Graduate Programs

A Graduate Program is essentially an agreement between the student, major professor and the student’s graduate committee on coursework required for the degree. The program is submitted to and approved by the Graduate School.

Formal Requirements for Degree Programs

OSU’s graduate degree program policies are specified here. These policies change over time, so be sure to check that website, though you can use the following summary to get you started.

Master’s candidates develop their programs in consultation with the major and minor adviser. Graduate School regulations stipulate that the program must include 45 credit hours, with about 28-32 of these in the major and a minimum of 13 in the minor (or integrated minor). In contrast, the doctoral program is approved at a formal meeting of the full program committee. If a minor is declared, 18 credit hours are required (15 credit hours for an integrated minor). A total of 108 credits are required. The signature of the department chairperson is required for both M.S. and Ph.D. programs. The department chair-person sometimes seeks the approval of the Graduate Studies Committee before signing a program. A dissertation is required for the Ph.D. degree; M.S. students may choose a thesis or non-thesis option. There is no departmental foreign language requirement for the Ph.D. degree.

Deadlines for Filing Graduate Programs

1. M.S. Students: The Graduate School requires programs be filed before completion of 18 credits. M.S. students entering in the fall should file a program by the end of winter term. This coursework includes graduate hours reserved as an undergraduate student and hours earned as a post-baccalaureate, graduate special student, and regular graduate student.
2. Ph.D. Students: Ph.D. students with a master’s degree must file a Program of Study within one calendar year of entry. Ph.D students entering with a bachelor’s degree should file by the end of the fifth quarter of enrollment. For students entering in the fall, this means they have to file a program by the end of fall term the following year.

Please note that failure to file a program by the required deadline may result in a student being unable to register or to be paid (placed on appointment).

Preparation of Graduate Programs

Graduate Majors:

• Graduate majors are specified in the Graduate Catalog.   For all students who are not enrolled in another department or in an interdepartmental program, the major should be designated as “Botany & Plant Pathology”.
• If a student desires to do so, they may also specify an area of concentration within the major (from one of the approved areas listed in the Graduate Catalog).   Thus, a student in plant pathology could list their graduate major as “Botany & Plant Pathology – (Plant Pathology)”.  Please note the specific format used.
• Graduate students with an area of concentration in Plant Pathology must construct programs that include the Core Curriculum adopted by the plant pathology faculty. Please consult with your major professor and committee on the current status of that requirement.

Graduate Minors:

• Graduate minors are optional on both M.S. and Ph.D. programs.  If a minor is elected for an M.S. program, the minor must include a minimum of 15 credits.  If a minor is elected for a Ph.D. program, the minor must include 18 credits, with the exception of Integrated Minors (see below) which require only 15 credits.
• Graduate minors may be chosen from any approved graduate major, from an approved minor listed in the Graduate Catalog, or from a different area of concentration within the major field.  Minors may also be specified as “Integrated”.
• Some departments and programs have specific course requirements for a minor.
• For an Integrated Minor, the selection of a minor professor should take into account the Graduate School requirement that at least one course from the department of the minor professor must appear on the graduate program.

M.S. Students: 

• For thesis degrees, 45 credits must appear on the program, including 6-12 credits of thesis  (BOT 503), and no more than 9 blanket numbered credits (BOT 50X), other than thesis,
• For non-thesis degrees in Botany and Plant Pathology, 48 credits must appear on the program, including 9 credits of non-thesis research (BOT 501) and no more than 9 blanket numbered credits (BOT 50X) other than research.  Note that these requirements exceed the minimum requirements of the Graduate School.
• For M.S. programs that include a minor, an appropriate minor professor must be selected, and both the major professor and the minor professor must sign the program before it is filed.
• For M.S. programs that do NOT include a minor, the signature of the major professor and that of one additional member of the Program Committee (other than the Graduate School representative) are required on the program.  The additional signature should ordinarily be that of a faculty member from outside the Department of Botany & Plant Pathology.

Ph.D. Students:

• 108 credits must appear on the program.
• A minimum of 36 regular (non-blanket) credits must appear on the program.
• A minimum of 36 thesis credits (BOT 603) must appear on the program.
• No more than 15 blanket numbered credits (BOT 60X), other than thesis, may be included in the 108 credits required for the program.
• A minor does not have to be declared.
• A Ph.D. candidate should not have received all of his or her academic training at Oregon State University, but they may receive all of their degrees from this institution.

Composition of Graduate Program Committees

M.S. Program Committees:

• For M.S. programs that include a thesis and a minor, the Program Committee consists of a minimum of four graduate faculty members, including the major and minor professors, at least one additional faculty member with graduate faculty status (usually from the major department), and a Graduate School representative.
• The Graduate School Representative is selected from approved lists maintained by the Graduate School.  The agreement of the faculty member selected to serve as the Graduate School representative must be obtained for the specific program in question.
• For M.S. programs that include a thesis but do NOT include a minor, the Program Committee consists of a minimum of four graduate faculty members, including the major professor, two additional faculty members with graduate faculty status (usually one from the major department and one from outside the major department), and the Graduate School representative.
• For non-thesis M.S. programs, a Graduate School representative is not required.  The Program Committee consists of four graduate faculty members, including the student’s major advisor, a minor professor (if a minor is selected) or (alternatively) one faculty member from outside the Department, and two additional faculty members with graduate faculty status (at least one of which should be from within the major department).

Ph.D. Program Committees:

• Ph.D. degree committees consist of a minimum of five graduate faculty members, including the major professor, the minor professor (if a minor is declared) or (alternatively) one faculty member from outside the major department, at least two additional faculty members, and the Graduate School representative.
• The Graduate School representative is selected from approved lists maintained by the Graduate School.  The agreement of the faculty member selected to serve as the Graduate School representative must be obtained for the specific program in question.

Additional Considerations in Forming Graduate Programs and Program Committees

• Major professors who hold courtesy appointments or research professor appointments in Botany and Plant Pathology or who are stationed off-campus are requested to include at least one on-campus tenure-track faculty member from the Department of Botany and Plant Pathology on the Program Committee.
• For Integrated Minors (as well as any other minor), the selection of a minor professor should take into account a requirement of the Graduate School that at least one course from the department or program of the minor professor must appear on the graduate program.
• Individuals holding faculty rank within the Oregon University System cannot receive a graduate degree from the System without special permission.
• BOT 501 or 601 (Research) should be used for only those research activities that will NOT be included in a thesis.   BOT 503 or 603 (Thesis) should be used for all research activities associated with the thesis. 
• To secure departmental approval of the graduate program, students admitted with a statement of academic deficiencies must attach to the program a memorandum indicating how these deficiencies have been or will be addressed.
• To avoid technical errors, drafts of graduate programs should receive a preliminary review by the Associate Chair prior to collecting signatures of committee members.

 

Graduate Courses Outside of BPP

May 4, 2016

This is a list of courses outside of BPP that our graduate students commonly schedule as part of their program of study. It is not a complete list and is not meant to substitute for faculty and graduate committee advisement. Furthermore, the nature and timing of courses change, so students should use this list as a guideline.

*Fulfill the Grad Only requirement.

Biochemistry & Biophysics

• BB 550 – GENERAL BIOCHEMISTRY
• BB 551 – GENERAL BIOCHEMISTRY

Crop Science

• CROP 590 – EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN IN AGRICULTURE

Fisheries & Wildlife

• FW 545 – ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION

Forest Ecosystems and Society

• FES 524 – NATURAL RESOURCES DATA ANALYSIS

Geosciences

• GEO 544 – REMOTE SENSING
• GEO 565 – GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND SCIENCE
• Horticulture
• HORT 511 – RESEARCH AND EDUCATIONAL PERSPECTIVES IN HORTICULTURE

Microbiology

• MB 548 – MICROBIAL ECOLOGY
• MB 668 – MICROBIAL BIOINFORMATICS AND GENOME EVOLUTION

Molecular Cellular Biology

• MCB 525 – TECHNIQUES IN MOLECULAR AND CELLULAR BIOLOGY
• MCB 530 – INTRODUCTION TO POPULATION GENETICS*
• MCB 554 – GENOME ORGANIZATION, STRUCTURE, AND MAINTENANCE
• MCB 555 – GENOME EXPRESSION AND REGULATION*
• MCB 556 – CELL AND DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
• MCB 557 – SCIENTIFIC SKILLS AND ETHICS
• MCB 637 – MOLECULAR HOST
• -MICROBE INTERACTIONS
• MCB 671 – MOLECULAR TOOLS
• Soil Science
• SOIL 515 – BIOLOGY OF SOIL ECOSYSTEMS
• SOIL 566 – SOIL MORPHOLOGY AND CLASSIFICATION

Statistics

• ST 511 – METHODS OF DATA ANALYSIS
• ST 512 – METHODS OF DATA ANALYSIS
• ST 513 – METHODS OF DATA ANALYSIS
• ST 515 – METHODS OF DATA ANALYSIS