Master’s Accelerated Program

Undergraduate students may apply for acceptance to the Master’s Accelerated Program (MAP) after completing 60 semester hours of undergraduate coursework of which a minimum of 25 credit hours must be completed at NMSU. The GPA must be 3.0 or above. The students must meet all other requirements as specified by the program. The MAP program allows up to 12 credits of NMSU coursework (450 level or higher) taken during the undergraduate years to be counted toward the master’s program of study. For any Electrical Engineering courses that have a cross-listed 500-level equivalent, only the graduate version may be used toward the graduate degree. Students must receive a grade of B or higher in the courses to be counted for the graduate degree. The courses must logically fit into the master’s program.  

• 1

  Please talk to an ECE faculty advisor about your MAP plan and develop a course plan in consultation with the advisor. The faculty advisor should preferably be from the ECE area of your interest. There are 3 options to complete your MSEE:

  • 1

    Option 1: MS with Thesis: This option requires 24 credit hours of coursework and 6 hours of Thesis. If you double-count 12 credits from BSEE courses, all you need will be 12 additional credit hours of coursework and 6 credit hours of thesis after BSEE. Pros: 1) Eligible to receive TA/RA during your MSEE depending on your academic performance, 2) Higher exposure to research and advanced training under direct faculty supervision. Cons: 1) This option will usually take longer than 2 semesters after BSEE. Your advisor may recommend that you take additional courses to strengthen your skills. Therefore, it is important to talk to your advisor upfront about the expected timeline of your MSEE degree. If you begin your research during your senior year and make good progress, it may still be possible to complete the MSEE in 2 semesters. The college of engineering offers a number of scholarships for doing undergraduate research. Please check the college website for available positions.

  • 2

    Option 2: MS with Technical Report: This option requires 27 credit hours of coursework and 3 hours of Tech Report. With double-counted 12 credits from BSEE, you will need 15 additional credit hours of coursework and 3 credit hours of Tech Report after BSEE. You are ineligible to receive TA and less likely to receive any RA. The research exposure is quite limited compared to the thesis option. If you want to pursue this option, please begin working on your tech report project early (preferably during your senior year) to be able to finish MSEE in 2 or 3 semesters.

  • 3

    Option 3: ME with only Coursework: This option requires 30 credit hours of coursework. If you double-count 12 credits from BSEE, you will need to complete 18 additional credit hours of coursework. Pros: 1) You are very likely to complete your MSEE in 2 semesters. Cons: 1) Not eligible to receive TA and unlikely to receive RA. 2) None or little research exposure. 3) You may not get enough course options to develop your skills in your area of interest in just 2 semesters. 4) No individual faculty mentoring on research.

• 2

  Fill in a Referral Form and turn it in to the ECE office along with the course plan developed in consultation with your faculty advisor. Please be aware of the official deadlines.

• 3

  Follow all graduate school guidelines.

• 4

  In the final semester of the undergraduate degree, submit graduate application for admission to ECE department.

  Masters Accelerated Program Form