The MS/MSE program here at Montana Technological University offers thesis track and non-thesis track alternatives. Both are available to on-campus students and to off-campus students through distance-learning. Incoming off-campus students are admitted to the non-thesis track. At the invitation of a research-active participating faculty member (advisor), students who demonstrate an interest and aptitude for scientific research may petition the Graduate School for transfer to the thesis track.
To graduate from Montana Tech with the MS/MSE degree, a student on the non-thesis track is required to complete a minimum of 36 semester credit hours. In the final year of their program, non-thesis track students complete a culminating experience or practicum. To fulfill the practicum requirements, students must undertake and complete a substantial materials-related project of approximately six months duration. As part of the practicum, students must participate in a one-week summer laboratory session at Montana Tech. The project selection, scope, and objectives must be approved in advance by the student’s academic advisor, the MS/MSE program director, and the Montana Tech graduate school. At the conclusion of the project, the student must submit a detailed comprehensive technical report and deliver a presentation to an audience of MSE faculty and students.
Thesis-track students are required to complete a minimum of 30 semester credit hours. Thesis track students must prepare and submit a research-based thesis and pass a formal thesis defense examination, which will be conducted by the student’s research advisor and committee. The thesis and defense examination must conform to established Montana Tech Graduate School and department policies and guidelines.
The graduate program requirements are summarized below. Courses are categorized as Core Courses, Advanced Graduate Courses, and Seminar and are dependant on whether the student selects the thesis or the non-thesis track.
All students must complete the following mandatory Core Courses:
Beyond the core courses, the general curricular requirements are summarized in the following points:
More than thirty materials-oriented graduate courses are available and eighteen of these courses are available through distance learning.
Applicants are expected to have earned a bachelor of science degree in a physical science or engineering discipline with a minimum GPA of 3.0 (4.0 maximum basis) or equivalent. Undergraduate studies include mathematics at least through differential equations, at least one year each of general physics and chemistry, a course in physical chemistry or modern physics, an elementary course in properties of materials (such as EGEN 213 or EMAT 251), and engineering coursework (including prerequisites) equivalent to EGEN 201 – Engineering Mechanics/Statics, EELE 201 – Circuits for Engineers, EGEN 335 – Fluid Mechanics, and EGEN 305 – Mechanics of Materials. Applicants may be admitted with deficiencies but, to the extent possible, such courses are expected to be made up during the student’s first year in the program.
It is possible to earn the M.S. degree enroute to the Ph.D. in Materials Science. Students who opt to follow this route are advised to enroll in the Ph.D. program and consult with their advisor regarding fulfillment of the M.S. degree requirements.
M.S. students who are employed as GRAs engaged in funded thesis-track research projects or as GTAs are eligible for stipends and tuition waivers. The maximum stipend for an M.S. student is $20,400 per calendar year.
Additional information on both programs can be accessed through the Graduate School and Course Catalog links.
The complete Ph.D. dissertations and M.S. theses are available at the Montana Tech Digital Commons.