| | | Program Information: Master of Science Degree |
(a) To ensure adequate long-range planning by each student, an M.S. Program Proposal endorsed by the student's adviser must be turned in to the Department Office during the first quarter of graduate study. (Note: Proposals will be accepted only from students who have been formally admitted to graduate standing in Electrical Engineering.) The tentative nature of the program on this Proposal is recognized, and changes are easily made by filing a simple petition.
(b) The faculty does not prescribe specific courses to be taken. Each student with the help of a program adviser prepares a program of study to meet his or her particular needs and submits it to the faculty for approval. Guidelines for course programs that will normally be approved are presented in the Guidelines for M.S. Program Planning section.
(c) The ability to take advantage of modern computing facilities is an essential skill for electrical engineers, and an increasing number of our courses routinely require programming ability, which is considered to be a requirement for the M.S. degree. If they do not already possess such skills, students are required to acquire this skill, preferably early in their programs, by taking a regular Computer Science course, or one of the special "short courses" given by the Computation Center, or by self-study.
(d) Students are encouraged to take full advantage of the opportunities for individual work (Special Studies) under the direction of individual faculty members, under the heading of EE 390/391. Possibilities under this heading range from directed reading in an area of mutual interest to the equivalent of an M.S. thesis. Note, however that these courses usually cannot be applied toward the fulfillment of guidelines 1, 2, 3, and 4c below.
(e) New students are very strongly advised not to undertake a heavy academic program their first quarter at Stanford because of the new environment and the demanding nature of graduate work. Four regular courses have been found to provide essentially a full-time workload particularly during the first quarter at Stanford. The student's adviser should be consulted for further guidance on this and other questions.
(f) Students completing an approved program with a grade point average of 3.0 or better will normally be recommended for the Master of Science degree.
(g) The residency requirement for the Master of Science degree is a minimum of 45 units. The MS degree is designed so that it can be completed in three quarters, but many students elect to take longer. For example, if students register for only 8 to 10 units per quarter, the program will take five quarters. Few courses are taught during the summer, so this means five academic year courses.
(h) NDO students may apply up to 18 units of Stanford coursework toward their EE degree.
(i) There is a three-year limit from the first quarter of enrollment in the master's program to the conferral of the degree. For coterminal students, the three year period begins the quarter following completion of 180 units. Students enrolled under the Honors Cooperative Program have a five year time limit for completion of the degree.
M.S. programs of at least 45 quarter units that satisfy the following guidelines will normally be approved.
A particular course may be used to satisfy only one guideline.
COMMENT: An M.S. program should provide, among other things, some continuity and depth of penetration in one subject area. The phrase "depth in one area" means 9 or more units in closely related courses, leading to study at a reasonably advanced level. A list of acceptable EE course sequences is provided later in this section. The student must maintain a GPA of 3.0 or better in the depth area. Special Studies cannot be included among these units. Depth sequences not specifically listed require special approval.
COMMENT: A graduate student usually cannot be certain of his or her future professional career activities and may not be aware of interesting opportunities in other subject areas. Breadth of training provides protection against technical obsolescence, opens up new areas of interest, and provides a foundation for future self-education. Two courses are not consideed as being in distinct areas if they can be found under a common depth area (some courses appear in multiple depth areas).
Ideally, every M.S. student would gain some graduate level knowledge in every important area of electrical engineering. Since this is obviously not a realistic possibility, the three-area breadth requirement is a practical compromise. Special Studies Courses (390, 391) are not suitable for this requirement.
COMMENT: Because the M.S. degree is an advanced degree in electrical engineering awarded entirely on the basis of course work, the program should contain a substantial amount of advanced electrical engineering course work. Mezzanine (200 series) courses, suitable for advanced undergraduates or beginning graduates, may be used in partial satisfaction of this requirement, but at least part of the program should be in the more advanced 300 and 400 series courses.
COMMENT: Within the restrictions above these courses may be selected from the offerings of any department in the university including not only technical, business, and science courses but also humanistic offerings. (Performance courses such as tennis, choir or photography are not included.) Up to 6 units of Special Studies (EE 391) may be used as part of the graded 36 units of this requirement.
Cases may sometimes arise in which a desired course is normally graded on a PASS/NO-CREDIT basis rather than a letter grade. Where such a case is critical for meeting the 36-graded-unit requirement, a student should check in advance with the instructor to make sure the course will be recorded with a letter grade.
Note: Every attempt should be made to meet the above guidelines. M.S. Programs that deviate from one or more of the guidelines for good educational reasons may be submitted for consideration by the Department on an individual basis following approval by the M.S. adviser. Submitting a petition for such a program for consideration by the M.S. Degree Committee does not automatically result in its approval and each case will be evaluated on its individual merits. Students contemplating such a special program should include with the Master's Program Proposal a written description of their particular objectives and how the proposed program meets these objectives. The M.S. adviser should initial the petition to show approval. In the case of depth sequences deviating from the list, the Committee may consult faculty members within the depth area on the appropriateness and acceptability of the proposed sequence. This may occur for example when a new course is introduced with a 292 or 392 course number and students wish to apply it to a related depth sequence. If the student's adviser is outside the student's depth area, it is suggested that the student also discuss his or her potential depth sequence with a faculty member in the particular depth area and obtain written support on the statement of individual objectives. To ensure adequate planning towards the Master of Science degree, each student must file the form "Program Proposal" and submit it during the first quarter of enrollment in the program. The form may be obtained online: http://ee.stanford.edu/forms/msprog.pdf
If changes to the program are required are required, a Master's "Program Revision Form" should be submitted no later than the quarter prior to expected graduation.
Out of Department Courses Considered as EE Courses
The following list satisfies the depth requirements for the different specializations shown. A depth sequence consists of three courses taken from a single line and must contain a minimum of one class at 300 level or above. The breadth requirement is satisfied by courses from three different areas not including any courses in the selected depth area. Two courses are not considered as being in distinct areas if they can be found under a common depth area (some courses appear in multiple depth areas). Italicized courses such as 244 in area 4 and 202 and 293A,B under General Breadth may be used as breadth but are not part of a depth sequence. Courses which are not listed below may be taken as "additional EE courses" to satisfy the 21 units of EE courses requirement.
Select a sequence of 3 courses across a single line containing at least one class at 300 level or above.
* Alternate years, not given next year
** Alternate years, given next year
| | | Program Information: Master of Science Degree |