Quality Assurance, MS

The MSQA program is offered fully online which allows students the opportunity to work full-time while earning their master’s degree. The majority of the students in the program are working adults.

The MSQA program offers an approach to online learning that distinguishes this experience from other online programs. Each week of instruction includes half the learning experience through downloadable lectures, PPTs, etc. with voice-overs and half of the instruction is in a live virtual environment with a professor. The virtual classroom provides the same instructor-student experience without having to attend the campus.

Our instructors are PhD’s with several years of work experience in the field. They can answer questions about theory AND practice, because they’ve been there, done that.

Our courses deal with Quality topics in depth, stressing theory and the assumptions behind the techniques. That is what separates our education approach from certification training seminars. Our graduates know the details behind techniques, allowing them to know what to do when assumptions are violated (which happens a lot in the real world), and helping them to evaluate the relative merits of “new” quality tools. A lot of what is touted as new is just a repackaging of tried and true methods, with maybe a novel twist.

Our student body consists of quality professionals, engineers, managers and directors who share their experience via discussion boards and during the live chat sessions. These working adults come from many industry backgrounds including healthcare, manufacturing, service and government agencies.

Admission Requirements

Applicants to the Master of Science Program with a major in Quality Assurance must submit the following to the Graduate Admissions Office no later than the published deadline date for the semester in which the applicant plans to enroll: 

1. Official transcript to be sent from each college or university attended.
2. An official copy of scores from the “General Test” of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) if applicable, or have attained an aggregate undergraduate GPA of 3.5 or have a minimum of 4 years’ relevant work experience or have successfully completed the Fundamentals of Engineering exam.
3.  At least two (2) recommendations by former or current supervisors, professors, or professional colleagues, 
4.  A 1 - 2 page Statement of Purpose describing your career and educational goals, and
5. A current resume.

International students should consult the graduate admission website for additional requirements.

Admission Criteria

Graduate applicants shall have the following qualifications.

1. An undergraduate degree in engineering, engineering technology, computer science, physical science, or other technically oriented major from an accredited college or university. Interested students from other disciplines may be admitted to the program, but may be required to complete additional courses.
2. A minimum undergraduate grade point average of 3.0 (on the 4.0 scale) or its equivalent. Applicants with a GPA of 2.75 or better may be considered with strong work experience and letters of reference.
3. Official GRE scores meeting the current admission profile: 150 (450 on old scale) Verbal and 148 (600 on old scale) Quantitative. Applicants with lower scores may be accepted provisionally requiring additional preparatory course work. 

Admission Status 

The Quality Assurance Program Coordinator in conjunction with the graduate admissions committee determines the student admission status. 

• Full Graduate students have met all the criteria shown above.
• Provisional Graduate students are graduate students who have not fully met the above criteria. They are limited to designated courses, either graduate or undergraduate, during which they will be evaluated to determine their likelihood of success. Provisional students are not guaranteed full graduate status.