Agriculture, M.S.

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The Master of Science in agriculture at SFA is a professional degree. Students can concentrate in an area of specialization using course selection and the thesis option, or the degree can be more general in course selection. Students can develop a degree plan that can lead to further graduate study. The program is constructed to meet the needs of the part-time student as well as the full-time student. Courses are offered in a two-year sequence.

Admission Classification

Clear Admission, 2.8 overall GPA or higher
Probationary Admission, 2.5 to 2.8 overall GPA
If GPA is less than 2.5, GRE scores and/or work experience will be considered
GRE not required unless it is being used as alternative admission criteria

Non-Agriculture Baccalaureate Degrees

Students with a baccalaureate degree in a major other than agriculture my accomplish a career change and/or improve employability by obtaining the M.S. in agriculture.

Students with a B.S. in related sciences and agriculture minor or significant coursework in agriculture may need no additional undergraduate coursework in agriculture.

Students with no undergraduate work in agriculture are evaluated on an individual basis. Typically these students take six to eight hours each of introductory level biology and chemistry along with 18 to 21 hours of undergraduate agriculture, including ANS 333 - Animal Nutrition; AGN 331 - Soil Science; and AEC 451 - Farm Management.

M.S. Options

Thesis Option

This 30-hour option is recommended for students planning further graduate study. It also may be helpful for students wanting to develop in-depth understanding of complex agricultural sciences or technical applications.

3 hours of statistics selected from FOR 517 or STA 520 or similar course
6 hours of AGR 590 -Thesis
12 hours selected from agriculture core courses
9 hours of graduate electives, as advised
Thesis option students must register for AGR 590 each semester university resources are being utilized, including the semester of graduation. See thesis preparation and enrollment (one hour or three hours).

Non-Thesis Option

This 36-hour option is recommended for the part-time student or the student wanting to improve employment options with more technical training.

3 hours of statistics selected from FOR 517 or STA 520 or similar course
15 hours selected from agriculture core courses
21 hours of graduate electives, as advised
Students must pass a written and oral comprehensive exam.

Core Course Sequence

AEC 542 - Agricultural Policy Credit(s): 3 (fall, odd years)
AGN 508 - Soil-Plant Relationships Credit(s): 3 (spring, even years)
AGR 530 - Interdisciplinary Research Credit(s): 3 (fall, once per year)
AGR 531 - Advanced Agricultural Waste Management Credit(s): 3 (spring, odd years)
AGR 580 - Topics in Agriculture Credit(s): 3 (spring, even years)
ANS 501 - Advanced Nutrition Credit(s): 3 (fall, even years)
ANS 502 - Physiology of Growth and Stress in Livestock Credit(s): 3 (spring, odd years)
HRT 514 - Advanced Horticulture Crop Production Credit(s): 3 (fall, odd years)
HRT 518 - Public Garden Management Credit(s): 3 (spring, odd years)

Note:

Some courses are offered at both the 400- and 500-level, with both courses reflecting the same title. The 400-level courses were designed to meet bachelor degree requirements. The 500-level equivalent courses can be used to meet graduate degree requirements if the student does additional study and work, which is deemed graduate-level experience by the instructor. If taken at the 400-level, student’s cannot repeat the course at the 500-level for graduate credit. These courses do not meet agriculture core requirements.