The Master of Science degree is offered in Agriculture Science. Both thesis and graduate research projects are available. The former requires satisfactory completion of a minimum of 24 credit hours of graduate course work plus 6 credit hours of thesis. The graduate research project requires the satisfactory completion of a minimum of 36 credit hours of graduate work, including a 3 credit hour special problems course that requires a research paper shorter than a thesis. The Thesis option requires the completion of 6 semester hours of graduate level statistics courses, except in the Animal Science program which requires the completion of 3 semester hours of graduate level statistics courses. The Research Project Option requires completion of a 3 semester hour statistics course. Research projects are available in all majors in agriculture, except the wildlife program. The Courses Only option in the Department of Agriculture, Agribusiness and Environmental Sciences, requires completion of 36 hours of coursework with a written comprehensive exam, followed by an oral defense in the final semester for a Master of Science degree.
The purpose of the graduate program in the Department of Agriculture, Agribusiness and Environmental Sciences is to provide students with a solid foundation in agricultural and natural resource sciences, theory and management. Goals of the department include developing new ideas through research, training graduate students in creativity and freedom of thought and preparing students for success in the face of a rapidly evolving economy.
