The M.S. is a research degree offered through the Graduate School. A student who has been accepted by the Graduate School is formally admitted to candidacy for the M.S. degree at the recommendation of the student's supervisory committee. Admission to candidacy occurs after the student:
An application for candidacy must be submitted to the Graduate School office no later than the last day preceding the quarter of graduation. For the degree to be conferred, the approved program of study must be completed and the thesis completed and publicly defended.
Each of these steps is described below. Most of the steps involve completing and submitting a properly signed form. Forms and assistance are available from the Graduate Coordinator.
Supervisory committee. An M.S. committee consists of three members and must be approved by the Director of Graduate Studies. A committee typically consists of departmental faculty, but may include qualified external members. The committee should be formed by the second quarter of enrollment in the M.S. program.
Program of study. Course work listed on the approved program of study must consist of at least 45 quarter hours or graduate course work and thesis research. At least 36 quarter hours must be completed in resident study at the University of Utah. A minimum of 30 quarter hours must be in course work with the balance in thesis hours (course number 697). Students must register for a minimum of 9 thesis hours, and must be registered for a minimum of 3 credit hours per quarter through the quarter in which the thesis is defended. The student is required to maintain a B average or higher in course work listed on the program of study; grades less than B- are not acceptable. All courses listed on the program of study must be at the 500 level or above.
The program of study is normally filed with the department in the second quarter of study and with the Graduate School prior to taking the comprehensive examination. The program of study must be submitted to the Graduate Records Office by the last day of the quarter preceding the quarter of graduation.
Comprehensive examination. The comprehensive examination for M.S. students consists of an oral examination on the thesis proposal and research area in a very broad sense. This examination is conducted by the student's supervisory committee and should be completed by the end of the student's fourth quarter of study (not counting summers) as a graduate student in the department. The examination should serve as the defense of the student's thesis proposal as well as to establish competence in the research area.
Thesis proposal. The student should prepare and receive approval for a thesis proposal by the end of the fourth quarter of study (not counting summers). A copy of the thesis must be in the student's file. For guidelines on preparing proposals, consult Discussion on Ph.D. Thesis Proposals in Computing Science, by H. C. Lauer. Copies are available from the Graduate Coordinator and from the Thesis Editor.
Completing program of study. An M.S. student is expected to devote the necessary time to courses and research in order to make satisfactory progress toward the degree. Satisfactory progress includes personal participation in the research and teaching environment of the department on a day-to-day basis.
Thesis. A full time student working on an M.S. program is expected to complete the degree requirements within two calendar years. Beyond this period a student generally does not receive graduate financial support from the department. In special circumstances, the student may continue the M.S. program for a third year but without financial support. A student will not be allowed to continue beyond the third year.