MSE Student Resources (In Progress)

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MSE Policies (In Progress)

Culminating Experience Practice and Policies

The culminating experience requires permission of the GPD and completion of the Responsible Conduct of Research within the last three years. It can be completed via one of three routes:

1) EGR 695 Master's Thesis (6 cr) OR 2) EGR 693 Master's Project (6 cr)

  • Students typically select EGR 693 or EGR 695, which are equivalent culminating experiences and have similar requirements. Differences between Thesis and Project requirements are highlighted below:
    • Both are taken in integer number of credits over multiple contiguous semesters until a total of 6 credits have been accumulated.
    • Both require the student to plan and perform research under the guidance of an engineering graduate faculty advisor and committee.
    • Thesis/Project scope is determined in consultation with the advisor and the committee
    • Thesis/Project topic and committees must be approved by the engineering Graduate Committee using the approval form template provided. This must be done in the semester the student takes the first EGR 693/695 credits.
      • Thesis committee form is additionally submitted to the Graduate School while the Project committee form is not.
    • Committee makeup:
      • All committee members on a Thesis committee must have approved Graduate Faculty status. Applications for Graduate Faculty status may be found here. 
      • One committee member on a Project committee may be from the company sponsoring the project and must have a Master's degree or higher in engineering. 
    • Student will defend their Thesis/Project by the deadlines posted for each semester by the Graduate School. Student may request an extension of the deadline.
      • For Thesis that request is made to the Graduate School (Trista Beregud)
      • For Project that request is made to the GPD.
    • Defense
      • The Thesis defense is public; students will provide Allyson Albrecht with their Thesis title, committee, and time and date of their defense for public posting.
      • The Project defense is confidential; students must schedule a time to defend with their committee but no public postings are made.
    • Committee signatures on the final Thesis/Project indicate that the student has successfully defended and completed all the requirements for their Thesis/Project
      • The final signature page for the Thesis is signed by the Dean of PCE. It is then sent with the completed Thesis to the Graduate School for the signature by the AVP of the Graduate School.
      • The final signature page for the Project is signed by the GPD. It does not get submitted to the Graduate School.
    • Once all the signatures are in, the faculty advisor will submit a grade change form to covert all EGR 695/693 credits to PD or PS.

3) EGR 686 - Capstone Design Project (3 cr)

  • Single semester, 3 credits, so students can take an extra class.
  • Student works with a single graduate faculty member on a project of mutual interest.
  • Best practices when undertaking an EGR 686 include:
    • Student and faculty should prepare an initial document detailing scope and deliverables of the project.
    • Student should present and submit a final project report to the faculty for a grade.
    • It is recommended that the student be given an opportunity to present/disseminate their work at conferences and/or the GVSU Graduate Showcase and Engineering Project Days.
  • If students need additional time to finish EGR 695/693/686, they must register for EGR 696, a 1-credit continuation course, for every additional semester.  
  • To sign up for EGR 693/695/686 credits,
    • discuss the appropriate number of credits to take with your faculty advisor; 
    • send an email to the GPD, copying your faculty advisor, requesting a permit. 

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Course Policies

  • Undergraduate students may sign up for a graduate level EGR class using the Dual Level Request Form, if they have completed at least 85 credits and have at least a 3.0 GPA  OR be admitted to the MSE program.
  • Undergraduate students can take an EGR 6xx class with permission from their undergraduate advisor, the course instructor, and the GPD. Furthermore, they will have to decide whether the course will be used for undergraduate credit or towards a future grad degree.
  • Undergraduate students cannot take an EGR 5xx course and have it count towards their undergraduate degree only unless they have already applied to the Combined BSE/MSE program. In this case two EGR 5xx courses will be counted towards their BSE and MSE degrees.  

Independent Study: EGR 699

  • No EGR 699 will be allowed in areas where courses exist and are taught at least once per year.
  • Only graduate degree or certificate-seeking students who have completed the core requirements may take EGR 699. All independent study topics and the amount of credit to be earned must be approved by the faculty member who agrees to supervise the project. A student may take multiple EGR 699 courses but no more than 3 credits in total will apply to their MSE degree.
  • The conditions, meeting times, workload, and subject matter concerned with the project are mutually agreed to by the initiating student and the assenting faculty member and are consistent with standards of quality education.
  • Every EGR 699 course MUST have an approved syllabus before it can be added to the schedule and students can sign up. The syllabus for EGR 699 must be approved, in order, by the curriculum committee (if applicable), and then the graduate committee. Any interdisciplinary syllabi will be approved by the graduate committee who will seek out input from subject matter experts as appropriate. Further, EGR 699s to be offered in the Winter semester must be approved in the preceding Fall, and those to be offered in either the Spring/Summer or Fall semesters must be approved in the preceding Winter semester. 1-credit EGR 699s may be offered in 6-week blocks during the semester.
  • In the academic transcript the course will be displayed as EGR 699 Ind. Study in [17 char].

Remediation Policy

There is no separate Remediation Policy for engineering classes since all skills and competencies are assessed in the grade for that course. Currently, there are no assessments that do not contribute to the grade.

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International Students

  • Full-time status, CPT, OPT 
  • Any number of credits of a culminating experience (EGR 695/693/686) or experiential learning (EGR 685/699 Experiential Learning) counts as 40 hours a week of work and the student is considered full-time.

Graduate Assistantships

  • Unlike most graduate engineering programs around the country, we have a limited number of funding opportunities for Master's students that are awarded on a merit basis.
  • Graduate Assistants (GAs) support the teaching mission of our program and help with outreach, support our labs, assist professors, and mentor students.
  • Each year faculty are able to request funding for Special Project GAs (SPGAs) to help with research, pedagogical analysis, or targeted outreach. 
  • A full-time GA covers 9 credits of graduate tuition (5xx and 6xx courses only) and offers a stipend of $6500/semester in return for 20 hrs/week of work.
  • A half-time GA covers 4.5 credits of graduate tuition (5xx and 6xx courses only) and offers a stipend of $3250/semester in return for 10 hrs/week of work.
  • All GAs are entitled to a free parking pass worth $210/semester.
  • GAs are assigned each semester and are renewable based on academic performance, supervisor feedback, and the availability of funds.

Page last modified September 13, 2024
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