Master’s Degree Requirements

The MS degree program in the Department of Grain Science and Industry only offers a thesis degree but no non-thesis MS degree. See detailed master’s degree program requirements in Graduate Handbook.

1. A committee of at least three graduate faculty members supervises the program of study for the master’s degree. The candidate’s major professor serves as committee chair. The committee is selected by the student and his or her major professor, with selection of the committee subject to approval by the Graduate School. The KSU graduate handbook Chapter 2 Section B defines the supervisory committee’s responsibilities in guiding MS students.
2. A master’s degree requires a minimum of 30 semester hours of graduate credit including 6 to 8 research credit hours resulting in a thesis. To be awarded a graduate degree, the student is required to maintain minimum B (3.0) grade point average. Please refer to the KSU graduate handbook-Chapter 2: The Master’s Degree at https://www.k-state.edu/grad/student-success/graduate-handbook/chapter2.html.
3. If the student has a graduate research assistantship (GRA or GTA), the student must take a minimum of 6 credit hours in the fall and spring semesters and at least 3 credit hours in summer.
4. Before the end of the second semester, the student and the major professor will develop a plan/program of study (POS) (a list of the courses to be completed and applied towards the graduate degree) and form the thesis advisory committee.
5. The student must submit a written POS to the Graduate School prior to the end of the second semester that the candidate is enrolled at Kansas State University.
6. A candidate will submit the thesis to all committee members ten working days before the examination date. A copy is to be available at the final oral examination. All graduate students are required to submit an electronic version of their thesis. Detailed information about the K-State electronic Theses, Dissertations, and Reports (ETDR) can be found at http://www.k-state.edu/grad/etdr/index.htm.
7. A final oral examination/defense is required for all students. This may also include interpretation of other scholarly work, and testing of the students’ understanding of their fields of study.

Program of Study Requirements

The program of study for the Master of Science program in grain science requires 30 total credits to include the following:

1. At least 18 hours including the thesis/research hours should be at the 700-level and above.
2. Courses at the 600-level may be included, but 500-level courses in the student’s major area (i.e., courses in grain science) are expected to have been completed as undergraduate prerequisites to graduate study or as undergraduate deficiency courses assigned to admission and thus not included on the plan of study.
3. Restrictions: (1) No course in the student’s major area may be at the 500-level (2) Normally no more than 6 credit hours may be at the 500-level. No more than 3 credit hours in “special problems” (e.g., GRSC 790 ) or other individualized courses may be applied to the master’s degree.

Required (2 credit hours):

Professional development skill.

• GRSC 900 - Professional Development in Grain Science Credits: 1
• GRSC 920 - Grain Science Graduate Seminar Credits: 1

Research (6-8 credit hours):

• GRSC 899 - Research in Grain Science Credits: 1-18

Other (20-22 credit hours):

Because Grain Science graduate students may have different undergraduate majors, the pathway to achieving the desired outcome for the MS degree, requires tailoring the coursework to fit the students’ particular situation. Therefore, there are no other listed required courses for this program except for GRSC 900 , GRSC 920 , and GRSC 899 . The graduate students can take courses listed in the catalog of graduate courses which are offered by the Department of Grain Science and Industry. They can also take courses offered by other departments, which should be agreed by their major advisors.

Recommended course (3 credit hours):

-Any 700 and above STAT course

Please refer to the graduate course catalog for detailed course information.

Total Hours Required for Master’s: 30