Department of Horticulture

The M.S. degree consists of course work and original research, which is reported in a thesis. The research is performed under the guidance of the major professor. The study program, i.e., the list of graduate courses to be taken, is developed under the guidance of the major professor and a committee of graduate faculty organized by the student and the major professor. The graduate committee evaluates the thesis and the student’s knowledge of his or her field in a final oral examination.

Requirements

• A minimum of 45 graduate credit hours is required, including 6 -12 credits of thesis, i.e., Hort 503.
• Approximately two-thirds of work (30 hours) must be in the major and one-third (15 hours) in the minor field.
• The residence requirement is 30 Oregon State University credits after admission as a graduate student. This does not include hours taken as a post-baccalaureate or special student.
• A maximum of 15 term hours of graduate work may be completed at another accredited institution.
• A study program for the degree must be filed in the Graduate School before the completion of 18 hours of graduate course work, usually before the end of the second term.
• No more than 9 blanket-numbered* credits are to be contained in the program, excluding the research paper or thesis. [* blanket-numbered courses are those whose middle digit is zero, e.g., 505, 507, etc. (See Graduate Catalog for more information).
• The Department of Horticulture requires that the following is included in a student’s MS study program:
  • HORT 507 (1 credit), Horticulture Seminar. The student presents a seminar at the regularly scheduled time of the department seminar (Tuesdays at 4:00 PM).
  • HORT 511 (2 credits), Research and Educational Perspectives in Horticulture, to be taken the first Fall term of enrollment.
  • A minimum of 4 credits of ENT/HORT 518, PBG/HORT 519, or HORT 520 (two credits per course).  At least one course should be related to the student's area of emphasis, but students are encouraged to enroll in other topic areas.
• Successful completion of the final oral examination.
• All work for a Master's degree must be completed within seven years, including transferred credits, course work, thesis, and all examinations.

The M.S. Graduate Committee consists of two faculty members from the major department, one from outside the major, and a representative from the Graduate Council (the "Grad Rep"). The department recommends selection of the Grad Rep early in the program so that students can obtain his or her input.

Students majoring in horticulture are required to have 30 credit hours in the major. These courses may be selected from those in horticulture as well as from those offered by many other departments.