Mar 28, 2024  
2012-2013 UMass Dartmouth Graduate Catalog 
    
2012-2013 UMass Dartmouth Graduate Catalog [Archived Catalog]

Computer Engineering MS


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Master of Science Degree Requirements for Electrical and Computer Engineering Programs


The Master of Science degree program at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth provides sufficient structure to ensure that each graduate of the program has a firm foundation to go on to further graduate studies or to succeed at the advanced level in industry. However, there is enough program flexibility to allow students to pursue studies of their own particular interest. The MS in Computer Engineering and the MS in Electrical Engineering, although separate degrees, share some common requirements:

1. At least 24 of the required 30 credits must be at the graduate level (500 series or higher); a grade of C or better is required for all graduate courses to be counted towards the degree. As many as six credits of 400 series courses will be allowed to compensate for variations in the student’s background; a grade of B or better is required for them to be counted towards the degree. Undergraduate courses in excess of the 6-credit limit are allowed, but will not count for credit toward the degree.

2. Each candidate for the Master of Science Degree must obtain a minimum of 30 graduate credits with the following constraints: 1)maintain a grade point average of at least 3.0 out of a 4.0 grading scale in all courses, 2) obtain no more than two course grades below B-minus, 3) courses with grades of C- or below will not count toward graduation requirements and 4) the credits must be in accordance with a program of study filed by the student and approved by the student’s graduate advisor.

3. There are three tracks to the Master of Science degree that a student may choose from:

Master of Science Degree, Thesis Track

In addition to the common requirements listed above, a student pursuing the Thesis Track must successfully complete at least six credits of graduate research (ECE 600) and submit a thesis satisfactory to the student’s committee. In addition to the written thesis, successful oral defense of the thesis work is required prior to completion of the program.

Master of Science Degree, Project Track 

In addition to the common requirements, a student pursuing the Project Track must successfully complete at least three credits of graduate research (ECE 600). A written report and an oral defense of the project work are required to satisfy this program track.

Master of Science Degree, All Course Work Track

In addition to the common requirements, a student pursuing the All Course Work Track must pass a MS comprehensive examination at the completion of 30 credtis of course work. Students with at least 2 years post-BS experience in industry may request a waiver of the comprehensive examination from the ECE Graduate Committee.

Required of all students


  • A graduate math course that can be satisfied with Mathematics of Systems Analysis (ECE 581) or a math course approved by the student’s advisor.

Additional Requirements


  • A depth requirement: Submission of a coherent program of study that includes at least two more graduate courses, beyond the requirements above in one of the technical areas listed below. The student’s advisor and the ECE Graduate Program Director must approve the program of study, selected from one of the following Computer Engineering Specialization Areas:

    Computer Systems Specification, Analysis, Design, and Performance Assessment
    Database Systems
    Distributed and Parallel Systems
    Microprocessors
    Networking
    Fault-Tolerant computing
    Artificial Intelligence, Neural Networks, and Computer Vision
     
  • A breadth requirement: Students must also take one graduate course from a specialization area different from that selected to satisfy the depth requirement.

Notes


Students are required to satisfy prerequisite requirements for all graduate courses taken. In particular, ECE 561 Computer Systems is a prerequisite for ECE 562. For students pursuing the MS in Computer Engineering, ECE 561 will count toward the six-credit limit on 400-level courses.

Additional details can be found in the “Handbook for Electrical and Computer Engineering Graduate Students.”

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