Integrated Science and Technology, MS, Specialist Concentration

---

Purpose

The Master’s in Integrated Science and Technology (ISAT) is an interdisciplinary program that emphasizes applications of chemistry, computer science, industrial technology, mathematics, and physics in a career enhancement degree. This degree has been devised to meet the specific needs of students attending regional universities and desiring technical employment. This degree will prepare students for the workplace by giving them experience in applying their knowledge of mathematics and science to projects of interest to business and industry. Individuals with experience and training in technology will gain a deeper understanding of the science and mathematics used in their fields. Students will learn these problem-solving skills through a core of interdisciplinary project-oriented courses that will extend and broaden training in each of the academic areas.

Objectives of the Program: Students who complete the ISAT degree at Southeastern Louisiana University will be able to:

• Integrate information and concepts across different scientific and technical disciplines.
• Apply specialized knowledge from chemistry, computer science, industrial technology, mathematics, or physics to solve problems that are critical to future growth of local business and industry.
• Work effectively with people who possess various educational and experiential backgrounds.
• Use appropriate technology in communication, information and knowledge management, modeling, forecasting, and decision making.

Students in the ISAT program will take a core of interdisciplinary, project-oriented courses that will extend and broaden their training in science and technology. In the course of their studies, these students will learn to use current problem-solving approaches from mathematics, chemistry, physics, computer science and industrial technology to solve problems from a wide variety of business and industrial settings.

Requirements for Admission

Applicants to the ISAT program must have completed an undergraduate degree program and have earned at least 30 semester hours in any combination of chemistry, computer science, industrial technology, mathematics, or physics. In addition, applicants to the ISAT program must have at least one of the following four items: 1) a cumulative undergraduate GPA of at least 3.0; 2) solid evidence of significant research work experience; 3) at least one year of professional work experience; or 4) a combined Verbal and Quantitative Score on the Graduate Record Exam of at least 280. As part of the application process, applicants to the ISAT program must submit a letter of introduction stating their goals for the ISAT program and beyond, three letters of recommendation and transcripts of previous undergraduate or graduate work.

Academic Standards Policy

1. Any student in the ISAT program who earns a grade less than a “C” in any course in the ISAT curriculum or who earns more than one (1) “C” in the curriculum must present a written appeal to the Program Coordinator no later than 10 working days prior to the beginning of the next full semester. An Academic Standards Committee will review these appeals. This appeal should address the student’s perception of the reasons for this grade and the reasons why he/she should be allowed to repeat the course and remain in the ISAT program. Failure to submit the written appeal according to the above timelines will be interpreted by the Committee as a declaration that the student does not wish to continue in the program.
2. The Committee will meet with the student and respond to the student’s appeal in writing before the beginning of the next full semester.
3. The Committee may invite the instructor(s) of the course and/or any other personnel who may have supervised components of class work to attend the appeal for information purposes. There will be no other course instructors present for the discussion.
4. The Committee will make one of the following recommendations to the students who submit a copy to the Dean of the College of Science and Technology.
   1. The student may repeat the course work with no ancillary conditions or restraints.
   2. The student may repeat the course work but under certain specified condition, i.e., restricted course load, tutor or mentor help, etc.
   3. The student will no longer be allowed to continue in the ISAT program.

Degree Requirements

The generalist concentration ISAT degree requires a total of 33 semester hours consisting of 6 applied science seminars, 12 hours from the core courses, 6 hours of discipline-specific courses, 3 hours in courses that are cross-listed with their discipline of study, and 6 hours of research project or thesis work.

The specialist concentration ISAT degree requires a total of 36 semester hours consisting of 3 hours of the first applied seminar course, 9 hours from the second applied seminar course and the core course, 18 hours of discipline-specific courses, and 6 hours of thesis work.

Proficiencies: One of the most positive characteristics of the ISAT program is the diversity of the students. So that all students in the program can succeed, there will be provided for the students a web-based review of introductory material in each of calculus, chemistry, computer science, industrial technology, and physics. All students admitted to the program will be asked to demonstrate proficiency in calculus, chemistry, computer science, industrial technology, and physics during their first year in the program. Proficiency will be comparable to the level of knowledge of having passed an introductory undergraduate course or courses in the area.

Core Courses: The core courses meet the dual challenge of broadening and extending training in the individual areas as well as providing experience in applying these individual disciplines to the design and development of products and processes within business and industry. The core courses introduce elements that will pervade the entire program and unify, or connect, the components of the program of study. A unique aspect of the ISAT degree program is the seamless integration of the social context of science and technology throughout the program’s curriculum. Students in this program will study all aspects of real systems regardless of their nature, including scientific, technical, social, informational and political characteristics.

Discipline of Study: Students will select discipline of study from: Chemistry, Computer Science, Data Science, Industrial Technology, Mathematics, Physics, or Scientific Computation.

Research Project and Theses: All ISAT students are required to complete a research project that investigates a significant interdisciplinary, applications-oriented topic centered in their area of concentration. Students will develop their research project topics in consultation with their advisor and Southeastern faculty members who have backgrounds in the proposed area of research. Research project topics must involve one or more ISAT disciplines and, at the completion of the research project, there must be evidence that the student has done sufficient work or followed an idea that was sufficiently unique to be worthy of an ISAT’s master’s degree. Research project topics should be chosen by the end of the student’s second semester. In their last semester, all ISAT students are required to make a presentation of their research project results to the Degree Committee and invited guests. Students can opt to put together a detailed written description of their research work in a thesis that they will then be able to present to prospective graduate programs or employers. The student’s advisor should help the student with the decision of whether or not to write a thesis. ISAT students writing a thesis are required to earn 6 hours of credit in ISAT 7700 . ISAT students who do not write a thesis are required to earn 6 hours of credit in ISAT 7710 .

Degree Committee: Each candidate for the ISAT degree will have a Degree Committee that will work with the student to select his or her course of study and the project or thesis for the research component of the degree. Each Degree Committee will consist of two faculty members from the student’s major area, one faculty member from an area also involved in the degree, and a representative from business or industry is highly recommended. A student’s Degree Committee will be selected no later than the second semester in the program. The research project topic will be chosen during the student’s first year in the program, but after completion of the Applied Science Seminars. Students deemed to be making insufficient progress toward their degrees will be notified of the problems identified by the committee, and will be given up to one semester to make improvements.