Overview
This interactive tool helps Electrical & Computer Engineering MS students and their advisors build and track a complete plan of study. Fill in each panel from top to bottom, and the Requirements Dashboard on the right will update in real time to show your progress toward degree completion.
- Work through the form with your advisor, then Save Plan to download a JSON file you can reload later.
- Use View Report to generate a printable text summary for submission or records.
Student Information
- Enter the student's full name and UK Student ID.
- Pathway — select the appropriate entry path:
- UK Undergrad (Standard) — completed a UK bachelor's in ECE or related field.
- UK Undergrad (AMP) — Accelerated Master's Pathways; up to 12 hours of graduate courses taken as a UK undergraduate count toward the MS. (AMP replaced the University Scholars Program, USP; a plan saved with USP opens as AMP.)
- External — bachelor's degree from another institution.
- Plan A vs Plan B — Plan A (thesis) uses EE 768; Plan B (project) uses EE 784.
- EE 749 (Leave of Absence) — 0-credit course that maintains full-time status while a student is away from campus. Must be taken alone with no other courses in the same semester.
- Select the Start Semester/Year and Faculty Advisor.
AMP Credits
This panel appears only when the pathway is AMP. List each graduate course taken as a UK undergraduate under the Accelerated Master's Pathways — course, hours and grade — up to 12 hours. They count exactly like courses taken in the MS: in the GPA, toward the core courses, and toward the credit hours and the ECE and 600–700 level requirements.
- Only courses at the 500 level and above qualify. Per the Graduate School, 400G–499G courses do not count for graduate credit for AMP undergraduates, so any 400-level course here is flagged and earns nothing.
- AMP credit and individual transfer credit cannot be combined: list one or the other.
Summer Courses
Use this panel to add courses taken during summer semesters. Each course has a dropdown to select which summer it was taken in. Summer courses count toward all degree requirements (credit hours, core courses, GPA, ECE hours, etc.) but do not affect full-time status checks.
Transfer Credits
- If the student has taken graduate courses at another institution (or UK post-baccalaureate graduate courses), list each one — course, institution, hours and grade — up to 9 hours in total.
- Only courses with a grade of B or better count; a course below B is flagged and earns nothing.
- An MS student transfers individual courses only. The block credit for a completed MS (18 hours for a U.S. MS, 12 for a non-U.S. MS) applies only toward the PhD.
- Transfer grades do not enter the GPA, and transfer hours count toward the credit-hour total but not toward ECE department hours or the core courses.
- Individual transfer and AMP credit cannot be combined.
RA/TA Funding
- If the student holds a Teaching Assistantship, select the semester they will complete TA Training.
- If applicable, select the semester for the Language Screening requirement (required for non-native English speakers serving as TAs).
Semester Course Planning
The main grid shows semesters from your start date through the 6-year degree window. For each semester:
- Adding courses — type a course prefix and number (e.g.,
EE 611) in the input box. As you type, matching courses appear in a dropdown. You can also select from the dropdown directly.
- Credit hours — auto-filled for known courses; editable for variable-credit courses.
- Grades — select the letter grade once earned. Future semesters can be left blank.
- Color-coded badges appear next to each course:
- Core — one of the 6 core courses (EE 611, EE 621, EE 640, EE 641, EE 661, EE 685). You must complete at least 3 of 6.
- Special — thesis/research/seminar credits (EE 748, EE 749, EE 768, EE 780, EE 783, EE 784, EE 595).
- DGS Approval — courses that need Director of Graduate Studies approval.
- Semesters are color-coded by timing: past (green tint), current (blue border), and future (default).
- Use the × button to remove a course row.
Requirements Dashboard
The sticky sidebar on the right tracks all degree requirements in real time:
- Green checkmark — requirement met.
- Red X — requirement not yet met.
- Tracked requirements include: total credit hours (24 for Plan A, 30 for Plan B), core courses (3 of 6), ECE department hours (two-thirds of the plan's coursework base), Plan A/B specific items, GPA minimums, and more.
Before Graduation
- This panel is locked until your plan meets the required credit hours and includes the thesis/project course (EE 768 for Plan A, EE 784 for Plan B).
- Once unlocked, it contains the graduation checklist: exam committee formation, final exam scheduling, thesis/project submission, and application for degree.
- Select Exam Committee members (3 faculty required).
- Check off each milestone as it is completed.
Saving & Loading
- Save Plan — downloads a file containing all form data, named from the student name:
POS_EE_MS_<Name>.json. You are asked for an optional password (entered twice). With a password the file is encrypted and named POS_EE_MS_<Name>.enc.json; leave it blank to save without one. Keep the password — an encrypted file cannot be opened without it.
- Load Plan — opens a file picker to load a previously saved file, asking for the password if it was encrypted. All fields are restored.
- Send to DGS — encrypts the plan so only the Director of Graduate Studies can open it, downloads it as
POS_EE_MS_<Name>_DGS.enc.json, and opens an email to the DGS. Attach the downloaded file to that email before sending — a web page cannot attach it for you. You cannot reload this file yourself; keep your own Save Plan copy.
- Clear All — resets every field to its default. Use with caution (you will be prompted to confirm).
View Report
Generates a formatted text report summarizing the entire plan of study. The report opens in a new window and can be printed or copied. This is useful for submitting the plan to the Graduate School or sharing with your advisor.