Coursework Only Option*

*Restricted to certain graduate areas, please see Area Requirements:

Academic Area Requirements

General Guidelines for Master of Science Degree (Coursework Only Option) - No Thesis/No Report

A rapidly expanding technology demands that the engineer have increased breadth and depth of knowledge. Consistent with this need, a Master of Science degree may be completed without the preparation of a formal research thesis or report. Instead, a student may be permitted to enroll in a no thesis/no report (coursework only) program which involves additional course work (30 hours of organized course work versus 24-27 hours for the thesis or report program). Most graduate students, especially students holding University Fellowships, traineeships or research assistantships, are encouraged to complete a thesis.

For the master's degree under the no thesis/no report option, the Graduate School rules as described in Chapter 3 of the Graduate Catalog apply. That is, at least thirty semester hours of coursework are required. Each program must include at least twenty-seven hours of graduate coursework. At most three hours of upper division undergraduate coursework may be counted toward the degree.

In addition to the Graduate School requirements, coursework must be approved according to procedures set by the graduate studies committee. Credit/No Credit classes are only allowed in supporting work, and thus seminars, CE x97C Master's Research are not allowed in approved programs of coursework.  The required classes are area specific. Some areas may require registration in a seminar, even if it cannot be counted toward the graduate school degree requirements.

During the first semester of your MS program you should select a supervising professor. By the end of the first semester you and your supervising professor should develop a program of work.

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 constitutes the usual procedure for preparing to graduate:

a) Submit a PDF of your MS Program of Work (POW) form to the graduate coordinator, who will obtain the approval of the Graduate Advisor.
b) Once approved, you must complete the  Master's Graduation Application Form online by the posted deadline for the semester of graduation.  Students will be required to have a GPA of at least 3.0 for courses included on the POW.

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 hope   to graduate.

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