Culminating Project

You will complete your master’s program with a culminating experience to showcase the knowledge you’ve gained through the program. You can chose from two options — a research thesis or culminating project.

Culminating Experience Forms

• Culminating Project Proposal Outline
• Culminating Project Final Report Guidelines
• Culminating Project Scheduling Form

Culminating Project

Culminating project is a three-credit course. The following requirements must be met before registering for EM 670 course:

• Minimum GPA requirement - Must be above 3.0
• Minimum 15 number of credits should be completed

The steps to completing your culminating project are as follows:

Step 1:  Select an adviser from the engineering management program.

Step 2: Register for EM 670. Usually students take 3 credit of EM 670 for writing the proposal and one credit for conducting the project and writing the report.

Step 3: Select a topic for conducting your project in your area of interest or using the knowledge that you have learned in the courses such as quality engineering, project management, supply chain management, etc. Discuss the topic with your adviser.

Step 4: Form a committee of three faculty members. Two members can be from within the department and one can be from other departments like College of Science and Engineering, College of Business or a professor with whom you did an elective course.

Step 5: Get confirmation from committee members to serve on your culminating project committee.

Step 6: Write a synopsis of the project problem you are interested in. Approach the professor who will be the chair of the committee and get their concern. If the chair approves your idea you can develop a proposal.

Step 7: The proposal guidelines are posted on a separate link.

Step 8: Once your proposal has been reviewed by your chair, send it to the full committee.

Step 9: Once the committee is comfortable with your proposal, select from the available MEM conference dates. Fill out the Culminating Project Scheduling Form (posted on the website) and send it to the scheduling GA.

Step 10: Indicate on the scheduling form if you prefer to do your preliminary conference via web or in person.

Step 11: On the day of your preliminary conference, arrive at least 30 minutes prior to your scheduled time slot. If you are doing a web presentation ensure that all technical issues are resolved beforehand for a smooth presentation.You must present your proposal in 10 minutes. The committee will decide whether to accept your proposal as is or with change. If any changes are recommended, resubmit your proposal document after your preliminary conference.

Step 12:  If your proposal is approved you can start working on your final report for the culminating project. Note that the projects that involve human subjects (or in other words, those doing a survey that involves human participants) will have to seek an approval from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) before conducting the survey.

Step 13: Typically, international students take two semesters to complete their culminating project. If they don’t have work experience they can work in some industry. For that they can get 11 months full-time Curriculum Practical Training (CPT) on the basis of culminating project credits that they have registered for. You have to register for at least one credit every semester to maintain your status as an international student.

Step 14: Four to six weeks before you plan to do a final conference, you should send a draft of your culminating project report to your chair and once reviewed by the chair send to the committee. Please note that your culminating final report should be at least 50 pages in length not including the title pages.

Step 15: Once you obtain feedback and culminating project is ready to a certain level, seek your committee chair's permission to schedule a final conference. Select from the available MEM conference dates. Fill out the Culminating Project Scheduling Form (posted on the website) and send it to the scheduling GA. Please note that you must do your final defense in person and make travel arrangements for the same.

Step 16: Send out an email to the Master of Engineering Management list serve (mem-l@lists.stcloudstate.edu) and invite all students in the program to your final presentation.

Step 17: Typically there are 15 minutes for the final presentation and 5 minutes for questions and answers.

 Step 18: The committee then decides whether you pass or fail. If you pass then you are good to graduate. Your committee chair can change your final grade for EM 670 after you submit a spiral bound copy of your final report.