Applied Science, M.S.

Director: Sibel Adali 

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. In addition to extensive science offerings, students may take applicable courses in other schools such as Management, Engineering, or Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences. No financial aid from Rensselaer is available for this program.

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. At least 15 hours must be in courses within the School of Science and include some 6000-level courses. Within the 30 total hours, a number of concentration options are available.

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.

Prior to admission to the program, the student must demonstrate that there has been previous contact with a faculty member at Rensselaer concerning the proposed program of study and that finaniclal support is available. With the help of the faculty member who is to be the principal adviser, the student should prepare a preliminary Plan of Study that clearly indicates why this degree program is preferred over a departmental program. Students should be aware that there are relatively few opportunities for evening classes.