2013-2014 University Catalog 
  
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2013-2014 University Catalog

Information Technology Engineer Degree

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. It is designed to meet the needs of working professionals seeking advanced and up-to-date training in IT areas, but who are not planning a research career.

Admission Requirements

Admission requirements for the engineer degree are the same as for the Information Technology, PhD .

Degree Requirements

Course Work/Plan of Study (30 credits)

Students must include in the plan of study a well-defined set of advanced courses in a focused area.  Successful completion of this requirement should enable the student to complete an applied project in a contemporary area in IT.

The 30 credits of graduate-level coursework must fulfill the following requirements:

  • The following courses may not be included in any plan of study: any INFS 500-level courses; any AIT courses; OR 540 ; STAT 501 ; STAT 502 ; STAT 503 ; STAT 535 ; and SYST 500 .  Exceptions must be approved in advance by the senior associate dean.
  • At least 12 of the 30 credits must be in courses numbered 700 or higher, and these 12 credits cannot include directed reading, project, or thesis courses.
  • A cumulative GPA of 3.50 is required in courses taken in the plan of study.

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 (12 credits)

Choose 12 credits from the following:

Project Proposal Presentation

Near completion 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 Presentation .

Project and Final Presentation

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 Dissertation . 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 presentation may be scheduled; the application for the presentation must be submitted to the senior associate dean at least one month in advance of the presentation so that the announcement is posted for at least two weeks.

Following a satisfactory evaluation of the presentation 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.

Total: 42 credits

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.