MS Thesis Students Degree Requirements and Program Timeline
Master of Science Thesis Degree Requirements
In order to earn an MS at Iowa State University, each student’s academic plan must include at least 30 graduate credits. A minimum of 22 of the graduate credits must be earned at ISU.
- Core Courses (12 credits) - Students will be required to choose any four courses, one from each of the Design, Implementation, Phenomena, and Evaluation categories. MS students will, therefore, be required to take a total of four courses from the core.
- General Electives (up to 15 credits) - The other courses taken can be any from the ISU Course Catalog.
- Research Credits (minimum 3 credits)
- Thesis students will take HCI 699/6990, Research.
- Additional Requirement: GRST 565/5650
- MS Thesis students entering the program in Spring 2022 and after, 1 credit of GRST 565/5650 Responsible Conduct of Research will be required. For current thesis MS students, the HCI Graduate Program encourages these students to enroll in this course, but it is not required.
MS Thesis Students Program Timeline
Deadlines for all the items listed below, please visit the Graduate College website.
1. COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP
A graduate student's Academic Plan Committee (APC) is a group of graduate faculty who guide and evaluate students during their graduate study.
- The committee membership must be approved by the Graduate College, committee members, and DOGE BEFORE the academic plan can be reviewed. We encourage students to complete their committee as early as possible.
- Instructions > Graduate College website > See heading "Academic Plan Committee (POSC Replacement)"
STOP >> Do not submit your Academic Plan for approval until your committee has been approved. You will receive a Workday notification when approval has taken place.
2. ACADEMIC PLAN:
The Academic Plan is the list of courses that a student has taken and plans to take to meet the requirements of their graduate degree.
- It’s recommended that you complete the Committee and Academic Plan during the second semester of your graduate program.
- Instructions > Graduate College website > see heading "Academic Plan (POSC Replacement)"
STOP >> Do not apply for program completion until your academic plan has been approved.
3. APPLY FOR PROGRAM COMPLETION:
Your application for program completion is the intended semester you plan to graduate in.
- Check your transcript in Workday (Academics → Academic History) for any I, N, NP, or F grades. You cannot graduate with unresolved grades on your transcript.
- Instructions > Graduate College website > see heading "Program Completion"
4. FORMAT CHECK
- Before you request your final oral exam, review the Thesis/Dissertation Format Requirements and/or make an appointment with the Center for Communication Excellence (CCE).
5. FINAL ORAL EXAM REQUEST
- Confirm final oral examination date, time, and location with major professor(s) and committee members. This request must be submitted three weeks prior to your exam date.
- Instructions > Graduate College website > see heading "Oral Examinations"
6. OPEN YOUR THESIS ACCOUNT WITH ProQUEST
- Do this no later than the deadline date and input the title of your thesis, which will appear in the Commencement Program.
- Open account here.
7. GRADUATE APPROVAL FORM and RESULTS OF FINAL ORAL EXAM
- Your major professor(s) and DOGE(s) must review the content and format of your final dissertation and approve it. The Thesis Office needs the Graduate Student Approval Form to review your thesis
- Graduate College must be notified that conditions have been met by the deadline date.
- Instructions > Graduate College website > see heading "Oral Examinations" and click on "Graduate Approval Form"
8. UPLOAD AND SUBMIT YOUR FINAL THESIS to ProQUEST/UMI
- The thesis must be approved by the Graduate College before graduation.
- Upload and submit here.
Congratulations on your academic achievement in completing your Master of Science in Human Computer Interaction degree!
Information on the ceremony and the distribution of the diploma can be found on the Graduation and Commencement website.