Accelerated Masters

The Accelerated MS program in the ECE department allows a student to receive a BS and an MS degree in five years. Students in the program work with a faculty advisor and tailor their undergraduate technical elective credits to develop a foundation for their MS theses.

Admission Requirements

  • To apply to the program, the overall GPA and EE GPA must both be at least 3.5.
  • The applicant must have completed 60 hours overall and at least 20 hours of EE courses that includes at least two non-lab courses and one lab course from the following list:
    • EE 3220 (Electronics II)
    • EE 3410 (Electric Power)
    • EE 3530 (Control)
    • EE 3610 (Signals and Systems)
    • EE 3750 (Microprocessor Systems)
    • EE 3755 (Computer Organization)
    • EE 2731 (Digital Lab)
    • EE 3221 (Electronics Lab)

Application Procedure

  1. Students should select a faculty advisor/mentor based on their area of interest.
  2. Students should submit the ECE Accelerated Master's Program Application, along with the required statement of purpose and a letter of recommendation from the selected advisor. The application deadlines for the Fall and Spring semesters are November 15 and April 15, respectively.
  3. Students will be notified of the decision on their application by the end of the semester.

Details and Suggested Time Line for the Accelerated MS Program

  1. Students seeking admission to the Accelerated MS Program should plan on taking 6 additional credit hours of A/H/S electives, any time before Semester 7.
  2. During Semester 6, the student applies for admission to the Accelerated MS Program.
  3. A decision on the application will be made by the end of Semester 6.
  4. Before the start of Semester 7 (first semester of senior year), students should select a graduate faculty member from the department who will act as the advisor for the MS thesis. Two other graduate faculty members must also be selected for the thesis committee.
  5. Around Semester 7, students should plan on taking the GRE exam (required for admission to the graduate program).
  6. During Semester 7
    1. Apply to the ECE Graduate Program through the LSU Graduate School
    2. Take EE 4060 (Research for Undergraduates I) as one of the technical electives for the bachelor's degree. This research is intended as spadework for future MS thesis research.
    3. Select three hours of graduate coursework. The Graduate School's “Application for the Accelerated Master's Degree Program” form must be completed by undergraduates before taking any course for graduate credit; otherwise the course will not receive graduate credit.
  7. During Semester 8
    1. Take EE 4061 (Research for Undergraduates II) as one of the technical electives for the bachelor's degree. This is to further build on the research experience gained from EE 4060.
    2. Select three hours of graduate coursework. Again the graduate school form must be completed to receive graduate credit for the course.
  8. It is expected that during Semester 8, the applicant will be admitted to the LSU Graduate School
  9. The student will complete the graduate program during Semesters 9 and 10; he/she will be required to take 9 hours of graduate courses and 3 hours of thesis credits during each of these two semesters.
  Semester 5 Semester 6 Semester <7 Semester 7 Semester 8 Semester 9 Semester 10
Application/Admission landmark   Apply to acc. MS program by April 15 in Spring and Nov. 15 in fall; accepted to Acc MS program by end of semester.   Take GRE; apply to the LSU Grad School. Complete bachelors degree; admitted to Graduate program from Semester 9. Start as graduate student. Defend thesis and graduate.
Advisor / Committee   Student selects an advisor and a committee.          
Current Undergrad Courses Continue undergrad coursework as in flow chart. Continue undergrad coursework as in flow chart. 6 hours of A/H/S electives Remove 3 hours of A/H/S electives and 3 hours of tech electives. Remove 3 hours of A/H/S electives and 3 hours of tech electives.    
New 406x independent study courses       EE 4060 (3 hours) EE 4061 (3 hours)    
Graduate courses       3 hours course for graduate credit 3 hours course for graduate credit 9 hours of grad course credits + 3 thesis credits 9 hours of grad course credits + 3 thesis credits
Difference in Undergrad Course Credits 0 0 6 -3 -3    
Grad Course Credits (excluding thesis credits) 0 0 0 3 3 9 9

The 6 hours of EE 406x independent study courses will count as 6 hours of Tech. electives. These can be taken only by those accepted to the Acc. MS Program.

 

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