MS non-thesis degree requirements, WE

The master's degree program is designed to give students the opportunity to gain additional knowledge and necessary skills in a specific area of Welding Engineering. A non-thesis option master's primarily involves academic course work followed by the defense of a written document, such as critical literature review, during the final term of enrollment. The structured research component of the MS with Thesis is not present in the non-thesis option. The requirements for the MS non-thesis degree, as established by the WE Graduate Studies Committee, are as follows:

Degree requirements effective AU19

For graduate students who entered the graduate program in or after AU19 and for those admitted prior to AU19 choosing to follow this curriculum.

WELDENG MS Non-Thesis Requirements Worksheet (PDF)

I Minimum of 30 total graduate credit hours are required

A Of these 30 hours, at least 24 must be graded graduate level courses.

B Of these 24 credit hours, at least 20 credit hours must be taken in WE.

Of these 20 credit hours in WE, at least 8 credit hours must be taken at the 7000 level or greater in WE. ²
Of these 20 credit hours in WE, the student is to take at least four (4) courses from the WELDENG Core courses. At least two (2) must come from two (2) unique categories on the Primary Core list. Remaining two courses are to come from remaining Primary or Secondary Core categories.

WELDENG Core
- Primary Core Categories:
  Processes: 7001 or 7002 ¹
  Design: 7201
  Materials: 7101
- Secondary Core Categories:
  Modeling: 7115
  NDE: 7301
  Polymers: 7406
- Note: effective for all WE MS students admitted for AU23 and moving forward, a Core GPA of 3.0 or greater is required in order to graduate.

C Additional credit hours may come from other courses, besides those listed above, to bring the total graduate credit hours to 30 or greater.

These credit hours will include:

WE 7895 (Graduate Seminar and Colloquium)
- On-campus full-time students are to enroll in WE 7895 every Autumn and Spring term.
- On-campus part-time students are expected to enroll in WE 7895 at least once per year.
- Students are not required to enroll during the semester of graduation.
- Distance Learning (online) students are not required to enroll in WE 7895.
Instructional Assistant service.
- The student will serve as an Instructional Assistant aiding the faculty with the instruction of undergraduate students.
- Required of full-time, on-campus students only; part-time and Distance Learning students are exempted from this requirement.
- One (1) term of assistance is required of Non-Thesis Master’s students.
- The student will register for two (2) credit hours of WELDENG 7193.01 Individual Study during the term of IA service.
- Students will attend a university training workshop in support of this curricular requirement.
Individual Studies in Welding Engineering Report to WE Advisor.
- The student is to register for four to six (4-6) credits of WELDENG 7193.01 with his/her advisor.
- In the final term in which 7193.01 credits are to be completed, the student is to present a final written report to his/her advisor on a topic in welding engineering agreed upon with the student and approved by the advisor.
- Syllabus for WE 7193.01/.02
- Additional considerations:
  - The MS Non-Thesis individual studies in Welding Engineering requirement can be taken in one term or over two terms. Most students take WE 7193.01, which is graded S/U, though if a student cannot be reimbursed for educational expenses with an S/U grade, s/he may petition to take WE 7193.02, which is letter graded.
  - A grade of Satisfactory (7193.01) or a passing letter grade (7193.02) is required to earn an MS.
  - The student is to consult in advance with his/her faculty advisor to determine the topic of the report.
  - The student’s WE 7193.01 final report will serve as the written portion of the MS Non-Thesis final examination. In addition, the student must present an oral seminar on the topic of the written document and the MS examination committee will evaluate both.
  - The oral presentation, questions and discussion may occur in person before the committee or via video conferencing, in line with Graduate School guidelines.
  - If the student is co-advised, s/he is to divide WE 7193.01 credits of enrollment between the co-advisors.

II Master’s Non-Thesis Final Examination

The student and advisor will determine a Welding Engineering topic relevant to the student’s area of interest that will serve as the subject of the student’s WE 7193.01 Individual Studies in Welding Engineering report (item I C above) and MS final examination.

The student will write a report on this topic, limited to 20 pages. Any images are to be included within this 20 page limit; bibliography citations may extend beyond the 20 page limit.

This report will serve as the written portion of the MS Exam evaluated by the MS Committee.

The student will provide to the MS Committee an oral presentation of the report. The oral presentation, questions and discussion may occur in person before the Committee or via video conferencing, in line with Graduate School guidelines. The MS Committee may ask questions to the student as part of this oral presentation.

The student is permitted two (2) attempts at the MS Examination (see Graduate School Handbook, section 6.3).

WE Master's Non-Thesis Examination Procedures

MS Examination Committee membership

The MS Examination Committee consists of the student’s advisor and one other Graduate Faculty member assigned by the Welding Engineering Graduate Committee. ³

Notes:

Please be sure to review Graduate School Handbook for additional requirements.
¹ Only one of the 7001 or 7002 courses can be counted as a core course, not both of them.
² The student’s advisor should verify that any non-WELDENG classes are from the “hard sciences” such as Math, Chemistry, Physics, and/or Engineering. Any question about the applicability of a given course in relation to degree requirements should begin with the student consulting with his/her advisor. Non-engineering/hard science courses must be petitioned, and receive approval from, the WELDENG GSC prior to enrolling in the petitioned course. Petitions must include a syllabus for the course. At time of graduation the WELDENG GSC will verify that all classes have complied with this requirement.
³ If the student is co-advised, the co-advisor is allowed in addition to the aforementioned examination committee. For example, the MS exam committee would comprise advisor, co-advisor and one other faculty member.
Graduates of the WELDENG undergraduate program:
- Students who have taken the 4000-level version of a WELDENG course are not permitted to take the 7000-level version of that course as a graduate student. For example, a student who completed WE 4001 as an undergraduate may not enroll in WE 7001 as a graduate student.
- Addressing the WELDENG Core requirement
  If a graduate student has taken the 4000-level version of a WELDENG Core course as a WE undergraduate, s/he has met the Core requirement for that course. The student must still meet the graded graduate credit requirement in I B above.
  
  For example if the student has taken WE 4001, 4201, 4101, and 4301 as an undergraduate, the student will have met the WELDENG Core requirement and no further Core courses are required. S/he must still complete 24 graded graduate credits, 20 credits of which are to be from WELDENG courses. Former undergraduates of the WELDENG program may petition the WE GSC to use course work from outside of WE to meet the graded graduate credit requirements (ex., MSE, ISE, Physics, etc.).

Pre-AU19 semester-based degree requirements

For graduate students who entered the graduate program in or after Summer term 2012.

Program of Study—Working with the faculty advisor, the student will complete a Program of Study (pdf) having: (1) an emphasis in one of the five areas of welding engineering (welding processes, materials, design, nondestructive evaluation, or plastics joining), and (2) breadth of study in other areas of welding engineering. During the student’s first term of enrollment the Program of Study is to be submitted to the advisor for approval.

I 30 total graduate credit hours are required

A Of these 30 credit hours, at least 26 credit hours must be graded graduate level courses.
Note: These courses must satisfy a depth and breadth requirement. For the depth requirement, students are required to take a minimum of 8 credits from a major area of welding engineering (processes, materials, design, non-destructive evaluation, or plastics joining). Additionally, students are to take at least one course from each of the four remaining WE subjects to address the breadth requirement.*

Of these 26 credit hours, at least 14 credit hours must be taken in WE.
- Of these 14 hours, at least 8 credit hours must be taken at the 7000-level or above in WE.
These 26 credit hours are to consist of:
- At least 8 credit hours in the WE area of concentration
- At least one course each from the remaining four concentration areas
- Additional graded graduate credits may be taken in WE or out of WE--it is understood that any non-WE credits are to be related to the student's discipline (hard sciences and/or engineering) unless previously approved by the Graduate Studies Committee.

B At least 4 credit hours may come from other courses, besides those listed in A1&2, to bring the total graduate credit hours to 30 or greater.

Independent Study, WE 7193.01: Students must take 4 credits of WE 7193.01. These credits are typically taken in the student's final semester of enrollment. This work is to be on a topic in welding engineering approved by the advisor and is to culminate in a satisfactory written report. **
Full-time students are to enroll in WE 7895 (Graduate Seminar and Colloquium) every Autumn and Spring term. Students are not required to enroll during the semester of graduation.

II Master’s Examination

The MS exam is prepared under the direction of the WE Graduate Studies Committee.

This examination will consist of a four-hour written, closed book/notes examination, with questions drawn from the areas of processes, materials, design, and nondestructive evaluation, or plastics joining. Students who have proposed a specialized program of study may petition for an examination that reflects their coursework.

The examination will have two parts:

Questions covering the student’s major area of study (processes, materials, design, NDE, or plastics joining). Students will be required to answer 5 of 9 questions in this part.
Questions covering the student’s program of study in the areas not included in Part 1. Students will be required to answer 4 of 12 questions in this part.

Courses that apply toward the degree:

WE courses at the 5000 level or above that may be taken for graduate credit.
Non-WE courses at the 5000 level or greater in the hard-sciences, math, and engineering that may be taken for graduate credit.

*Course key for WE concentration areas:

Process: #0## (i.e., WE courses with a zero in the hundreds place)
Materials: #1## and 7023
Design: #2## and 7115
Non-destructive Evaluation: #3## and 5038
Plastics and Composites: #4##, 5038, and 7201

** The Independent Study course (WE 7193), in which the student typically enrolls his/her final term, consists of a short-term project that is conducted under the supervision of a faculty advisor on a topic of interest to the student. Generally, this project would be conducted at the student's work location, although other options are available. The project generally involves an open-ended problem that could be analyzed experimentally or theoretically or a combination of the two. We usually recommend considering a work-related problem so that you can get some support from your employer. If that is not possible then it will typically be a theoretical project that could also include a literature survey. You can propose a topic or work with your faculty advisor to come up with a topic.

The MS Non-Thesis independent study requirement is 4 credit hours, which can be taken in one term or over two terms. Most students take WE 7193.01, which is graded S/U, though some if a student cannot be reimbursed for their educational expenses with an S/U grade, s/he may take WE 7193.02, which is letter graded.

Rev SU12

Quarter-based degree requirements

For graduate students who entered the graduate program prior to Summer term 2012.

I 45 total graduate credit hours are required

A Of these 45 hours, at least 39 credit hours must be graded graduate level courses.

Of these 39 hours, at least 21 credit hours must be taken in WE.
- Of these 21 hours, at least 12 credit hours must be taken at the 700-level or above in WE.
- Note: These courses must satisfy a depth and breadth requirement. For the depth requirement, students are required to take a minimum of four courses from a major area of welding engineering (processes, materials, design, non-destructive evaluation, or plastics joining). Additionally, students are to take at least one course from each of the four remaining WE subjects outside their area of interest to address the breadth requirement.
Of these 39 hours, at least 18 credit hours in addition to the 21 listed in A1. These 18 hours may be taken within the dept. or outside WE—if taken outside WE, it is understood that any such credits are to be related to the student's area of study unless previously approved by the Graduate Studies Committee.

B At least 6 hours of the 45 credit hours should come from other courses, besides those listed in A1&2, to bring the total graduate credit hours to 45 or greater.

Individual Study, WE 793: Students must take 6 credits of WE 793, with those credits distributed over at least two quarters. This work is to be on a topic in welding engineering approved by the advisor and is to culminate in a satisfactory written report.
Full-time students are to enroll in WE 795 (Graduate Seminar and Colloquium) every Autumn, Winter, and Spring Quarter. Part-time students are expected to enroll in WE 795 at least once per year. Students are not required to enroll during the quarter of graduation.

II Master’s Examination

The MS exam is prepared under the direction of the WE Graduate Studies Committee.

The examination will have two parts:

Questions covering the student’s major area of study (processes, materials, design, NDE, or plastics joining). Students will be required to answer 5 of 8 questions in this part.
Questions covering the student’s program of study in the areas not included in Part 1. Students will be required to answer 4 of 6 questions in this part.

Courses that apply toward the degree:

WE courses at the 600 level or above that may be taken for graduate credit.
Non-WE courses at the 500 level or greater in the hard-sciences, math, and engineering that may be taken for graduate credit.

MS non-thesis degree requirements, WE

Degree requirements effective AU19

I Minimum of 30 total graduate credit hours are required

A Of these 30 hours, at least 24 must be graded graduate level courses.

B Of these 24 credit hours, at least 20 credit hours must be taken in WE.

C Additional credit hours may come from other courses, besides those listed above, to bring the total graduate credit hours to 30 or greater.

II Master’s Non-Thesis Final Examination

Pre-AU19 semester-based degree requirements

I 30 total graduate credit hours are required

II Master’s Examination

Quarter-based degree requirements

I 45 total graduate credit hours are required

II Master’s Examination

Additional information