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Soils Graduate Degree: Academics

Soil Science Degrees Soil Sampling

Graduate programs in Soil Science lead to M.S., M.Agr., and Ph.D. degrees with specialization in various fields of soil science. Supporting course work is chosen for each student from the basic sciences and other related fields. Original research is an essential part of M.S. and Ph.D. thesis programs. Each program is individually designed by the student and his or her graduate committee. A non-thesis Environmental Soil Science M.S. degree that involves completion of a problem-solving project with wide-ranging course work also is available. The student chooses a major professor and representatives of the major and minor fields of study.

Undergraduate Preparation

Preparatory courses for a soils graduate program include: one year of general chemistry, one quarter/semester of organic chemistry; one year of biology, one quarter/semester of general microbiology and plant physiology; one quarter/semester of general physics; math through differential and integral calculus, introduction to statistics; and one quarter/semester of principles of soil science.

M.S. Degree Requirements

  • Forty-five credits of graduate courses, including up to 12 credits for the M.S. thesis, or 6 credits for a project for the non-thesis M.S. degree.
  • Completion of an original research project and presentation of a thesis; or for the non-thesis option, completion of a problem-solving project.
  • Comprehensive knowledge of soil science.
  • For the M.S. degree with thesis, participation in teaching is required. Students with no previous teaching experience are required to participate in teaching for a minimum of one term. This requirement may be fulfilled as a course (CSS 509) taken for credit.

Ph.D. Degree Requirements

  • Completion of a graduate course program and the Ph.D. thesis, requiring about four years of full-time graduate study.
  • Comprehensive knowledge of soil science and of minor fields, demonstrated in comprehensive written and oral examinations.
  • Completion of an original research project and presentation of a thesis.
  • Participation in teaching. Students with no previous teaching experience are required to participate in teaching in the soils program for a minimum of one term. This requirement may be fulfilled as a course (CSS509) taken for credit.