VII. Master’s Degree Requirements

VII.1. Master’s Program Requirements
VII.2. Thesis Option Requirements
       VII.2.a. Thesis Submission Requirements
       VII.2.b. Thesis Defense Requirements
VII.3. Non-thesis Option Requirements
VII.4. Accelerated MS Option Requirements
VII.5. Final Examination

1. Master’s Program Requirements

Master of Science programs at South Dakota Mines may offer 2 options by which a student may complete the requirements for a degree:  the thesis option and the non-thesis option.  See individual program descriptions for details.   

Master’s candidates already holding graduate credits from another institution may apply to transfer them to South Dakota Mines under terms of section GEP VI.4.e. Applying Credits from Outside Institutions . Note that additional information regarding limitations on coursework that may be applied toward the degree can be found in section GEP VI.4. Credit Policies for All Graduate Degrees .

2. Thesis Option Requirements

The Master’s degree minimum requirements for the thesis option are:

1. a program of at least 30 combined credit hours of coursework and thesis research,
2. at least 15 credit hours of graduate coursework other than thesis at the 500-level or above,
3. at least 50% of the total number of required credits at the 600-level or above,
4. at least 6 credit hours of thesis research and no more than 12 credit hours of thesis research, (however, the student may register for additional research credits for continuing registration purposes),
5. completion of an ethics in research training module,
6. a master’s thesis proposal in a format determined by the department/program,
7. a thesis that conforms to standard American English style and usage,
8. successfully defending the thesis,
9. meeting or exceeding academic standards prescribed elsewhere in this catalog, including maintaining at least a 3.0 cumulative GPA, and
10. satisfaction of all departmental- or program-specific requirements.

a. Thesis Submission Requirements

The thesis should represent an effort of such quality and construction that it can be displayed in the school library with similar scholarly works, as well as providing material for publication(s) in an appropriate professional journal(s).

Refer to section GEP VI.5. Thesis/Dissertation Submission Requirements  for information on the submission of master’s theses.

b. Thesis Defense Requirements

A student pursuing the thesis option must defend the thesis in an oral examination. The final coursework examination and thesis research defense may be combined (see the GEP VII.5. Final Examination section below).

Refer to section GEP VI.6. Thesis/Dissertation Defense Requirements  for information regarding the scheduling and conduct of the thesis defense.

3. Non-thesis Option Requirements

Students enrolled in a non-thesis program may have the option of completing a non-thesis research project or taking additional course credits in place of the research project credits.  The latter option is often referred to as a coursework only option and is common in professional degree programs. Students electing a non-thesis program should check with their program or department to determine which non-thesis options are available to them.

The minimum requirements for the non-thesis Master’s degree option are:

1. a program of at least 30 credit hours of coursework that may include non-thesis project,
2. at least 15 credit hours of graduate level coursework other than non-thesis project at the 500-level or above,
3. at least 50% of the total required credits at the 600-level or above,
4. a maximum of 6 credits of non-thesis project,
5. meeting or exceeding academic standards prescribed elsewhere in this catalog, including maintaining at least a 3.0 cumulative GPA, and
6. satisfaction of all departmental- or program-specific requirements.

4. Accelerated MS Option Requirements

The accelerated master’s program enables a student to complete both the BS and MS degrees in as little as 5 years. Up to 12 credits applied toward the BS program may be used to satisfy graduate credit requirements. See individual programs for the number of credits allowed by the program. Additional restrictions apply; please see section GEP IV.2. Accelerated Master’s Programs  for further information.

5. Final Examination

A master’s student may be required by his or her program to take a final examination covering course material as a requirement for the degree. The examination may be written, oral, or both.  All graduate student committee members must be given the opportunity for input to, and evaluation of, a final examination.

A student pursuing the thesis option must also defend the thesis in an oral examination. The final examination and thesis defense may be combined. Oral examinations, including a thesis defense, are open to all interested faculty members, except in the case of a restricted thesis (see section GEP VI.5. Thesis/Dissertation Submission Requirements ). Departmental or program policy shall determine whether non-faculty persons may attend an oral non-thesis or coursework examination.

Unless combined with a thesis defense, final master’s examinations are not scheduled with the Graduate Office, but the results of any such examination must be reported to the Graduate Office within two weeks of the exam using the form provided on the graduate education web site. For programs that combine the thesis defense and final master’s examination, the defense results report shall also serve to indicate the results of the final examination. Policies governing the defense process are described in section GEP VI.6. Thesis/Dissertation Defense Requirements .