Non-Thesis MS Rules & Checklist
Coursework Requirements for Non-Thesis-Based MS
Non-thesis students must use the following advising form to plan and record their course work completed towards degree.
Graduate Work Recording Form & Requirements - PDF
Graduate Work Recording Form & Requirements - DOC
Course Work
To meet the background, depth and breadth requirements (as mentioned in the form), students will need to consult the mapping between courses and their areas of study.
- For non-thesis Computer Science MS, thirty-six (36) credit-hours are required, no more than 15 of which may be at the 5000 level.
- For non-thesis Cybersecurity MS, thirty (30) credit-hours are required, no more than 12 of which may be at the 5000 level.
Comprehensive Exam
A non-thesis MS student must complete a comprehensive exam under a committee of at least thee faculty members.
Graduation
For graduation, a student must also meet the requirements and deadlines set by the graduate school, which can be found here:
/academics/grad/masters-degree-requirements
Especially pay attention to the deadlines mentioned in the NON-THESIS CHECKLIST, the link to which is available at the top-left part of the page.
Before applying for graduation, a copy of the completed form must be submitted to the department (graduate coordinator). If submitted by email, the subject must be exactly "MS Checklist".
Non-Thesis Comprehensive Exam
Non-thesis students must record their comprehensive exams' (often referred to as "exit exams") results using the following form.
Non-Thesis Comprehensive Exam Rules and Recording Form - PDF
Non-Thesis Comprehensive Exam Rules
Each student who chooses the non-thesis option has to pass a comprehensive examination before a committee of three faculty members.
| Comprehensive Examination Rules | |
| 1 | This examination consists of two written exams and one oral exams. |
| 2 | Each exam covers the subjects of a different course that counts towards the degree requirements. Exam subjects cannot be changed once selected. |
| 3 | At least two of these courses must be 6000-level courses. |
| 4 | Two courses must be in the same area of study. |
| 5 | One course must be in another area of study. |
| 6 | The first exam cannot be taken before the student successfully collected 24 hour that count towards the degree. |
| 7 | The oral exam must be the last exam taken. It must be taken in the semester in which the student graduates. |
| 8 | Unsuccessfully completed exams must be repeated, but cannot be repeated more than once. Hence, a degree is not awarded to a student who fails the same exam twice. |
| 9 | After failure, in either exam, the committee may impose additional course requirements to the failing student, including English developmental or writing courses, before the exam can be retaken |
Non-Thesis Comprehensive Exam Procedures
| 1 | Student selects the three courses to be covered by the examination. |
| 2 | Student contacts the faculty who were their instructors in these courses to schedule the exams. |
| 3 | The contacted faculty from the examination committee for this student, provided the proposed combination of subjects is approved. Faculty determine which exams are written and which is oral, and determine the committee's chair (usually the faculty giving the oral exam). These decisions should respect the student's intentions as much as possible. |
| 4 | Student fills out the first path of the Comprehensive Examination form and collects the required signatures upon completion of the exams. |
| 5 | The student, under the supervision of the committee chair, contacts the committee members for the scheduling of exam dates. |
| 6 | The committee chair keeps track of the exam results (grading and reviews). |
| 7 | Written exams are graded by the corresponding instructor and may be reviewed by two other members of the examination committee. |
| 8 | After the successful completion of the two written exams, the oral exam can be scheduled and publicly announced. |
| 9 | The oral exam takes place in presence of the complete examination committee. The committee reviews the results of the oral exam, makes its final decision on whether or not the candidate passes the oral exam, and notifies the candidate. |
| 10 | Upon successful completion of the comprehensive exam, the chair of the exam committee initiates the electronic paperwork to confirm and record completion of the exam. |