Effective Spring, 2024

Master of Science (MS) students within the Systems Engineering program must take a total of eight courses that have been approved by their advisor. Three of these must be selected from the below list of required courses. (Other courses may be substituted at the advisor’s discretion.) The remaining five courses can be chosen from the list of electives, and must be advisor-approved. One of the eight courses can be a professional development class, such as those offered by the Center for Leadership Education.

Master’s students are offered two options (different combination of courses, seminars, optional externship, and research) to earn their degree. There is also a bachelor’s/master’s program available as well as a Civil Engineering MSE degree. With bachelor’s/master’s and master’s‐/master’s double‐counting, a student may double-count one advanced course towards both degrees with the permission of the master’s faculty advisor.

Requirements for MS in Systems Engineering with Coursework Requirements

The most common path for MS graduate students is to complete the degree through coursework alone. The MS degree requirements are as follows*:

  1. Minimum course requirements: 8 courses** at the 600-level or above:
    • 3 of which must be from the following list (Substitute courses can be considered at the advisors discretion):
      • EN.560.653 An Introduction to Network Modeling
      • EN.560.618 Probabilistic Methods in Civil Engineering and Mechanics
      • EN.560.657 System Dynamics
      • EN.520.698 Networks Meet Machine Learning: Methods and Applications
      • EN.553.613 Applied Statistics and Data Analysis
      • EN.553.636 Introduction to Data Science
      • EN.553.761 Nonlinear Optimization I
      • EN.601.633 Intro Algorithms
      • EN.601.675 Machine Learning
    • 5 of which are elective
  2. Required courses, but do not count towards minimum course requirements:
    • Two semesters of CaSE graduate seminar courses (Fall semester – EN.560.691 and/or Spring semester – EN.560.692)
    • Academic Ethics short course EN.500.603
    • Responsible Conduct of Research short course: AS.360.624 (online) or AS.360.625
  3. Acceptable grades: B- and above. Only one course with a grade lower than B- is allowed toward the degree requirements. No grade lower than a C- may be counted toward the course requirements.
  4. First three semesters must be full-time. The student may submit a request for the fourth semester to be part-time, which requires approval from the Department Head and is not guaranteed.*** It is expected that the degree will be completed in one year with the student enrolling in 4 courses per semester, although in select cases students may require a third semester of study.
  5. CPT internship credits for international students do not count toward the completion of a Master’s degree.
  6. Transfer credits typically are not permitted

*Students must comply with all requirements stipulated by the Whiting School of Engineering Academic Policies and Procedures.

**Academic advisors, in consultation with the faculty in the department, will determine whether the eight courses leading to this degree are appropriate and if they have been completed satisfactorily.

***See the director of your masters degree program or the department academic program administrator to determine if you are eligible for part-time status.

MS with Thesis Requirements

The MS with thesis option is primarily intended for students interested in pursuing a PhD. The MS degree requirements are as follows*:

  1. Minimum course requirements: 7 courses** at the 600-level or above:
    • 3 of which must be from the following list (Substitute courses can be considered at the advisors discretion):
      • EN.560.653 An Introduction to Network Modeling
      • EN.560.618 Probabilistic Methods in Civil Engineering and Mechanics
      • EN.560.657 System Dynamics
      • EN.520.698 Networks Meet Machine Learning: Methods and Applications
      • EN.553.613 Applied Statistics and Data Analysis
      • EN.553.636 Introduction to Data Science
      • EN.553.761 Nonlinear Optimization I
      • EN.601.633 Intro Algorithms
      • EN.601.675 Machine Learning
    • 4 of which are elective
  2. Required courses, but do not count towards minimum course requirements:
    • Two semesters of CaSE graduate seminar courses (Fall semester – EN.560.691 and/or Spring semester – EN.560.692)
    • Academic Ethics short course EN.500.603
    • Responsible Conduct of Research short course: AS.360.625
  3. Acceptable grades: B- and above. Only one course with a grade lower than B- is allowed toward the degree requirements. No grade lower than a C- may be counted toward the course requirements.
  4. Final essay that is approved by the research advisor and one additional reader who is required to be a full-time departmental faculty member. Any external reader must be approved by the department chair.
  5. Research presentation in a public forum attended by two members of the WSE faculty or other faculty approved by the Department Chair.
  6. The MS with thesis program is expected to be completed in 3-4 semesters with the student enrolled in 2-3 courses per semester in addition to research. Summer research is typical but not necessary and is left to the discretion of the student and advisor. All semesters must be full-time.
  7. CPT internship credits for international students do not count toward the completion of a Master’s degree.
  8. Transfer credits typically are not permitted

*Students must comply with all requirements stipulated by the Whiting School of Engineering Academic Policies and Procedures.

**Academic advisors, in consultation with the faculty in the department, will determine whether the seven courses leading to this degree are appropriate and if they have been completed satisfactorily.

Learn More

View a course list for the upcoming semester, details on our graduate student group, and other information helpful for prospective students.