Are all graduate Engineering programs 1 year?

College Majors Engineering Majors
1

<p>Is is normal to get a Masters degree in engineering (specifically Electrical Engineering) in one year?</p>

<p>I know many people might say it depends and there are acceptions but, just like an undergrad is usually 4 years, how long does an MEng/MS in Engineering usually takes?</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

2

<p>1 to 2 years, typically... It kind of varies from program to program.</p>

3

<p>at UCSB they have these 5yr BS/MS programs for engineering students. and there's different combinations u can get. u get ur BS in 4 then ur master's in a year.</p>

4

<p>Usually it's a year if you only do coursework and 2 years if you do a thesis option.</p>

5

<p>thanks!</p>

<p>What's the difference between the coursework and thesis option?
Does doing thesis option help in one's career?
Besides, how long does it generally take a person to complete a graduate study in Electrical Engineering?</p>

6

<p>Coursework... you just take courses. Plain and simple. For a thesis, you do research, write a paper, and defend it in front of a committee usually. The upside to the thesis option is it takes the place of a few classes.</p>

7

<p>Will employers see a 2-year program more "solid" than a 1-year program?
Does a 2-year program in EE prepare one better for work than a 1-year program?</p>

8

<p>It shouldn't matter if you did significant research at the undergrad level. I would personally just do a 1 year grad degree.</p>

9

<p>I wouldn't call them 1-year and 2-year degrees. I would call them "thesis" and "non-thesis" options. When I was at Purdue a typical non-thesis master's student would take 1 1/2 years and that seemed to be the average at other places I've seen. A thesis master's student would average 2 years. The advantage of a thesis is that you will likely have a more significant research experience and you would be better qualified for PhD study.</p>

10

<p>Really? 1 1/2 years? I'm applying to grad school (MS) for civil engineering and all but one school I've looked at is for one year (non-thesis).</p>

11

<p>Some Masters students become TA's in order to pay for tuition, so they don't take a full semester load. I think the least amount of credits you can take per semester is 9, which some choose to do. And therefore it takes an extra semester to complete the degree. But typically, a nonthesis option is one year if you follow the department's guidelines.</p>

12

<p>There are 3 types of graduate engineering degrees.
In the first one you do a certain amount of courses and a project.
In the second one you do a certain amount of courses and a thesis.
In the third one you do a certain amount of courses.</p>

<p>Each one requires a different amount of coursees.</p>

<p>The length of the degree depends on which one you decide to do.</p>

13

<p>
[quote]
Some Masters students become TA's in order to pay for tuition, so they don't take a full semester load. I think the least amount of credits you can take per semester is 9, which some choose to do. And therefore it takes an extra semester to complete the degree. But typically, a nonthesis option is one year if you follow the department's guidelines.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Yep -- and if you're working full time, expect the number of semesters to increase as well.</p>

<p>:)</p>

14

<p>Most of full-time graduate students (who are in for the Doctorate Degrees) usually pick up a MS degree along the way via non-thesis option – it doesn’t really make sense to write two separate theses (a master’s thesis and a Phd dissertation) for the same research topic for the same graduate school.</p>

<p>Non-thesis MS is also popular option for part-time students (i.e., working adults, who really don’t have much time to do research for their thesis).</p>

<p>If you want to have one MS(Meng) in one school (e.g., Berkeley), and want to do your phd (sc.D) in a different school (e.g., MIT). The thesis option is recommended.</p>

<p>Sometimes, students who failed either PhD-Qualifying or PhD-Comp exam or PhD-Oral Defense, they are told to write master’s thesis for consolation. After that, they are usually looking for an easier school for their Ph.Ds or just get jobs. :)</p>

15

<p>Hum...I want to go to the business field. As I read other posts, they say it's meaningless to get a Doctor in Engineering, so I'll only go up to Masters. In that case, is thesis one recommended? If so, why?</p>

16

<p>I don't know about the meaninglessness of a PhD (Sc.D) degree in Engineering. However, if your ultimate career objective is in business, you should be fine with a MS(ME) with non-thesis option.</p>