Students seeking the M.S. degree may select either a thesis (24 semester hours of course work plus 6 semester hours of thesis credit) or a nonthesis (36 semester hours of approved course work) option.

The Ph.D. degree is research oriented. Students are encouraged to enter the Ph.D. program directly after receiving the B.S. degree, in which case requirements are a dissertation and a minimum of 48 semester hours of course work. There are no required courses but all course work must be approved by the Graduate Study Committee(GSC).

Students joining the Ph.D. program with a M.S. degree may petition the GSC to have part, or all, of the coursework taken for the M.S. degree applied towards the Ph.D. requirements. The petition cannot include M.S. thesis work or individual study courses.