Crop Science Graduate Program

The Department of Crop and Soil Science offers 2 Crop Science graduate degrees with 3 areas of specialization, each with multiple disciplines and commodities.

Degrees Offered

Master of Science in Crop Science
Doctor of Philosophy in Crop 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.
• 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 (CROP 509) taken for credit.

M.S. Degree Learning Outcomes

1. Evaluate design and quality of relevant Crop Science research in journals.
2. Apply current research tools to laboratory or field-based research.
3. Apply scientific method to independent research under PI’s direction.
4. Write and publish a peer-reviewed journal manuscript in their discipline and commodity specialty area.
5. Synthesize, organize, and communicate crop science concepts to appropriate audiences and demonstrate skill in use of social media for programmatic validation.
    

Ph.D. Degree Requirements

• Completion of a graduate course program determined by the candidate's graduate committee and the Ph.D. thesis. Typically this requires about four years of full-time graduate study.
• Completion of an original research project and thesis presentation.
• Participation in teaching. Students with no previous teaching experience are required to participate in teaching in the crop science program for a minimum of one term. This requirement may be fulfilled as a course (CROP 509) taken for credit.

Ph.D Learning Outcomes

1. Evaluate design and quality of relevant Crop Science research in journals.
2. Apply current research tools to laboratory or field-based research.
3. Apply scientific method to independently developed and directed collaborative research.
4. Write and publish a peer-reviewed journal manuscript in their discipline and commodity specialty area.
5. Synthesize, organize, and communicate crop science concepts to appropriate audiences and demonstrate skill in use of social media for programmatic validation.