The Master of Science in Optical Sciences program — offered on campus and online — prepares students to enter challenging careers in the optics industry or to continue the pursuit of knowledge with doctoral degrees.
Its graduates become engineers, designers and technical managers. They work in hardware design, medical and biomedical technology, lasers and electro-optical systems, fiber optics and communications, measurements, manufacturing, and consumer technology. They work for large corporations, small companies, government agencies, universities, hospitals and research centers. Many even work for themselves, having started successful businesses or gone into consulting.
The M.S. in Optical Sciences has no core curriculum, allowing the program considerable flexibility. A student may limit coursework to a single topic area, or he or she may instead form the nucleus of the master's degree around the core courses for the Ph.D. in Optical Sciences — none of which are required.
Students may also choose between a thesis option and a nonthesis option (see requirements).