Graduation Requirements and Process

There are three different options for students in our program to graduate with a Masters Degree.

Option	Major Work	Supporting Work
Thesis Option	Must consist of ECE 698A, ECE 698B, and 5 to 6 approved letter-graded courses.	Must consist of 2 to 3 approved letter-graded courses, including at least one graduate course.
Report Option	Must consist of ECE 398R, and 5 to 7 approved letter-graded courses.	Must consist of 2 to 4 approved letter-graded courses, including at least one graduate course.
No-Thesis/No Report (Courses Only) Option	Must consist of 6 to 8 approved letter-graded courses.	Must consist of 2 to 4 approved letter-graded courses, including at least one graduate course.

Reminders on limitations, grades, GPA, Coursework:

List 10 courses only on the master’s Program of Work, including ECE 398R, Report; or ECE 698A, Thesis and ECE 698B, Thesis, if applicable. Your official transcript will list all the courses you took at UT-Austin, but you list 10 courses only on the master’s Program of Work form.
Thesis/Report options: ECE 698A must be taken once only in prior semester, and ECE 698B, Thesis, or ECE 398R, Report, must be taken in semester you earn the MSE.
List letter-graded courses only, except for ECE 398R; ECE 698A and ECE 698B; and approved spring 2020 courses (pandemic exception) which are graded credit/no-credit that would ordinarily count if letter-graded.
One course with a grade of C or C+ is allowed; none with grade less than C.
GPA of all course grades listed on the master’s Program of Work upon completion must be 3.00 minimum or above, overall. Leave the grade field blank if a course is in progress.
No ECE x97C, no ECE x97G, no ECE 397N, ECE 397M, no ECE 398T allowed on Program of Work.
Up to two, approved non-ECE courses in Major Work allowed if the course subject is considered Major Work in ECE by student’s academic track.
Up to two, approved upper-division undergraduate courses allowed as Major Work or Supporting Work or both; track advisor/supervisor determine(s) in which section course(s) should be listed.
BS/MS Integrated program students will follow the same procedure to earn the master’s degree as any other master's student, but you will not apply online to earn the BSECE degree. This will be done for you manually by a staff member in Engineering Student Services. You will earn both the BSECE and the MSE in ECE in the same semester and both degrees will be listed on your transcript.

Steps needed to Graduate.

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

Step One: On or before September 30th, 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.