For those students who can demonstrate that they have successfully completed comparable graduate-level courses before coming to Clarkson, the Advisory Committee may waive the requirement that the student take these specific courses upon request from the student. Thesis credit will comprise a maximum of 10 credit hours of the 30 credit hour minimum. All students must complete a thesis and defend it orally to a committee consisting of a minimum of three faculty members. The thesis topic and committee must be approved in advance of the defense by the Advisory Committee. Two copies of the completed thesis must be submitted to the University.
All work done for the degree is to be completed within a period of four calendar years.
All first year teaching assistants will be evaluated by the Graduate Committee as to their teaching and academic performance, and will be informed of their status and prospects after the first semester. Input for the evaluation will be solicited from their supervisors and graduate course professors. In the event that a student is found to be performing unacceptably, he or she will be terminated at the end of the first year. Such students are to be notified early in the calendar year in order to give them the opportunity to find new employment. No M.S. candidate will be supported for more than two years and no Ph.D. graduate student will be supported for more than five years of graduate studies at Clarkson.