The Master of Science in Lighting allows students from a variety of Science and Engineering disciplines to pursue a multidisciplinary graduate degree related to lighting science, engineering, and practice. Geared toward the needs of professionals either currently working or wishing to pursue careers in the lighting industry or lighting application fields, this one-year, 30-credit-hour degree exposes students to a wide range of topics within lighting including the physics of light, lighting technology, human factors, design, and application. Students concentrate their research or design work in a particular area of interest by pursuing a master’s project. In this master’s thesis/project each student studies a particular area of interest in-depth directly with a faculty adviser. Course content and curriculum in the M.S. in Lighting is continually updated to include the latest advances in lighting research, technology, and application to assure that students receive a “cutting-edge” lighting education.
Students completing the M.S. in Lighting degree can go on to careers in the lighting, science and engineering industries, lighting design practice, or can continue on to further study, Ph.D. in engineering, Architectural, and Science fields to prepare for university and/or advanced research careers.
The Master of Science in Lighting is housed within the Lighting Research Center (LRC), a university-based research and education institution dedicated to lighting, which includes an expert faculty and staff of lighting researchers and designers.
Outcomes of the Graduate Curriculum
Students who successfully complete this program will be able to:
•Compare and analyze various lighting technologies and select lighting components, and systems that best meet the objectives of the application.
•Define the functions of the human visual system, evaluate the visual requirements of a task, and specify the lighting needed to meet these requirements.
•Determine the impacts of various lighting characteristics (e.g., the amount, spectrum, spatial and temporal distributions) on the human psychology and physiology.
•Assess, measure, and predict various photometric quantities including illuminance, luminance, luminous flux, and intensity.
•Analyze the needs of a lighting application, synthesize and be able to communicate a design intent, and design lighting appropriate for a particular objective, location, and culture.