The student must take any courses (up to two) that the Graduate Admissions COmmittee may require to insure they have an adequate background in Plant Biology. The student will be notified of these specific requirements prior to the beginning of classes in their first fall semester in the graduate program.
Plan A: This consists of coursework, research, writing of a Thesis and final examination over coursework (as required by the Guidance Committee), a teaching requirement and the Thesis.
Plan B: This consists of coursework, an optional research project without thesis, a teaching requirement and a final certifying examination based on coursework.
1. Credit Requirement
The M.S. degree obtained under either Plan A (with a thesis) or Plan B (without a thesis) has a minimum requirement of 30 credit hours beyond the Bachelor's Degree, including thesis or research credits. Students must have a minimum of 16 credits of 800-900 level courses, including up to 10 Master's Thesis Research credits (PLB 899; Plan A only). For Plan A, a minimum of 4 credits of PLB 899 is required. A maximum of 9 credits earned elsewhere in a graduate program within the time limit approved by the Guidance Committee are applicable toward the degree.
Although 300-level courses are not ordinarily acceptable for graduate credit, the Guidance Committee may occasionally recommend that they apply toward the degree, but this has to be approved by the Dean’s office and the Graduate School. The courses which will be counted toward the required 30 credits will be decided upon by the student and Guidance Committee, and then approved by the Departmental Chairperson, the Dean's office and the Graduate School. Required courses not applying to the degree will be designated as collateral. The program of study must be recorded on the Report of the Guidance Committee – Masters Program within one semester of the formation of the Guidance Committee. The forms for this report are available in the departmental office. Changes in the program must be reported by letter and filed with a copy of the original report. PLB 899 and PLB 999 cannot be interchanged, but limited inter-changes between PLB 899 and PLB 80X are permitted. The Report of the Guidance Committee – Masters Program becomes the student's official program when it is approved and signed by the Department Chair and the Dean. If a student drops back to an MS program from the Ph.D., he/she can request that the 999 credits be changed to 899.
Plan A: The program of study consists of courses (recorded on the student's Report of the Guidance Committee – Masters Program), the Language requirements (if any), the seminar requirements, and a tentative thesis topic as agreed to by the Guidance Committee. An original thesis must be approved by the Guidance Committee.
Plan B: The program of study consists entirely of courses (recorded on the student's Report of the Guidance Committee – Masters Program), the seminar requirements and the language requirement (if any) as agreed to by the Guidance Committee. A majority of these courses should be selected in specialized fields of plant science at the 800-level to provide the candidate with advanced training in two or more of the following areas: anatomy, cytology, cytotaxonomy, ecology, genetics, molecular biology, morphology, ecology, biochemistry, mycology, paleobotany, physiology, phytopathology, plant virology, taxonomy, or other acceptable areas. At least nine credits of course work approved for graduate credit should be selected from outside the Department to provide a broader background in biology as well as in the physical sciences. While no thesis is required under Plan B, research experience is desirable. The way to obtain this experience is to arrange a Special Problems (PLB 80X) course with some faculty member with appropriate interests. In this manner, at least, some exposure to research can be acquired.
2. Residency Credits
At least 13 credits must be accrued in residency on campus.
3. Transfer Credits
As many as 9 semester credits of graduate work (excluding thesis/research credits) may be transferred into a 30-credit Masters program from other insitutions that are accredited within their respective geographic region upon approval of Dean and Department. Only courses in which a grade of 3.0 was achieved are acceptable for transfer.
4. Time Limit
Many students complete the requirements for a Master's Degree in two years. To remain in good standing, the Plant Biology Department requires students to complete their Masters program within three years. The Department Chairperson may, in some cases, extend the time limit for a student to complete the requirements. The University time limit for completion of the Masters degree is five calendar years from the date at which the first course that applies to the degree was taken. So if a student transfers in a course that counts toward the degree that was taken 3 years prior to entering the program, the starting date is 3 years prior to entering the program.
5. Teaching Requirements
Each Master’s student must gain teaching experience by participating in the teaching of at least one course at the ¼ time level of effort irrespective of the source of support. Students are expected to participate in the University TA orientation program prior to teaching.
6. Seminars
In addition to routine attendance at the Plant Biology Seminars, M.S. students are required to complete:
PLB 800. Plant Biology Seminar (1 credit), and
PLB 802. Integrative Topics in Plant Biology (2 credits)
Additionally, each Plan A candidate is required to present a departmental seminar (for no credit) concerning his/her research within the 12 months preceding the student’s graduation. This Master's Seminar is considered part of the final thesis defense.
7. Bypassing the MS Degree
It is possible to enter directly into a Ph.D. program without first obtaining an M.S. degree. Some students successfully apply directly for the Ph.D. program based upon their undergraduate experience and other activities. Any current M.S. student wishing to bypass the M.S. degree and become a Ph.D. candidate shall petition in writing his/her Guidance Committee and the Department Chairperson for permission to do so. The student shall be given an oral exam by the Guidance Committee to determine his/her academic progress and suitability for entrance into the Ph.D. program.
8. The Master's Thesis and Abstract
The thesis must be organized, typed, and duplicated according to regulations prescribed in the Formatting Guide For Master's Thesis and Doctoral Dissertations available from the Office of the Graduate School. An abstract of the thesis must also be prepared. The thesis must be approved by the Student's Major Professor, and considered to be in final form, before it is distributed to the Guidance Committee, as well as to the faculty observer appointed by the Department Chair. The distribution of the unbound thesis should occur at least two weeks prior to the Final Examination.
The Plan A Master's Student must present a publicly announced Thesis Seminar to the department, which is considered part of the thesis defense.
9. Final Examination
Details of this process are given in given in Section VI. Students in Plan A are required to pass an oral examination in defense of the Thesis and coursework (as required by Guidance Committee). For students in Plan B, the emphasis of the examination is on course work and general knowledge of plant biology and related fields.
10. Finalizing the Master's Thesis:
After the student has passed the final oral examination in defense of the thesis, the student must incorporate any agreed-upon changes or corrections before presenting it to the Major Professor for final review and signature of the bookplate. The student must submit to the Office of the Graduate School an absolutely final unbound copy of the thesis, an additional copy of the abstract, the signed bookplate, the microfilming and binding contract and payment, and other forms required by and available from the Graduate School.
The student is also required to provide the Department with a hardbound copy of the final thesis. By tradition, the student also provides a hardbound copy for their Major Professor and it is "good form" to give the other members of the Guidance Committee a softbound copy.
11. Final Certification
In order to graduate, you must:
1. First submit an Application for Graduation with the Office of the Registrar, RM 150 Administration Building, very early in the semester of your intended graduation.
2. Obtain a Thesis/Dissertation Submission Packet of forms from the Graduate School, and take note of the various deadlines, which are also provided by the Graduate School.
3. A Final Certification form will be sent to our departmental office by the Degree
Certification Office. Our graduate secretary will scrutinize your records to verify your completion of the requirements. The "Final Certification" form lists the following: Guidance Committee members, date of passing comprehensive exam, date of passing final examination, dates language requirements passed, and all courses with grades used for the degree. The course requirements will include all of those shown on your Guidance Committee Report. Thus, it is important that you make certain that all information is placed and maintained in your departmental files.
Before leaving MSU, you should check with the Degree Certification Office to make certain that your credentials are in order. Their records are used to determine completion of the degree requirements. Discrepancies may delay your degree.
