Overview
The Ph.D. in Agricultural Sciences degree program is designed to prepare students for careers in food, agricultural, and environmental sciences to meet the growing demand for research professionals in private industries, academia, and government agencies. The research-based terminal degree is offered for those candidates who have already completed a research-based MS degree in agricultural or related sciences. It requires a minimum of 24 credit hours of dissertation research: AGSC 8120, 13 credit hours of core courses, and 11 credit hours of elective courses as recommended by student’s dissertation research advisory committee.
Admission Requirements
Candidates must have a bachelor’s degree from accredited four-year degree granting college or university and thesis-based MS degree with a major in Agricultural or other related sciences, a minimum quality grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 point scale (for MS degree), and a minimum GRE score of 290 (verbal & quantitative, or verbal, quantitative & subject). Applicants to the Ph.D. program must submit a completed application form that includes official copy of transcripts (both BS and MS), standardized test scores, three reference letters from persons familiar with the applicant’s academic work, and personal statement of purpose (SOP) describing how the academic background and prior work/research experiences have shaped the applicants’ research interests and motivation to earn a Ph.D. degree in Agricultural Sciences. The Departmental admission committee will base admission upon these materials.
Program of Study/Admission to Candidacy
The degree candidates shall file a program of study during the first semester of their residency into the program. The program of study shall include the courses which will be used to satisfy the degree requirements, as well as detailed plan how other requirements will be met. The student may later change the program of study with the written approval of the Department chair and the Graduate School.
The degree candidates must complete 9 credit hours of major core courses: AGSC 5110, AGSC 6350 and AGSC 7590 with a grade point average of 3.0 or above, successfully defended the dissertation proposal, passed both written and oral comprehensive examinations prior to obtaining admission to candidacy for the doctoral degree.
After gaining admission to candidacy the student must complete an approved curriculum (minimum 11 hours of electives courses recommended by the student’s dissertation research advisory committee), enroll in two credit hours of Doctoral Seminar (AGSC 7610, AGSC 7620) and two credit hours of experiential learning courses (AGSC 6620 and AGSC 7200), complete a dissertation research (at least 24 hours dissertation research; AGSC8120), and successfully defend the dissertation prior to gaining the Ph.D. degree (refer to Agricultural Sciences Graduate Student Handbook for milestones and specific dissertation requirements). The total number of credit hours required for Ph.D. in Agricultural Sciences is 48 hours.
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