College of Agriculture
Admission Policy

Application and Admission Procedures   Admission begins with an application for a graduate degree program through the Graduate School.  The application is online at  http://graduateschool.astate.edu .  Before making application the prospective student should review the graduate catalog to consider which degree program to select.   Applicants should also discuss the requirements of the program with the appropriate faculty member(s) from the College of Agriculture (COA).   An applicant should find a faculty member in the COA to serve as advisor, in an area related to the student's interest.    Continuation in the program is contingent upon the student finding the appropriate match with their personal educational goals and a faculty advisor.  The student, if admitted, must select an advisor by the end of the first semester to remain in the program.   During this first semester the student needs to enroll in the one hour graduate seminar course, select an advisor and two committee members, and develop a degree plan with the input of the advisor and committee.  The student's committee should contain at least one member that has Full Graduate Faculty status.  A committee may have one or in some cases two people from outside the college that serve on the committee.  Committee members must be approved by the student's committee chair (advisor).   A form identifying the committee members must be completed and sent to the graduate office.  The student's committee and advisor have primary responsibility for developing, approving and/or modifying the student's plan of course work and thesis or non-thesis research project.

After the student submits an application and the appropriate paperwork to the Graduate School, the student packet is forwarded from the Graduate School to the COA Graduate Committee Chair, who will ask a faculty member in the appropriate discipline for a review and recommendation for acceptance into the College of Agriculture graduate program.  If the student has visited with a faculty member and wants to request a faculty member be his/her advisor a note to this effect should be made in the application letter.   If the COA Graduate Committee Chair becomes aware of the applicant's previous discussion and desire to have a particular faculty as the advisor, this will facilitate the review process.

Admission Requirements: The prospective student must meet all the admission requirements of the Graduate School and the COA to be admitted. A prospective student will be admitted only if academic deficiencies are removed.  Other requirements and expectations may be stated as a condition of acceptance to the degree program.  The advisor is key in the planning and development of the student's program of study and research interest.  Students are expected to meet with the advisor throughout the graduate experience to make sure the student is making satisfactory progress toward a degree. 

University Admission Requirements

See the current Graduate Catalog.

College of Agriculture Admission Requirements

Masters in Agriculture (30 hours in the degree program)

 For unconditional admittance to a degree program in the College of Agriculture, a student must have at least a 3.00 GPA overall, or 3.00 on the last 60 hours of undergraduate work.  For conditional admittance a student with a GPA of 2.5 to 3.0 (or 2.75 on the last 60 hours) must complete seven hours of course work as a non-degree student, and earn a 3.00 GPA.  That course work must include the first level, one hour graduate seminar course; a research and statistics course that is part of the core; and a course in the major approved by the advisor.  

Masters in Agricultural Education (33 hours in the degree program)

Students seeking admission into the Master of Science in Agriculture with a major in Agricultural Education must meet the admission requirements of the Graduate School and the specific program requirements.  In addition, applicants must have completed a minimum of 18 semester hours of professional education courses including the requirements for a valid teaching certificate or license.  Applicants who do not meet the requirements for a valid teaching certificate or license will be required to complete the undergraduate courses required for such a certificate. These courses may be completed concurrently with graduate work, but must be completed before the student is admitted to candidacy for the degree. For unconditional admission, academic proficiency must be established through satisfaction of either of the following admission selection criteria: 

1. A minimum cumulative undergraduate grade point average of 3.00 (or 3.25 on the last 60 hours) and a raw score of at least 30 on the Miller Analogies Test (MAT) or a minimum score of 790 on the combined verbal and quantitative sections of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE).

2. A minimum cumulative undergraduate grade point average of 2.75 (or 3.00 on the last 60 hours) and a raw score of at least 35 on the MAT or a minimum score of 820 on the combined verbal and quantitative sections of the GRE.                    

For conditional admission, academic proficiency must be established through satisfaction of either of the following admission selection criteria:

1. The total undergraduate GPA is 2.50 AND when the undergraduate GPA is multiplied by 10 and then multiplied by the MAT score the total is at least 600.

2. The total undergraduate GPA is at least 2.50 AND when the undergraduate GPA is multiplied by the GRE score the total is at least 1850.

Masters in Vocational-Technical Administration (33 hours in the degree  program)

Students seeking admission into the Master of Science in Vocational-Technical Administration     must meet the Conditional or Unconditional admission requirements of the Graduate School.

Masters in Career and Technical Education (33 hours in the degree program)

Students seeking admission into this degree program must meet the admission requirements of the Graduate School and the specific College requirements.  In addition, applicants must have completed a minimum of 18 semester hours of professional education courses including the requirements for a valid teaching certificate or license.  Applicants who do not meet the requirements for a valid teaching certificate or license must meet the requirements to complete the undergraduate courses required for such a certificate or license.  These courses may be completed concurrently with graduate work, but must be completed before the student is admitted to candidacy for the degree. For unconditional admission, academic proficiency must be established through satisfaction of either of the following admission selection criteria: 

1.   A minimum cumulative undergraduate grade point average of 3.00 (or 3.25 on the last 60 hours) and a raw score of at least 30 of the Miller Analogies Test (MAT) or a minimum score of 790 on the combined verbal and quantitative sections of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE).

2.   A minimum cumulative undergraduate grade point average of 2075 (or 3.00 on the last 60 hours) and a raw score of at least 35 on the MAT or a minimum score of 820 on the combined verbal and quantitative sections of the GRE.

For conditional admission, academic proficiency must be established through satisfaction of either of the following admission selection criteria:

1.   The total undergraduate GPA is 2.50 AND when the undergraduate GPA is multiplied by 10 and then multiplied by the MAT score the total is at least 600.

2.   The total undergraduate GPA is at least 2.50 AND when the undergraduate GPA is multiplied by the GRE score the total is at least 1850.

Academic deficiencies: Academic deficiencies will be identified by an advisor in conjunction with the student's graduate committee.  In such cases the applicant must remove the deficiencies before the student can be admitted to ACandidacy@ (before completing 18 hours).  In most cases academic deficiencies will be identified as courses that must be completed.  A letter communicating the requirements for removal of academic deficiencies will be given to the student.  A student will sign and return a copy of the letter to the faculty advisor and a copy will be placed in the student file. 

Graduate seminar courses

Three graduate seminars, one credit each for a total of three credit hours, are required of all graduate students in the College of Agriculture.  The goals of the three seminars are outlined below:

AGRI 6371, Graduate Seminar: Research Orientation.  This seminar course is required of all first semester graduate students.  During the seminar each student is expected to identify their major advisor; assemble their graduate committee; develop and submit their degree plan; and decide whether they will pursue a thesis research project or a non-thesis research experience.  The seminar will provide pedagogy related to developing their research proposal, whether thesis or non-thesis in scope.  Each student will make a final formal presentation to the faculty and other students during the semester on the literature background and plan of work for their thesis or non-thesis research project.

AGRI 6381, Graduate Seminar: Grant Proposals.  This seminar course will provide pedagogy related to developing research grant proposals such as those presented to federal funding agencies.  Each student will choose a topic, which may be related or unrelated to their thesis or non-thesis research project, and develop the written grant proposal using typical federal funding agency format and guidelines.  During the semester, each student will make a formal presentation to the faculty and other students on their grant proposal.

AGRI 6391, Graduate Seminar: Final Research Project.  Each graduate student will make a formal presentation to the faculty and other students on the completed thesis research project or non-thesis research experience, and to defend their research results and interpretation.  This presentation will typically be made immediately before the respective final exam.