M.S. Students in the Industry Track do not complete an independent research requirement and therefore do not need to complete a pre-defense and final defense of their research. The exit requirement for students in this track consists of a final oral examination in the student’s last semester by members of the Industry Track Advisory Committee.
- It is the student’s responsibility to register for the final examination for the scheduled ITAC meeting time and location by submitting a Request to Admit Candidate to Final Exam through the Electronic Signature System.
- Students must submit an unofficial transcript and Activity and Accomplishments Report for ITAC review no later than two weeks prior to the end-of-semester meeting to obtain a meeting time with the committee.
- The student’s Advisory Committee must approve the exam before it is officially scheduled.
The ITAC will administer a final oral exit examination to assess the student’s readiness to graduate, and the members of the student’s individual committee will register their votes to determine whether or not the student has passed the final examination. Three outcomes are possible with the oral examination for Industry Track students, as follows:
- Pass - the student has satisfied all degree requirements and adequately demonstrated his or her learning via the oral examination. No additional actions are necessary.
- Conditional Pass - the student is deemed capable of satisfying degree requirements, but additional work is needed to meet those requirements. The committee will specify conditions that must be met by the student to complete degree requirements along with a timeline for completion. Typically these requirements can be met by the student with short term action that does not delay graduation.
- Fail - the student does not meet minimum requirements to complete the degree, and significant additional work must be done to meet requirements. This finding will delay graduation for the student and is likely to require one or more additional semesters of work. Students will work with the committee to develop a remediation plan and will retake the examination during the following semester’s meeting of the ITAC.
Students will be provided with written feedback from the ITAC following the final examination, and will be responsible to take any recommended or required actions to address committee concerns.
