Master's Student Requirements

M.S. and M.E.M. students are required to complete 36 credits of course and thesis work.

International students without a GRA are required to take 9 credits per semester to be considered full time.

All students must follow the timeline for the submission of all forms, with the consequence that tuition funding will not be granted by the department until the semester after the form is submitted.

Departmental policy states that a student who falls below a cumulative 3.00 GPA in coursework since starting the graduate program in the ESSP department will be placed on academic probation. Students on academic probation are given one semester to raise their cumulative GPA to 3.00 or higher. If a student does not achieve a cumulative GPA of 3.00 or higher after the one semester probation period, the student will be dismissed from the ESSP graduate program. As well, students who are on academic probation will not receive a tuition wavier from the department.

First Semester

Required Courses: ESSP 503, ESSP 504, ESSP 505, and ESSP 590 (10 credits)

During the first semester, graduate students are required to select a faculty advisor for their thesis research.

Second Semester

Required Courses: ESSP 506, ESSP 507, ESSP 508, and ESSP 590 (10 credits)

By the end of the second semester, graduate students are required to select a committee of at least three members, as well as submit a program of study as approved by the committee.

Third Semester

Elective Courses: 6 credits

Elective courses are chosen by the graduate student with approval from their advisor and/or committee.

Elective courses can be from within ESSP or other departments relevant to the thesis topic.

Defend thesis proposal (advance to candidacy).

Fourth Semester

Required Courses: ESSP 998 (for M.S.; 3 credits) OR ESSP 597 (for M.E.M.; 3-9 credits)

Elective Courses: 3 credits

Finish elective courses and work on thesis research (for M.S.), or begin internship (for M.E.M.).

Fifth Semester

Required Courses: ESSP 998 (for M.S.; 6 credits) OR ESSP 997 (for M.E.M.; 2 credits)

Apply for graduation at the beginning of the final semester of your graduate work.

M.S. students must have approval from all committee member that the thesis work is ready to defend. Students are required to allow two weeks for committee members to review their thesis. If the thesis is not satisfactory, students must continue to improve their thesis until all committee members agree it is defendable. Once committee members agree, students must submit a preliminary approval of thesis form as well as a notice of defense form.

Graduate students must submit their thesis to the graduate school for formatting before the final defense.

Defend thesis two weeks after the notice of defense form is submitted. The graduate student must provide the final report on candidate form to the committee at the time of defense.

The signature page from the thesis and final report form must be submitted to the graduate school.

A final copy of the thesis is uploaded to UMI/Proquest Publishing. Once the thesis is uploaded, your graduate studies are completed and you may graduate.

M.E.M. students must complete a written report on their internship and give a presentation on their experience. M.E.M. students must provide the final report on candidate (non-thesis option) form to the committee at the time of defense.