Accelerated M.S. Degree

Accelerated Master’s Degree in the Plant and Soil Sciences

Brief Description of the Program

The Stockbridge School of Agriculture (SSA) offers Accelerated Masters of Science degree (AcMS) in the Plant and Soil Science Graduate Program. B.S. students in Stockbridge or interdepartmental majors who wish to continue current undergraduate research projects and complete a M.S. degree efficiently are eligible to enroll in this option.

Course sequence for AcMS and the timeline to completion for students.

Students who already are conducting research or an independent internship/project in SSA or related departments will be eligible for the AcMS option. Also, undergraduate students who are not conducting undergraduate research but would like to continue their education in a non-thesis option are eligible. A minimum of 6 and a maximum of 9 credits at the 500 level courses are required to be completed by the end of the senior year for the AcMS. These credits will be transferable to the MS degree if they are within the student’s indicated area of interest, however, the total number of credits, taken across both bachelors and masters programs, must be at least 150.

Students may apply to the program in the first semester of their junior year, or during their senior year if adequate course and lab work are in progress or completed. Application materials should include two letters of recommendation, of which one letter should be from the student’s research advisor or mentor explicitly assuring that they approve the student’s proposed work. There is no GRE requirement. Applications will be reviewed, and acceptance based on a vote of the PSS Graduate Policy Committee.

Students must complete their degree requirements within 15 months of the completion of their baccalaureate degree.

No financial support is committed by the department for the AcMS degree students. Students are liable to pay the tuition and other mandatory fees required by the program and the Graduate School.

Accelerated M.S Requirements

A minimum of 30 credits (500-level and above) are required. Of these, a minimum of 6 must be completed by the end of the student’s senior year; a maximum of 9 of these credits may be counted towards both student’s BS and AcMS degrees, however the total number of credits, taken across both bachelors and masters programs, must be at least 150. Transfer credits must have a grade of B or above. Students can select either a thesis or nonthesis option.

Thesis Option –minimum 30 credits

• Six to 10 thesis credits can be applied towards the degree.
• A maximum of 6 credits can come from Independent Study (696, 796) courses.
• No Pass/Fail grading in required courses is allowed, except for 700- level seminars and thesis credits.
• The grade-point average of courses submitted for the degree must be 3.0 or above.
• Taking a statistics or biometry course offered by other departments is highly recommended.
• See the list of available graduate-level courses in the appendix.

Table 1: List of required credits for M.S. in Plant & Soil Sciences, Thesis Option 

Non-thesis Option – minimum 30 credits

• All elective credits must be at the 500-level or above.
• A maximum of 6 Practicum/Internship credits are accepted; and a minimum of 3 are required. All Practicum/Internship projects must be approved by the SSA Graduate Program Director. These credits must be taken as a matriculated graduate student.
• No Pass/Fail grading in required courses is allowed, except for 700- level seminars and Practicum/Internship credits. • The grade-point average of courses submitted for the degree must be 3.0 or above.

Table 2: List of required credits for M.S. Plant & Soil Sciences, NonThesis Option