[ General Requirements ] [ Course and Hour Requirements ] [ Thesis Requirements ] [ Thesis Preparation ]

Requirements for the Master of Science Degree

The general requirements for the Master of Science degree may be conveniently classed under two broad headings: course and hour requirements and thesis requirements.

Course and Hour Requirements

Those students who plan to receive the Master of Science degree as a terminal degree are required to have the following courses:

• Economics 465, Mathematical Economics I
• Economics 463, Applied Econometrics
• Economics 540a, Microeconomic Theory I
• Economics 541a, Macroeconomic Theory I

Each master's student must take at least one Graduate Director-approved, two-course specialization in either Economics or Agribusiness Economics.

In addition, each master's student must accumulate a minimum total of 30 graduate-level credit hours approved by the Director of Graduate Studies. Of this minimum, 21 hours must be in Economics courses, excluding Economics 408, 440, 441, 443, 507, and 590, and 15 hours must be in 500-level courses.

An outline of the typical sequence for master's work is as follows:

Any student who earns six semester hours of "C" or below in Economics courses taken for graduate credit is subject to dismissal from the Graduate Program in Economics.

A 3.0 GPA in 400- and 500-level economics courses excluding Economics 408, 425, 436, 440, 441, 471, 501, 502, 510, 525 and 598 and in all other graduate courses must be maintained.

Only 400- and 500-level courses may count toward the master's degree.

Graduate students in Economics cannot take Economics 408, 440, 441 or 443 for credit toward a graduate degree in economics.

Thesis Requirements

The master's candidate in Economics can fulfill the thesis requirement in one of the following ways.

1. The student may write a master's thesis. The thesis shall be supervised by a committee of at least three members of the graduate faculty and may be counted for six semester hours of credit as Economics 599. Two copies of the approved thesis must be presented to the Graduate School at least three weeks prior to the date of graduation, to be bound and shelved in the library. One copy of the thesis is to be submitted to the Department of Economics.
   
   
2. The student may enroll for 3 semester hours in Economics 598. The research paper required in Economics 598 will be accepted in lieu of a master's thesis when approved by the Director of Graduate Studies for that purpose. One copy is to be submitted to the Graduate School at least three weeks prior to the date of graduation, and one copy to the Department of Economics. Under this option, the student must take an additional graduate level course for three credit hours. Students who choose the thesis option are required to pass an oral comprehensive examination covering the thesis and related topics. Students choosing the research paper option must pass both a written and an oral examination related to their paper's topic.

Thesis Preparation

The student should consult with a faculty member of his or her choice, whose teaching or research interest lies in the area in which the student wishes to write a thesis. Upon the student's request and faculty member's consent, the faculty member will become the student's Thesis Director and will be responsible for guiding the student's research and writing a prospectus to be read and concurred on by at least two other members of the graduate faculty chosen by the Thesis Director in consultation with the student. This prospectus committee will constitute the committee recommended by the Chairman of the Department as the examining committee for reading the thesis and conducting the examination for the degree. To be accepted, the thesis must conform to the specifications in Guidelines for the Preparation of Research Reports, Theses, and Dissertations, available from the Graduate School.