Master Degree

Master of Science with Non-thesis option

• 30 Credits (10 Courses)
• Minimum of 12 credits (4 courses) in main study discipline (600 level or above)
• Maximum of 9 credits (3 courses) at 400 level, of which not more than 6 credits may be department courses
• Scholarly paper written by student under the supervision of a faculty member, and reviewed by a committee consisting of 2 faculty members

• 24 Credits (8 Courses) and 6 Research Credits
• Minimum of 12 credits (4 courses) in main study discipline (600 level or above)
• Maximum of 9 credits (3 courses) at 400 level, of which not more than 6 credits may be department courses
• At least 6 research credits for masters thesis research.
  Oral Thesis Defense approved by a thesis committee of three faculty members

Minimum Graduate Course Requirements

Please see the GPA and prerequisite policy page for GPA requirements.

Time Limitations

All requirements for the M.S. degree must be completed within a five year period. This time limit applies to any transfer work from other institutions to be included in a student's program. Students who fail to complete all requirements for the degree following the granting of a time extension by the department may seek an additional extension by petitioning the department. If the department supports the request, the Administrator of Graduate Admissions and Records may grant up to a one year additional extension.

Transfer of Credit

A maximum of 6 semester hours of graduate course work taken at other regionally accredited institutions prior to matriculation in the Graduate School, or afterward, may be applied toward the Master's degree. The course must have been taken within the time limits for completing the Master's degree; the Graduate Director must agree that the specific courses are appropriate to and acceptable in Chemical Engineering, and the student is responsible for providing an official transcript of this work to the Graduate School.

Due to academic and procedural differences between U.S. regionally accredited and foreign institutions, credit from foreign universities is not normally acceptable for transfer.

The grades on transfer work do not affect the grade point average of the work taken at the University of Maryland. A grade of A from another institution cannot balance a C in a course here.

Transfer work cannot be used to satisfy the requirements for upper level courses in a student's program. The required credits of 600 level or above must be part of the work taken at the University of Maryland.

No credit transfer will be allowed for any courses which have been used in fulfillment of the requirements of any other degree. No credit will be granted for correspondence courses.

The request for transfer credit shall be submitted to the Graduate School for approval at the earliest possible time. The candidate is subject to final examination by this institution in all work offered for the M.S. degree.