General Requirements, Regulations and Procedures for Master's Degrees

These requirements  apply to master's degrees in both applied and pure mathematics. The University catalog contains further information on many of these requirements.

 Total credit hours

There are three plans by which the Master of Science degrees may be earned.

• Plan I requires a thesis and completion of at least 30 hours; 6 of these hours (under Math 5000) must be for the thesis work.
• Plan II requires a report and completion of at least 32 credit hours; the report (Math 5000) may be counted as 2 of these hours.
• Plan III requires a creative component and completion of at least 32 credit hours. (Math 5000 may not be counted under this option.)

Students, with the concurrence of their advisors, may choose among these three plans.

 Master's Committee

  During the second semester, each student, with the aid of the graduate director , must set up a Master's committee of three faculty members. The chairman and other two members of this committee advise and oversee the student's progress toward the degree.

 Plan of Study

  The plan of study is a statement of how the student intends to fulfill the requirements for the degree; in particular it lists those courses which the student has taken or plans to take and wishes to count for this purpose and a brief description of the creative component if Plan III is followed. A preliminary plan of study must be filed with the Graduate College before enrollment for the 17th graduate credit hour. The plan of study may be changed as the student progresses. A final, accurate plan of study must be filed with the Graduate College by the end of the second week of the session in which the degree is to be conferred. The student should prepare the plan of study in consultation with the advisor and committee,  who must approve all versions before filing. Plan of study forms are available from the Mathematics Department office. The description of the creative component may be written on the plan of study form or the special Description of Proposed Creative Component form. A statement of the following form is adequate on the initial plan of study.

A creative component involving a written report and an oral presentation will be completed on a subject in the area of [field]. The exact topic will be determined during the course of study.

The Plan of Study for a master's degree may contain no more than 12 hours of Math 5902 . No hours of Math 5000 may be included on the Plan of Study if the creative component option is chosen. A maximum of two hours of Math 5000 may be included if the report option is chosen and six hours may be included if the thesis option is chosen. Topics and seminar hours at the 6000 level may be included but are restricted as noted in the description of the Plan of Study for doctoral degrees.

 The Master's Comprehensive Exam

A comprehensive written examination is required for Option I of each of the two degrees.

 Public Presentation and Written Exposition of the Creative Component

A public presentation to fellow graduate students and faculty on the work done for the creative component is required for a student following Plan III. A written exposition on this is also required. See Section 1.7 for a further discussion on this creative component. 

 Final Examination Over Master's Report or Thesis

A student following Plan I or Plan II must take a final oral examination defending the thesis or report  after it has been filed with the Graduate College and distributed to the advisory committee.  See the Graduate College Thesis/Dissertation Handbook which is available from the Graduate College office for specifications for reports and theses submitted to the Graduate College.

 Minimum Grade Requirements

  An average of ``B'' (3.0) in all courses on the plan of study and in research and thesis (Math 5000) is required. A course with a grade below ``C'' cannot be used as part of the minimum number of hours required for the degree.

The University catalog lists regulations governing academic probation for failure to maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.0. Generally a student will receive a warning in a semester in which any grade below ``B'' is received and be placed on Strict Academic Probation if the grade point average falls below 3.0. If a student is placed on Strict Academic Probation, no grade below ``B'' is allowed in the next semester of full time enrollment. Additional low grades may cause the student to be suspended.

 Graduate Credit Courses

  Only courses numbered 5000 or above and courses numbered 3000 and 4000 that are identified by an asterisk in the University catalog may be used on a plan of study. Some other exceptions are noted in the description of courses taken in graduate school for the pure and the applied options.

 Transfer of Graduate Credits

A maximum of nine graduate credits can be accepted as transfer credits toward a Master's degree. See the University catalog for details.

 Residence Requirements

Students following Plan I must complete at least 21 hours in residence; those following Plan II or Plan III must complete at least 23 hours in residence. See the University catalog for details and exceptions to this requirement.

 Time Limit and Continuous Enrollment

Students are expected to complete the requirements for the Master's degree within four years after filing the plan of study. The Graduate Committee will decide whether or not courses taken more than five years prior to the anticipated date of the degree will be counted. A student must maintain continuous enrollment (See the University catalog for the exact requirements.) during the entire research phase of the program.