Applied Science

Chair: Samuel C. Wait, Jr.

The School of Science offers a Master of Science in Applied Science, which is a professional degree with no thesis requirement that prepares graduates who have traditional discipline-oriented backgrounds to function more effectively in industrial, governmental, or other interdisciplinary occupations. Its intention is to help working professionals upgrade their technical expertise and cross boundaries among disciplines. No financial aid from Rensselaer is available for this program. In addition to extensive science offerings, students may take applicable courses in other schools such as Management, Engineering, or Humanities and Social Sciences.

Students entering the Master of Science in Applied Science program are subject to Rensselaer’s general admission requirements. All programs require 30 credit hours for completion of the degree. At least half of those courses must be at the 6000 level. Within these 30 hours, a number of concentration options are also available. At least 15 hours must be in courses within the School of Science, and include some 6000 level courses.

Some concentration examples include: analytical and environmental chemistry, applied groundwater science, biochemistry/biophysics, bioinformatics, chemistry and entrepreneurship, database management systems, microelectronics manufacturing, optimization and statistics, parallel and scientific computation, photonics, polymer science and engineering, and software engineering. In addition, further combinations of courses leading to the Master of Science in Applied Science are developed as additional needs for interdisciplinary education are identified.

A typical Master of Science in Applied Science curriculum consists of:

• Two to four core courses that establish the basis for advanced study in an area of specialization
• Two to four specialization courses that are fundamental to an area of specialization
• Two to six elective courses that allow students to focus in a particular area within their specialization and gain skills intersecting their technical field with other disciplines.