Course VI Undergraduate Programs:
Policies, Procedures and Organization

June 2009

Contents

Undergraduate Resources Directory

The Advisor

Variations from Required Curricula for S.B./M.Eng. Students

Engineering Design Points

Independent Study in Course VI

6.UR UROP for Credit

6.100 Independent Project Laboratory

6.UAP Advanced Project

6.910 Independent Reading Course

6.920 Practical Work Experience

6.ThM Master of Engineering Thesis

The Department provides several mechanisms for students to participate in a research project or to do study or research on their own, supervised by faculty, for academic credit. All of these subjects are administered by the Course VI Undergraduate Office, Room 38-476. All forms are available there and all reports and forms are to be submitted there. Students are strongly encouraged to participate in research and independent work early in their undergraduate years.

In every case it is the student's responsibility to find a supervisor for the research or study undertaken. The student must file a Course VI Independent Study Approval Form by the Add Date of every semester for which the student registers for any of the numbers listed above except the M.Eng thesis. The Department believes that it is salutary for students to write a description of their project at the beginning and a detailed report at the end of each project, each semester. Even in the case of multi-term UROPs, it is be beneficial for students to write a progress report at the end of each term. The final report for 6.100 should be a formal lab report of around ten pages. The Advanced Project (6.UAP) satisfies what was previously the undergraduate thesis requirement. The quality of the final report should be a significant factor in determining the student's final grade.

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6.UR Undergraduate Research Opportunities

UROP is available for credit or pay. UROP for credit in Course VI is always Pass/Fail. Most students begin with a UROP for credit in either their first or second year, and then after a term or two their supervisor permits them to take UROP for pay. UROP is the "ground floor," the best way to get involved in research. Some students try several different UROPs while a few stay with the same research group from freshman year through Ph.D. Course VI undergraduates find UROPs all over MIT, as there is a great demand for software and instrumentation or other EE applications. The home department or laboratory of your UROP supervisor determines which department you register in (e.g. 2.UR, 21.UR, MAS.UR, etc.) or which one pays you. Therefore 6.UR UROPs are always supervised by EECS Department faculty and research staff.

The online UROP application process must be completed by the Add Date each term. A short report (around two pages) is required at the end of each semester for a final grade to be awarded. 6.UR for credit is administered by the Course VI Undergraduate Office in 38-476.

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6.100 Independent Project Laboratory

6.100 is the appropriate number for work that is a coherent laboratory project suitable for letter grade credit. It is always taken for a letter grade, and the same project should not continue for more than one term. By special approval it can be used by 6-1 and 6-2 students to satisfy the Department Laboratory Requirement. A proposal must be submitted by Add Date. It is almost always supervised by department faculty or senior research staff. The intent is that it should be more structured (a defined laboratory project) than a UROP (which may be more vague) and that it must be a limited, one-term project. A final report of at least ten pages must be submitted, accompanied by an Independent Study Grade Form and Cover Sheet. 6.100 is administered by the Course VI Undergraduate Office in 38-476. No more than 12 units of 6.100 may be taken in one term. It may be repeated for credit.

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6.UAP The Undergraduate Advanced Project

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VI-A Advanced Projects

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6.910 Independent Reading Course

6.910 is to be used for independent study which does not involve laboratory work or research. It should be used only when a subject in the desired area does not exist at MIT. A short bibliography must be submitted with the Approval Form; an annotated bibliography must be submitted at the conclusion. This is to be a one-term subject.

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6.920 Practical Work Experience

6.920 is for Course VI students participating in curriculum-related off-campus work experiences in electrical engineering or computer science, providing one unit of Pass/Fail credit. It can be used to provide international students with Curricular Practical Training credit, or to satisfy the terms of company or other programs' requirements that interns be currently registered students or receive academic credit for internships. Before enrolling, students must have a written employment offer from a company or organization, find an EECS faculty supervisor, and submit a 6.920 Practical Work Experience Form to 38-476 with the offer letter, a brief job description, a statement from the student connecting the technical work with one or more of the department's required subjects, and an EECS faculty supervisor's signature.

For the work done in the summer, students should register for the work in the Fall Term. Otherwise, the student must register for the work when it is performed. To receive credit, a substantive final report (approximately two pages), a letter from the company stating that the work was completed satisfactorily, and a Practical Work Experience Final Grade Sheet signed by the MIT supervisor must be submitted within 30 days after the final date of employment.

6.920 may not normally be used for work arranged through the IAP Externship Program, and VIA students are not eligible for 6.920 internships. 6.920 may be used for no more than three summers and one IAP (before graduation). 6.920 may be used by Course VI graduate students under special circumstances requiring prior consultation with the International Students Office.

For more information and forms, check the Course VI Undergraduate Office, 38-476.

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6.ThM Master of Engineering Thesis

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Finding a Project

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Final Report and Grade Deadlines

All reports must be submitted by the student to the Course VI Undergraduate Office (38-476) after they have been graded by the supervisor.

Format and style: All reports must be written according to the standards of the Mayfield Handbook on Technical Scientific Writing .

The deadline for final reports for 6.UR, 6.100, and 6.910 is the first day of the final examination period of each semester, and for IAP, the final day of IAP.

The deadline for final reports for 6.UAP and thesis proposals is the last day of classes of each semester, and for IAP, two business days after IAP.

The final deadline for the Masters of Engineering Thesis is announced on the first page of the The Masters of Engineering Thesis Guide. In the Fall term it is in late January. In the Spring term it is around the last day of final exams. In the Summer it is the last day of the Summer Session. An M.Eng. Receipt and Grade Sheet must accompany the final document. For more information, refer to The Masters of Engineering Thesis Guide.

All other reports must be accompanied by a Project Completion Form, available in 38-476.

No extensions are possible: for students who miss the deadline, supervisors should submit to 38-476 an Incomplete Form by the final deadline. (This is not necessary for the M.Eng thesis.)

The Communication Requirement in Course VI

If you have any questions about EECS CI-M classes or substitutions, contact Anne Hunter (anneh@mit.edu).

 

Grading and Pass/Fail

With the exception of the Fall Term of the freshman year, subjects which are required in the Department's curricula, including restricted electives (and the graduate M.Eng. requirements), must be taken on a graded basis (not on Pass/Fail) to satisfy the Department's degree requirements.

Since the Institute's definition of the grade of D (or F) implies that the student who received such a grade is not sufficiently prepared to take a follow-on subject (a subject which has as a pre-requisite the subject in which the D or F grade was received), the undergraduate advisor will not normally approve registration in the follow-on subject. In any case, the student should discuss the situation with the advisor and make plans for the future which will improve the student's performance. (See the section describing performance standards.)

When a student gets a grade of D or F in a prerequisite subject, the usual procedure is for the student to retake the prerequisite. If a student petitions to permit registration in a subject requiring a prerequisite in which the student received a D, the petition must be endorsed by the instructor in charge of the successor subject and the student's academic advisor. Since the instructor in charge of the successor subject may only be concerned that competence be demonstrated in a portion of the prerequisite, the student will have to petition again to be allowed to take some other successor subject. To establish "general competence" in the prerequisite (so that only one petition need be submitted for approval) the student must get a note (or an endorsement) to accompany the petition from the instructor in charge of the prerequisite stating that the student's overall understanding was comparable to a C or better.

Academic Performance and C.A.P. Review

Immediately after the end of the Fall and Spring Terms, Grades Meetings and then the Committee on Academic Performance (C.A.P.) Meetings are held to determine which students should be placed on Warning status, and which should be required to withdraw from MIT.

The Registrar's Office prepares listings called Term Summaries which include every Course VI students' grades for the term just passed. A "flag" is generated on the these Summaries beside certain students' names, to identify those students who may be in academic difficulty. The flag is generated if any of the following conditions exist:

This "flag" serves to alert the Department to review the student's record and prepare recommendations to the Committee on Academic Performance. Most of the students who are flagged will not actually be warned.

All students should be aware that action (or NO action) by the C.A.P. depends in large part on the Department's recommendation and, if trouble is anticipated, the student should be in contact with his or her advisor. For M.Eng students, any term rating below 4.0 is unacceptable. Warning letters and even revocation from the M.Eng program (in egregious cases) may result.

Add/Drop Procedures

If any student anticipates adding a subject close to the Add Date or dropping a subject close to the Drop Date, it is imperative that the advisor be contacted in advance of the deadline so that approval can be obtained. All advisors should try to be available on these days (particularly on Drop Date) so that they can handle inevitable last-minute requests. Students should understand, however, that it will not always be possible for advisors to be in their offices on those dates.

Some advisors do not permit staff in the Undergraduate Office or Headquarters to sign cards for them. An advisor is NOT compelled to sign an Add/Drop Card if the proposed action is not approved. Note that failure to meet the Drop Date deadline may lead to failure in the subject that was to be dropped. Petitions to the C.A.P. to drop subjects after the Drop Date are often turned down.

It is the student's responsibility to act sufficiently in advance of deadlines to avoid the possibility that there may be no one available to endorse the Add/Drop Card on the Drop Date; but in that event, they should come to the Undergraduate Office in 38-476 on the Add or Drop Date.

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