Graduate Curriculum
CURRICULUM STANDARDS
The curriculum in each graduate program will provide the opportunity to acquire knowledge of the literature of the discipline.
The curriculum in each graduate program will promote ongoing student engagement in research and/or appropriate professional practice and training experiences.
Faculty with appropriate credentials as required by the Graduate College will teach graduate courses and provide thesis/dissertation supervision.
MASTERS PROGRAM
The Master’s degree recognizes mastery of a field of study, demonstrated through the successful completion of a sequence of courses, a capstone project, or a thesis.
Non-thesis option
A student can meet program completion requirements without writing a thesis. Instead, the student is required to complete a program of coursework, as indicated by specific program requirements in the Graduate Catalog.
At the beginning of the student’s master’s degree program, they should, in consultation with their program advisor, select the option most suitable to their needs. Should a student elect to change options, they should consult with the Graduate Program Coordinator. Thesis credits or coursework may not be applied toward a non-thesis master’s degree.
Thesis Option
The candidate for a master’s degree with thesis option must complete the required number of credit hours of coursework as per the program of study, including 6 thesis credit hours. The thesis is subject to approval by the student’s thesis chair, thesis committee, academic program, and Graduate College.
No more than six (6) credit hours of thesis can be applied toward a master’s degree. Student must be enrolled in the appropriate thesis course(s) under the supervision of a designated graduate faculty member until final submission is approved by the members of the thesis committee.
The master’s thesis should integrate relevant scholarship and demonstrate research competence, with the potential to contribute to the field by advancing knowledge, either in terms of intellectual substance or professional practice.
Master of Fine Arts
The Master of Fine Arts (MFA) thesis project must demonstrate aesthetic and technical competence, integrating coursework and showcasing an intellectual synthesis of the work in context. As the culminating project of a terminal degree, the MFA thesis should meet a standard worthy of individual exhibition, festival screening, publication, or an equivalent public presentation.
Interdisciplinary Programs
UTRGV offers two interdisciplinary degree programs at the graduate level, the Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies (MAIS) and the Master of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies (MSIS). These degrees offer the student the option of obtaining a broader background at the master’s level, rather than specializing in a particular area. The MAIS degree is 36 hours and adheres to the following same degree option structures:
- Non-Thesis Option One: 18 hours in Discipline One (concentration area), 9 hours in Discipline Two, and 9 hours in Discipline Three.
- Non-Thesis Option Two: 18 hours in Discipline one (concentration area) and 18 hours of free electives from additional disciplines outside of the concentration area.
- Thesis Option One: 18 hours in Discipline One (concentration area), 6 hours in Discipline Two, 6 hours in Discipline Three-, and 6 hours Thesis.
- Thesis Option Two: 18 hours in the concentration area, 12 hours of free electives from additional disciplines outside of the concentration area, and 6 hours of Thesis.
Special requirements for interdisciplinary degrees include:
- 18 hours of graduate work must be taken in the primary area of concentration in addition to any thesis hours.
- Students must submit a plan for their interdisciplinary studies to be approved by the Graduate program director in the concentration area during the first semester.
The MAIS is available with the following primary concentration areas: Anthropology, Art History, English, History, and Mexican American Studies and have defined the courses required for a concentration in their area.
The Master of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies (MSIS) is 30 hours and has the following basic degree structure options:
- Non-Thesis Option One: 18 hours in Discipline One (concentration area), 6 hours in Discipline Two, and 6 hours in Discipline Three.
- Non-Thesis Option Two: 18 hours in Discipline One (concentration area), and 12 hours of free electives from additional disciplines outside of the concentration area.
- Thesis Option One: 18 hours in Discipline One (concentration area), 3 hours in Discipline Two and 3 hours in Discipline Three, and 6-hours of Thesis.
- Thesis Option Two: 18 hours in the Discipline One (concentration area), 6 hours of free electives from additional disciplines outside of the concentration area, and 6-hours of Thesis.
The MSIS is available with a concentration in Physics.
For the MAIS and MSIS degrees, a discipline is defined as one of the following:
- A list of courses with the same course prefix.
- A list of courses from an approved program of study such as a major or certificate.
Thesis in a Language Other than English
Petitions to submit written work in a language other than English, when relevant to the research, must be submitted to the graduate program for approval. The petition must be approved by the graduate program, academic college, and Graduate College.
DOCTORAL PROGRAMS
UTRGV offers research and professional doctoral programs.
Research Doctoral Programs
The research doctoral program must abide by a strict set of milestones that include the successful completion of defined sequence of coursework, passing a qualifying examination, and completing a dissertation.
Professional Doctoral Programs
Professional doctorate programs that require a dissertation must follow the same committee guidelines as research doctoral programs. However, these programs may have different requirements for supervising committee composition.
COURSE SUBSTITUTION
Course substitution is the process by which an alternate course may replace a required or proscribed course in a program of study, provided the substituted course meets the content, learning objectives, and/or spirit of the original course.
Only letter grade courses may be substituted for letter grade course requirements, and courses must be of equal credit hours.
Only courses in which the student earns or has earned a grade of B or better will be used as course substitutions.
Students may not replace a core required course in which they have earned an F, NC, NP, or U grade with a substituted course.