Natural Sciences, M.N.S.

(MNS)

Both a non-thesis and thesis option are available. A student in the MNS program must develop, by the end of the second semester or upon completion of 15 or more hours of credit, a Plan of Study together with an advisor in the College of Science that must have approval of the MNS program administrator.

Non-Thesis Option: The non-thesis option must include at least 36 semester hours of graduate courses distributed as follows:

• at least 18 semester hours must be in a primary focus area in a natural science or mathematics in a cooperating department marked with an asterisk* below
• to provide breath of knowledge, at least 6 hours of electives have to be taken in fields closely related to the focus area, but not necessarily within the focus area or within the cooperating departments and schools
• at most 12 hours can be taken in a secondary area that supports a cohesive plan of study and the professional and academic goals of the student. The courses in the secondary area must be offered by a cooperating department or school (see listing below).

At least 18 of the total 36 semester hours must be in courses numbered 5000 or above and six of these 18 must be in the focus area. Courses below the 4000-level cannot be counted. Courses at the 4000-level can be counted only if they are taken as graduate courses. Although a modest number of hours in independent study or research courses are allowed, a student may not apply thesis research (8000) hours to this degree track. A comprehensive final oral exam administered by the student’s committee is required to complete the degree.

Thesis Option: Requirements for the thesis option include 24 semester hours of graduate course work, and six semester hours of thesis credit. Of the 24 hours of graduate course work:

• at least 9 must be at or above the 5000 level
• at least 12 must be in a primary focus area in a natural science or mathematics in a cooperating department marked with an asterisk* below
• at most 12 hours can be taken in a secondary area that supports a cohesive plan of study and the professional and academic goals of the student. The courses in the secondary area must be offered by a cooperating department or school (see listing below).

The thesis must be directly related to the focus area. The final oral exam will include a defense of the thesis.

Participating Departments 

Animal Science*
Biological Sciences*
Chemistry*
School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
School of Education
Entomology*
Environmental Sciences*
Geography & Anthropology*
Geology & Geological Sciences*
Mathematics*
Oceanography & Coastal Sciences*
Physics & Astronomy*
Plant, Environmental & Soil Sciences*
Plant Pathology & Crop Physiology*
Renewable Natural Resources*