Our departmental guidelines for obtaining a non-thesis M.S. are as follows:

1. The transcript shall indicate that the Master’s Degree was obtained without the completion of a thesis. (“No Thesis Required” is written where thesis title is usually placed.)
2. For the non-thesis M.S. degree in Botany and Plant Pathology, 48 credits are required; including 9 credits of non-thesis research (BOT 501). (Note that these requirements exceed the minimum requirements of the Graduate School, which requires that non-thesis M.S. degree programs include a minimum of 45 credits with 3-6 credits of non-thesis research). Any research units earned while rotating through laboratories will contribute towards this requirement. The research units may be earned in one to several laboratories with the consent of the advisor and the research director(s), but at least four units must be earned in a single laboratory.
3. Each student shall be assigned a Program Advisor. The Temporary Advisor assigned from the Graduate Studies Committee will continue in this role in those cases where another Program Advisor is not identified. The Program Committee shall consist of three members of the Graduate Faculty–two representing the candidate’s major area of interest (one of whom is the student’s program advisor) and one representing the candidate’s minor area of interest. This committee should meet near the completion of 18 credits, which coincides with the Graduate School deadline for filing the coursework program.
4. The Final Examination shall consist of a seminar, open to all, followed by questioning of the candidate by the candidate’s Program Committee. The seminar topic will be chosen by the candidate and their committee, and will normally deal with the research experiences of the individual along with literature references pertaining to the research topic. An outline of the proposed seminar should be approved by the Program committee several months in advance of the seminar. At the seminar, questioning by the committee will focus on the seminar topic and the knowledge obtained by the candidate through coursework studies.
5. Students may transfer between the Thesis and Non-thesis Options with the consent of the Graduate Studies Committee and the Program or Thesis Advisor.

Guidelines adopted by a vote of the faculty of the Department of Botany and Plant Pathology on 26 November 1991, amended in 1999.