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Master's of Science in
Environmental Science
Admission to Arkansas State
University's Environmental Sciences MS Degree
Program requires the prospective student to
apply to the Graduate
School prior to admission to the EVS Program.
Applicants seeking admission into
the Master of Science degree program in
Environmental Sciences must meet the admission
requirements of the Graduate School and the specific
program requirements. The Environmental Sciences
master’s degree program accepts students with a
variety of undergraduate and graduate majors,
including the natural sciences, social sciences, and
engineering.
Students lacking some of this
preparation may be accepted for admission, but
expected to address such deficiencies prior to
entrance by means of formal coursework or other
arrangements agreed upon by the applicant and the
EVS Program Committee. Potential students must have
a sponsoring EVS affiliated
faculty member, who will act as advisor until a
thesis topic or practicum is designated. For advisor
selection suggestions, contact the program office or
go to the departmental web pages to research faculty
research interests and then contact them directly
and relate your interests.
For additional admissions details
click here.
Students admitted in the
Environmental Sciences
Doctoral Program will earn an MS in
Environmental Sciences upon admission to candidacy.
A PhD student may also elect to complete an MS in
Chemistry or Biology along the way to the PhD in
Environmental Sciences. Students interested in
this option should contact the graduate coordinator
of the associated department for degree
requirements.
Students who are admitted to the
MS in Environmental Sciences program may apply for
admission to the doctoral program after successful
completion of the MS proposal examination. Admission to the MS program does
not guarantee admission to the doctoral program.
MS Degree Tracks
| MS Degree Plan |
Information for Current MS
Students
MS Degree Tracks
The MS program in Environmental
Sciences includes two tracks: Thesis and Practicum
(non-thesis).
Information about the degree plans
for MS-Thesis and MS-Practicum are available in the
Handbook.
Information for Current MS Students
In addition to the information
provided below students should consult the
Handbook as well as the
download the appropriate forms.
A time line to degree completion is available in the
Handbook.
Thesis Track |
Practicum Track
Comprehensive Examination:
MS Thesis track students must complete a
comprehensive examination given by their committee
no later than the end of the third semester in
residence ). The comprehensive examination may be
written or oral in part or in whole. It is generally
administered by students’ advisory committee.
Possible outcomes of the examination are (i) pass,
(ii) fail with option to retake (one time only) the
examination, or (iii) fail. If a student fails to
pass this defense the student may be re-assigned to
the practicum track or may no longer be in good
standing with the program and may lose graduate
student status at the discretion of the advisory
committee.
Research
Proposal:
All MS students are required to
present and defend their MS research proposal to
their advisory committee no later than the end of
their third semester in residence. This is not
required of students on the non-thesis practicum
track. Evidence of successful defense of the MS
proposal should be provided to the Program Office.
Possible outcomes of the proposal defense are (i)
pass, (ii) fail with option to retake (one time
only) the defense examination, or (iii) fail. If a
student fails to pass this defense the student may
be re-assigned to the practicum track or may no
longer be in good standing with the program and may
lose graduate student status at the discretion of
the advisory committee.
Students who must delay taking their defense of
their MS proposal until after the specified time,
due to extenuating circumstances, must submit a
letter of explanation to the Director of Graduate
Program. Such explanations must contain a new
proposed proposal defense deadline. In all cases the
oral defense of your research proposal must be
passed by the last day of your fourth semester with
no exceptions.
The oral proposal
defense examination may cover coursework or research
topics and related areas.
Thesis:
A successful MS candidate, having
passed the oral defense of their research proposal,
must carry out original research which is described
in a written thesis, and he or she must successfully
defend the completed work in a final oral
examination. Detailed instructions for the
preparation of the thesis may be found on the
Graduate School website.
Thesis research is
generally an application of a known technique or may
be original research. It should result in a
peer-reviewed publication which should be submitted
for publication prior to the defense.
The Graduate School
requires that each copy of any master’s thesis be
delivered to the Graduate School with each copy
containing an original signed separate page with the
signatures of the advisory committee and Director of
the Graduate Program in Environmental Sciences. The
signature page should be bound into all copies of
the thesis as the first page in the volume,
immediately preceding the title page. Three copies
are required one for the Graduate School, University
Library and one for the Program Office. Additional
copies should be made for the student and advisor.
Practicum
Examination:
Master’s students on the non-thesis
Practicum track are required to complete a
manuscript containing the results of their
internship research or practicum research results.
Practicum students will be required to pass a
practicum examination which may be written or oral
in whole or in part and is administered by the
student’s advisory committee. Practicum students
are required to take this examination no later than
the end of their fourth semester in residence.
Possible outcomes of the practicum examination are (i)
pass, (ii) fail with option to retake (one time
only) the defense examination, or (iii) fail. If a
student fails to pass this examination the student
will no longer be in good standing with the program
and may lose graduate student status.
Students who must delay
taking their practicum examination until after the
specified time, due to extenuating circumstances,
must submit a letter of explanation to the Director
of Graduate Program. Such explanations must contain
a new examination date. In all cases the practicum
examination must be passed by the last day of your
fifth semester.
The practicum
examination may cover coursework or research topics
and related areas. In addition the student should
keep a Practicum Journal which details the
activities of the internship experience on a daily
basis. Forms specific to the completion of the
internship to be competed by the Internship
Supervisor should be filed with the program office
prior to the student taking the practicum
examination.
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