MS ECE requirements 

MS ECE requirements 

NON-THESIS OPTION: 

Graduate students who are enrolled in the M.S. non-thesis option must earn a minimum of 30 credits.  

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 (ECE 699). These 7 graduate courses must meet the following 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 from another institution 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.  

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. 

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 subject to the appointment of those faculty as graduate faculty status. To initiate this process the following must be submitted to the ECE Academic Programs 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 (GPD), 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 Graduate Program Director 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 signed (by all committee members) thesis outline cover sheet must be submitted to the Academic Programs Office for departmental approval a minimum of four (4) months prior to the date that the final thesis defense will be scheduled.  

Thesis Defense: A typical M.S. thesis program is two years. An oral thesis defense (final defense) must be scheduled by the student and announced to the Academic Programs Office at least one week before the defense date. The result of the Thesis Defense must be sent immediately following the defense to the Academic Programs Office by the Committee Chair, and the student is required to submit a prepared thesis cover sheet to the Academic Programs Office. The Academic Programs Office will obtain approvals and signatures from the committee members and Department Head. The completed form will be submitted to the Graduate School with the student cc'd, and a copy will be kept in the student's file. 

Master's Thesis: The student is required to electronically submit the final thesis through the University of Massachusetts Amherst ScholarWorks website. The Graduate School has instructions for this process in the Graduate School handbook. 

Language requirement: Not required  

General Examination: Not required  

Degree Eligibility Form: The Degree Eligibility Form must be completed by all Master's degree candidates and submitted to the 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). The completed form, with appropriate fees & signatures, must be received by the Graduate School by the posted deadline for the intended graduation date. These deadlines are strictly observed and will not be extended. Degrees CANNOT be awarded retroactively. You must complete the student portion of this form and submit it to the Academic Programs Office at least three (3) days IN ADVANCE of the deadline for verification and signatures. It will then be forwarded to the Graduate School where it will be held until your degree work is complete. 

NOTE: The M.S. thesis and non-thesis Degree Eligibility Forms are located on the Graduate School's website. 

A minimum of 3.00 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, ECE Academic Programs Manager, at e [dot] frasier [at] umass [dot] edu (e[dot]frasier[at]umass[dot]edu). Our department may provide you with a temporary certificate, depending on your circumstances.  

Accelerated 4+1 ECE Master's Program 

Accelerated 4+1 ECE Master's Program 

Eligibility 

The five-year BS/MS program in Electrical and Computer Engineering is open to all undergraduate students at UMass Amherst who are enrolled as majors in Electrical Engineering or Computer Engineering and who meet the necessary GPA requirements*. For the GPA requirements, the cumulative GPA, usually at the end of the third year (i.e., including all required 300-level ECE courses) is used. Based on this GPA, eligibility for the five-year program is determined as follows: 

  • GPA ≥ 3.5: Automatic admission to five-year program (no letters or reference or personal statement required)
  • 3.5> GPA ≥ 3.3: Admission to five-year program based on committee review.
  • GPA < 3.3: Not eligible for five-year program, but application to M.S. program through the regular admission process is possible. Students may also wait until their GPA is above 3.3 to apply. 

All admissions into the five-year B.S./M.S. program are conditional. Specifically, admitted students are required to complete their B.S. degree with a cumulative GPA of 3.3 or higher. 

* Rules are subject to change. 

 

Requirements 

All requirements for the M.S. thesis or non-thesis apply to students in the 4+1 program. To complete all the required courses for the B.S. and M.S. degrees within five years, several adjustments to the B.S. degree schedule are necessary. The main changes are: 

  • During the first four years (typically the senior year), one or two additional graduate-level courses (3 or 4 credits) are taken that are later transferred into the M.S. program.
  • Two graduate-level courses can be counted toward both the B.S. and M.S. degrees, provided that they are ECE courses at the 500-level or above.  Thus, up to four courses may be transferred from the undergraduate program. However, only three may be 500-level, at least one 600-level ECE course is required in order to transfer four courses.
  • During the fifth year, 6 to 8 graduate courses (3 or 4 credits) are taken in the M.S. program (depending on how many courses were successfully transferred). 

 It might be necessary to shift some electives or General Education courses to make room for the additional graduate courses necessary for finishing the M.S. degree in one year. Summer or winter courses, or credit overloads, might also be needed to create space needed for extra courses. Participants in the five-year program will be advised on an individual basis to ensure that their academic plan meets the necessary requirements. 

 

MS ECE Concentrations 

MS ECE Concentrations 

Students have the option of selecting an area of concentration as a way of defining a theme in their coursework. Concentrations are an academic credential which appear on the transcript. Students completing the concentration will take five or six (depending on the concentration) approved courses as part of satisfying the requirements of the ECE department’s existing Master’s program. 

MS ECE Study Plan 

MS ECE Study Plan 

M.S. students are required to complete the M.S. Study Plan each semester that they are enrolled in courses. Students will indicate on the form the courses they have taken (along with their grades) and the courses they plan to take. Students will need their faculty advisor’s input and approval. Faculty advisors can be contacted by email to set up a meeting in person (or if necessary by Zoom). Signed M.S. Study Plans must be emailed before the end of Add/Drop to Eliza Frasier at e [dot] frasier [at] umass [dot] edu (e[dot]frasier[at]umass[dot]edu).