HELP 2011-2012 University Catalog Information Technology Engineer Degree Print-Friendly Page

Banner Code: VS-ENGR-INFT

School:  Volgenau School of Engineering 

Department:  Interdisciplinary Programs 

The engineer degree is a post-master’s degree but does not confer a doctorate. Students in the engineer degree can take advanced PhD courses and complete a project of an applied nature to fulfill program requirements.

Admission Requirements

Admission requirements for the engineer degree are the same as for the PhD in information technology.

Plan of Study

The program is made up of specialized course work followed by completion of an applied project summarized in a project report. Under the guidance of the supervisory committee, students prepare a tentative plan of study. The plan lists the intended courses and their expected timing. The plan should also contain a tentative subject for the applied project.

Specialized Course Work

Students must include in the plan of study a well-defined advanced concentration area. Successful completion of this requirement should enable students to conduct applied research in a significant contemporary area in IT.

The supervisory committee and The Volgenau School Senior Associate Dean must approve a plan of study. These approvals must occur before a student completes the courses in the area of concentration. There is no guarantee that a course taken before this approval will be accepted. Students must take 30 credits of graduate-level course work. A GPA of 3.50 is required in these credits.

The plan of study may include at most 3 credits of directed reading course work. At least 12 credits must be in courses numbered 700 or higher, and these 12 credits cannot include directed reading, a project, or thesis courses.

Courses that cannot be included in any plan of study are INFS 500-level courses; AIT 500 or 600-level courses; OR/SYST 540; and SYST 500. The Senior Associate Dean must approve exceptions to any of these rules in advance.

Supervisory Committee

On admission to the program, students are assigned a temporary advisor. Students are responsible for working with the temporary advisor until they select a project director and a supervisory committee. It is  recommended that a student form a supervisory committee as soon as feasible. The supervisory committee includes the project director plus at least two additional members. The committee must contain at least two graduate faculty members from The Volgenau School. It is strongly recommended that the committee include at least one person from outside the university who is knowledgeable in the subject area of the project. The supervisory committee supervises the project proposal presentation and the project defense.

Project Proposal Presentation

Near the end of the course work, each student prepares a written project proposal, which is presented to the supervisory committee. Students may enroll in IT 996 Engineer Project Proposal to complete this effort. During the term students expect to present the project proposal to the committee, they should enroll in IT 991 Engineer Project Presentations. After successfully completing this requirement, students are formally admitted as candidates for the engineer degree. The application for candidacy is submitted to the office of the Senior Associate Dean on a standard form.

Project and Final Defense

With the concurrence of the supervisory committee, students proceed with the project research, during which time they must continuously enroll in IT 997 Engineer Project. Students must complete a minimum of 12 credits from among IT 991, 996, and 997, with a minimum of 6 credits of IT 997. When the central portions of the project work have been completed to the point that students are able to describe the contributions of the project effort, they submit the written project report to the supervisory committee. Once the committee believes the student is ready, a final public oral defense may be scheduled; the application for the defense must be submitted to the Senior Associate Dean at least one month in advance of the defense so that the announcement is posted for at least two weeks.

Following a satisfactory evaluation of the oral defense of the project by the supervisory committee, the student must submit, with supervision from the project director, a final project that represents a definitive contribution to applied knowledge in IT. This document must be compliant with the university’s regulations for appearance and must be submitted to the library. If the candidate successfully defends the project, the supervisory committee recommends that the final form of the project be completed and Volgenau School faculty and the graduate faculty of Mason recommend the candidate for graduation.

Applying and Completing a PhD Program 

Students who are awarded an engineer degree have the option of applying to one of our PhD programs. Candidates must satisfy all applicable university requirements and all requirements established by the doctoral program faculty. Doctoral candidates must earn a minimum of 72 graduate credits, which may be reduced by a maximum of 30 credits from a related master’s degree or engineer degree.