LRES Accelerated Masters Program

The Land Resources & Environmental Sciences (LRES) Accelerated Master of Science (M.S.) degree program is intended:

• to identify and match with a faculty mentor academically qualified students who wish to begin an M.S. degree in conjunction with their B.S. degree
• to facilitate, through planning, the courses to be credited toward the M.S. degree
• to initiate an M.S. research project while in pursuit of the B.S. degree
• to complete the M.S. degrees by extending the period one and a half years past the traditional four-year period of undergraduate study

Credit Requirements

In total, as an accelerated Master’s Program student, you would take 120 undergraduate credits to earn an Environmental Sciences B.S. degree, and 30 graduate credits to earn a master’s degree.  The 30 graduate credits includes 12 reserved credits taken during your junior and senior years, and 18 credits taken over three semesters as a graduate student.  Ten of these graduate credits need to be thesis credits.

Admission Requirements

To be considered for the LRES Accelerated M.S. track you must meet the following requirements:

• By the Fall of your third year your GPA must be at least 3.25
• By the Fall of your third year you must have junior class standing 
• By the Fall of your third year you must submit a request for admission to the LRES Accelerated M.S. track
• If admitted, you will be asked to apply to the Graduate School

To continue to the MS degree you must meet the following requirements:

• You must finish you BS degree (i.e., graduate)
• You must have completed an application to the Graduate School and have been admitted

Timeline

• Sophomore Year
• Sophomores are advised about the possibility of following the LRES Accelerated M.S. course plan
• Students who elect to follow the Accelerated M.S. plan work with their potential faculty advisor and schedule their classes in Degree Works
• Fall of Junior Year
• To start reserving the 12 credits towards your graduate degree, you must apply for admission to the accelerated M.S. track. To apply, you must submit the request for admission to the accelerated M.S. track, defining your commitment and project, to Jill Scarson, the LRES Student Services Coordinator. She will inform you if you are accepted into the Accelerated M.S. track.
• If admitted, you will be asked to apply to the Graduate School, per this guidance. Your application should set the start date for your degree as the semester after your B.S. graduation date.
• Spring of Junior year and Fall and Spring of Senior year
• Accelerated M.S. students may reserve up to 12 credits (maximum of nine 4xx level courses) towards the M.S. degree. To reserve the credits you must first meet with your faculty advisor and plan the courses to be reserved, then meet with the LRES Student Academic Coordinator, who will post the reserved credits/courses in DegreeWorks.  Without approval your credits will not be reserved and you will not be able to sign up for graduate courses.
• Examples of reserved credits are as follows: 
• STAT 511/512
• LRES 594 Seminar to be taken Fall or Spring of your Senior year
• ENSC/GPHY/NRSM 400 level courses (up to 9 credits as part of the 12) other than 482, 483, 490, 491, 492, 494, 495, 498
• 400 and 500 level courses in other departments suitable for an M.S. in the LRES graduate program of study courses, with the approval of your faculty advisor.

• After graduating with B.S. degree
• Accelerated M.S. students are fully admitted to the Graduate School after they finish their undergraduate degree. 
• Accelerated M.S. students file their Graduate Program of Study, which is discussed with and approved by the major professor and committee members.

• The 3^rd letter of recommendation for the graduate application should be from intended major advisor with a description of commitment and project Fall of Fifth year

• Fall of Fifth year

• M.S. students take 8 credits on their MS program of study

• Spring of Fifth year

• M.S. students take 4 credits of MS thesis

• Spring of Sixth year

• M.S. students take 6 credits of thesis and defend their thesis, which serves as their Comprehensive Examination

Course Plan

20 credits of coursework (maximum of 9 4xx level), 10 credits of thesis; Students may elect to take 3-6 credits reserved in their Junior year in their 5^th or 6^th year.