2012–2013 UNIVERSITY CATALOG - Florida Institute of Technology

In the last-mentioned case, the student will normally have the
option of pursuing an undergraduate degree in the desired discipline
or making up the deficiencies while enrolled as a special
student. The student will then be considered for admission to the
appropriate graduate degree program once sufficient additional
work has been done to form an adequate basis for a decision by the
academic unit.
The customary classification of special students will be as undergraduate
students, regardless of the existence of previous bachelor’s
degrees. A student may, however, be classified as a special graduate
student. In such a case, designation and continuation of graduate
student status will be at the discretion of the cognizant academic
unit, or the director of graduate programs in the case of students
who are not seeking eventual admission to a graduate degree
program.
Course Requirements
Course requirements are stated in each master’s degree program
description. Students who meet certain requirements may be
eligible to participate in accelerated master’s programs that entail
completing both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in five years by
maintaining higher overall and program GPAs and who are willing
and able to carry increased course loads. High-achieving students
are strongly recommended to discuss this option with their advisers.
Accelerated programs are not available in all majors or colleges.
The stated minimum credit hours can include any or all of the following,
subject to academic unit approval and specific restrictions
stated in graduate policy:
Up to 12 semester hours of credit transferred from a regionally
accredited institution or, in some cases, from a foreign university;
or, in the case of a partner institution in a dual-degree program
with Florida Tech, up to half of the total minimum credit hours.
Up to six semester hours of credit for 3000- and 4000-level
undergraduate courses taken while enrolled in a graduate program
at Florida Tech. Only 4000-level courses will be considered if the
courses are in the student’s major field of study.
Credit previously used to meet the requirements of another master’s
degree at Florida Tech may be used to meet up to half of the
credits required for the later degree.
Credit in excess of the seven-year statute of limitations if a waiver
is in effect, in accordance with the statue of limitations as defined
in this catalog.
Academic credit applied toward the requirements of a bachelor’s
degree, at Florida Tech or elsewhere, may not be used in any graduate
program at Florida Tech, regardless of the level of the course,
unless the student has been accepted into an approved accelerated
or fast track master’s program.
Program Plan
Each master’s-level graduate student is required to have an
approved program plan on file no later than one month before nine
credit hours of graduate courses have been completed.
Only one program plan can be in effect for a student at any given
time. Because of the importance of the program plan in establishing
a new program GPA following a change of major, no request
to change majors will be processed unless accompanied by an
approved new program plan. This requirement applies whether a
degree was earned in the first major or not.
44 Florida Tech
Graduate students receive a degree program plan/flow chart showing
the most commonly accepted sequence of courses for their
degree program as soon as admission is complete. Students should
contact their academic program chair or adviser if they have not
received a degree program plan/flow chart.
Thesis
Master’s theses are required in some programs and are optional in
most others. The credit hours assigned to the thesis vary according
to the program. A student cannot initially register for thesis unless
his or her GPA is at least 3.0. Subsequent to the initial registration,
the student must continue to register for at least three hours
of thesis each academic term, including summer, until the thesis is
defended and accepted by the graduate programs office. An interruption
in thesis registration requires written approval in advance
and is permissible only if the student is making no use of university
facilities or personnel.
A grade of S (Satisfactory) or U (Unsatisfactory) is assigned at the
end of each academic term, with zero credit hours earned. The
candidate should contact the graduate programs office early in the
thesis preparation process for guidance regarding style and format
requirements. A Thesis Manual and Style Guide is available at the
university bookstore.
After all research has been completed, the written thesis is distributed
to committee members at least two weeks before the thesis
defense is held. If the thesis defense is successful, a P grade is
assigned corresponding to the required number of thesis credit
hours. A minimum of five copies of the approved thesis must be
received and accepted by the graduate programs office before the
degree can be awarded.
Design Project
All requirements listed for theses in the preceding section apply
equally to design projects.
Final Program Examination
A final program examination is required in all master’s programs
with the exception of all programs in the Nathan M. Bisk College
of Business and the Human Factors in Aeronautics program in
the College of Aeronautics, for which there is no on-campus
counterpart. For nonthesis students, the examination may be either
written or oral, or both, at the discretion of the academic unit.
For thesis and design project students, the examination consists
primarily of an oral defense of the thesis or design project and takes
place during the last term of registration for M.S. Thesis or design
project.
An examination candidate must have a grade point average (both
program and overall, if different) of 3.0 or higher at the time of
the examination to be permitted to schedule any final program
examination.
All oral examinations must be included in the weekly schedule
of examinations published by the graduate programs office.
Scheduling an oral examination is the responsibility of the candidate
and his or her committee. Notification to the graduate
programs office too late for inclusion in the weekly schedule will
normally result in postponement of the examination. For written
examinations, application must be made by the student to the