Admission Requirements

In addition to general Graduate School requirements, the Department of Horticulture and Natural Resources has the following requirements for admission.

Course requirements

No specific course requirements.  Applicants for admission to Ph.D. degree programs are expected to have completion of a MS degree in a field relevant to the graduate program of interest.

A master’s degree is a requirement for admission and represents 30 credits toward the 90 credits required for the doctorate.

Grade requirements

GPA of 3.0 or better on a 4.0 scale, based on the courses taken during the last two academic years.

Graduate record examination

Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is not required.

More detailed admission information for Ph.D. degree programs can be found at this site.

Course Requirements

The courses that can be applied should be relevant to the current Ph.D. program. Thus, course and curriculum requirements are as follows:

• Of the 24 to 30 hours of course work credit hours beyond the master’s degree approved by the supervisory committee, 15 credit hours should be at the 800-level or above, in addition to doctoral research credit hours.
• For course work beyond the master’s degree, no more than 6 credit hours of 500-level courses are permitted in a doctoral program.  No 500-level course taken in the student’s major field of study, i.e., Department, may appear in the program of study.
• Not more than 6 hours of problems or other individualized courses should ordinarily appear on the program of study for the doctoral program.
• For students who bypass the master’s degree, the program of study must include at least 15 credit hours at the 800-level or above, in addition to doctoral research credit hours.  No more than 12 credit hours of 500 level courses are permitted in a doctoral program and they must come from outside the student’s major field of study (i.e., Department).

Program Total Credits: 60

Total Hours Required for Doctorate: 90