The Graduate School
of Engineering offers degree programs designed to help students
prepare themselves for technical positions in industrial organizations,
government laboratories, research laboratories, and educational
institutions. In addition to extensive day graduate programs,
the Graduate School of Engineering offers Master of Science
and Doctoral degree programs on a part-time basis in the evening.
An interdisciplinary Doctor of Philosophy degree is also available
for graduate students whose interests overlap two or more departments
or programs.
Northeastern University
awards credit on a semester-hour basis. The Master of Science
degree requires a minimum of thirty to thirty-four semester
hour credits, depending on the specific program selected. In
some cases, depending upon academic background, prerequisite
courses are required. Part-time students who normally carry
four semester hours each term can generally complete their programs
in two and a half to four years, while full-time students, who
may take eight to twelve semester hours each term, may earn
their degrees in as little as one year. However, full-time students
receiving some form of assistantship or who are enrolled in
the co-op plan usually devote two years to completing their
academic requirements.
As a general rule,
the Master of Science degree with specification is granted to
students who have earned a baccalaureate degree in the same
or closely related engineering discipline as their graduate
program. However, students who are admitted to the Computer
Systems Engineering, Engineering Management, Information Systems,
Operations Research, and Telecommunication Systems Management
programs are in general exempt from this policy and may earn
the specified degree regardless of their undergraduate training.
The Master of Science degree without specification is usually
awarded to students holding undergraduate degrees in disciplines
that do not correspond to their graduate program or that have
been conferred by institutions outside the United States.
Students admitted for interdisciplinary study
must obtain the consent of a faculty adviser who will direct
his or her Doctoral Dissertation. This adviser, who may or may
not be a member of the registration department, will chair the
student’s interdisciplinary committee. The chair of the
registration department, or his or her designee, will then appoint
a second member to the committee. These two members will invite
one or more additional member(s) or request that the Director
of the Graduate School of Engineering do so. The committee must
represent at least two academic departments or programs, and
a majority of the committee members must represent Doctoral
degree-granting departments. The chair of the registration department,
or his or her designee, will notify the Director of the Graduate
School of Engineering of the membership of the committee as
soon as arrangements are complete.
A member
of the interdisciplinary committee who is also a member of the
registration department will serve as the registration officer
to approve course registration for the student. The registration
officer will file a copy of the approved course registration
with the other committee members and with the graduate committee
of the registration department. The interdisciplinary committee
is responsible for overseeing the completion of all requirements.
The committee must also certify to the registration department
and to the Graduate School of Engineering the completion of
all requirements for the award of the Doctoral degree
The
interdisciplinary committee must be assured that the student’s
program represents standards comparable to those of the registration
department and that the program is not so broad that it has
inadequate depth in any area. The Director of the Graduate School
of Engineering may review a student’s interdisciplinary
program at any time to verify that the student meets program
objectives.
