docusign Co-Author Permission Form

A format check of your thesis is recommended before turning in your work.  No extensions to the deadline will be granted.  The Thesis will be due by 3:00 pm CST on the posted deadline date.

If, after filing for graduation, you find that you will not complete the degree requirements that semester, you should notify the Graduate School and the Graduate Coordinator. A new Master's Graduation Application Form must be submitted at the beginning of the next semester you intend to graduate. 

The official degree awarded under this program is the Master of Science in Engineering degree.