MSECE Degree Requirements

(Revised and in effect on August 2024)

Degree Offered: MSECE

  1. Non-Thesis Option: Graduate students who are enrolled in the M.S. non-thesis option must earn a minimum of 30 credits;
    • 7 courses must be in ECE (minimum 21 credits). (*CMPSI 677 AND CMPSI 611 may be considered as ECE courses for this requirement)
    • 7 courses at 600 level* or higher (minimum 21 credits).
    • Up to 3 courses from: a) ECE 500 level, and/or b) outside ECE 400 or 500 level.
    • At most 6 credits of 400 level courses (outside the major field)
    • Only one (1) ECE or Non-ECE Independent Study Course is allowed.
    • Registration for a one credit seminar course (ECE 793-Fall and 794-Spring) is MANDATORY, but this credit does not count toward total credit requirements.
    • Credits transferred from another institution cannot be used to satisfy the university’s requirement for graded credits nor the 600-800 course level requirement. Graduate courses which have been applied toward any baccalaureate or advanced degree may not be used for fulfilling requirements for any other Master's degree at the university.
    • ECE 698 does not count towards degree requirements. 
  2. Thesis Option: Graduate students who are enrolled in the M.S. thesis option must take and pass a minimum of seven (7) graduate courses and earn a minimum of nine (9) thesis credits. These 7 graduate courses must meet the following requirements:
    • A minimum of five (5) courses (at least 15 credits) at the ECE 6xx* level or higher (*CMPSI 677 AND CMPSI 611 may be considered as ECE courses for this requirement).
    • Up to two (2) courses from ECE 5xx level and/or from non-ECE 4xx/5xx levels.
    • Only one (1) ECE 696 independent study course or non-ECE graduate independent study course with a maximum of 3 credits.
    • Registration for a one (1) credit seminar course (ECE 793-Fall and ECE-794-Spring) is MANDATORY for graduation, but this course does not count towards total credit for degree requirements.
    • Credits transferred from another institution cannot be used to satisfy the university’s requirements for graded credits nor the 600-800 course level requirements. Graduate courses which have been applied toward any baccalaureate or degree may not be used for fulfilling requirements for any other Master’s degree at the university. In addition to the requirements which apply to all master's degree candidates, the following requirements apply specifically to graduate students who must submit a Master's thesis:
    • Committee: Preparation of the Master's thesis shall be under the direct supervision of a Thesis Committee. That committee shall consist of 3 faculty members from the student's major program. Only on rare occasions are committee members appointed outside of UMass 5-college campus. To initiate this process the following must be submitted to the ECE Graduate Office: 1) a letter of support from the student’s faculty advisor with strong justification; 2) curriculum vitae of outside faculty member. To appoint a nonvoting outside member, a curriculum vitae is needed. The committee must be nominated prior to the presentation of the M.S. Thesis Outline/Proposal. A thesis committee has been officially constituted when the Graduate Dean sends formal notification of its formation to all members, to the Graduate Program Director, and to the student. Members of the Thesis Committee must agree to not only assist in the supervision of the thesis project, but also to attend the thesis defense. Selection of the committee is a matter of "academic judgment," which should be made by the GPD and the Department Chair, and approved by the Graduate Dean. Please remember that most faculty are on a 9-month contract and do not assume that committee members will be available during the summer months.
    • Thesis Outline/Proposal: A master's candidate must prepare a suitable thesis outline/proposal to be approved and signed (on the cover sheet) by each member of the Thesis Committee and the Department Head. The original, signed (by all committee members) thesis outline cover sheet and one original of the M.S. outline/proposal must be submitted to the Graduate Program Office for departmental approval a minimum of four (4) months prior to the date that the final thesis defense will be scheduled.
    • Thesis Defense: An oral thesis defense (final defense) must be scheduled by the student and announced to the Graduate Program Office at least one week (5 days) before the defense date, by the Committee Chair. The result of the Thesis Defense must be sent immediately following the defense to the Graduate Program Office by the Committee Chair. The student must submit the approved (signed by all committee members), original of the thesis cover sheet to the Academic Programs Office immediately following the defense. These originals will be signed by the department head, a copy will be kept in the student file and the originals will be returned to the student for submission with two originals of the M.S. Thesis to the Graduate Degree Requirements Office in Goodell Building.
    • Master's Thesis: The master’s thesis is required to be electronically submitted through the University of Massachusetts Amherst Scholarworks Web site. Refer to the handout "Electronic Guidelines for Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations."
      umass.edu/gradschool/sites/default/files/Electronic_Guidelines_Theses_Dissertations.pdf
    • Thesis Credit: A Master's with Thesis degree candidate must register for nine (9) Master’s Thesis credits, ECE 699. These credits do NOT count toward the 600 level course degree requirement.
  3. Language requirement: Not required
  4. General Examination: Not required
  5. Degree Eligibility Form: The Degree Eligibility Form must be completed by all Master's degree candidates and submitted to the ECE Academic Programs Office to be approved/signed by the Graduate Program Director and the Department Head. The graduate student should verify the accuracy of the information on this form from his/her records (see SPIRE). Graduate School deadlines can be found at https://www.umass.edu/graduate/policies/academic-calendar and must be strictly adhered to. Degrees CANNOT be awarded retroactively. You must complete the student portion of this form and submit it to the ECE Academic Programs Office before the deadline. It will then be forwarded to the Graduate School for processing. NOTE: The M.S. Degree Eligibility Forms for thesis and non-thesis students are available online at: https://www.umass.edu/graduate/documents

A minimum of 3.00/4.00 GPA is required to be eligible for graduation by the Graduate School. Degrees are issued approximately two months after the graduation deadline. If you require a verification of degree eligibility, please send an email request to Eliza Frasier. academic manager, Electrical and Computer Engineering. Our department may provide you with a temporary certificate, depending on your circumstances.