The M.Sc degree is designed to be completed in two years of graduate study. Thesis and non-thesis options are available for the M.S. degree. In the thesis option, the student writes and defends a Master's Thesis under the direction of a faculty member. 

The department also offers a special interdisciplinary plan for either the thesis or non-thesis M.S. degrees. This plan is intended for students having clearly defined, interdisciplinary career goals. Additional flexibility in the formal requirements allows the student's advisory committee to customize a Plan of Study to the student's goals. It must be emphasized that the interdisciplinary plan is intended only for students who enter the graduate program with specific, interdisciplinary career objectives.