<p>How does an MSc from a US university compare to one from a European one. I mean a european one generally entails two semesters of studying, a semester of writing your thesis and a semester of doing an intership = two years, whilst it seems that one from the US is only one year. Will a US MSc then be less accepted?</p>
<p>My background: I am studying at the ETH-Zurich and am applying to MIT and Stanford to do my Masters (I am applying to their respective graduate programs)</p>
<p>Most US masters are not one year. They are usually always at least two. Two years of both research and classes. </p>
<p>If you can stay at ETH though I would advise you to do that. The fees are cheap and you would have to pay 50K for an MIT or Stanford Masters degree which might not help you much.</p>
<p>Its the UK that has the 1 year masters system and is the only country that currently runs that format.</p>
<p>Aha, I just thought I read somewhere that masters programs were often completed in one year at MIT. So what is the time-line like then? 3 semesters of normal courses and then one semester working on your thesis for example? and how many classes do you usually take per semester?</p>
<p>On the Stanford website it says that there is no thesis requirement for a masters, does that mean you cannot write a masters thesis?</p>
<p>Money isn’t really the issue here, anyways I’ve lived in Zurich for 11 years now and really would like to see something else for a year or two…</p>
<p>what type of engineering? </p>
<p>Not sure about these two schools but in general you can do research maybe a semester after you get to school. If you are persuasive you can start research right from when you land on campus.</p>
<p>Electrical Engineering. </p>
<p>MIT has 66 units of required courses and stanford has 45, can these units be compared? and do they correspond to about a year of lectures?</p>
<p>Oh and how does it work with the quarter terms at stanford, are you usually there for 4 quarters per year?</p>
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<p>As far as I know, MIT’s EECS department does not offer a stand-alone master’s degree. If you did not get your BS degree from MIT itself, you must apply and be accepted as a PhD student. As part of the requirements for the PhD degree, you’ll have also to fulfill the course/thesis requirements for the MS and will be awarded a master’s degree “in passing”. </p>
<p>Answering your second question, a one-semester graduate course at MIT is normally worth 12 units.</p>