Master of Applied Science Guidelines for Faculty

Master’s Degree Milestones

The University publishes a set of timelines (deadlines) for Master Degree seeking students on a semester basis. The milestones include information about the Memorandum of Courses, Application for Graduation, Final Examination Form and other relevant information required to graduate. For more information: https://www.unl.edu/gradstudies/academics/degrees/masters

Memorandum of Courses

Student, advisor, and advisory committee should discuss and select courses for the student’s program of study. The MOC should be completed by the student near the completion of 18 credit hours, i.e., half of the 36 credit hour program. After the MOC has been approved by the advisor and advisory committee, the form should be signed by the advisor and forwarded to the CASNR Office of Online Education. Matt Douglass (149A HARH) for signatures and filing.

Changes to the MOC need to be approved by the advisor and the advisory committee before submitting them to Matt Douglass.

Course work areas. Students may choose from a variety of courses, including:

• Agricultural & Biological Systems Engineering
• Agricultural Economics
• Agronomy
  • Grassland Management Certificate
• Animal Science
• Biochemistry
• Entomology
• Food Science & Technology
  • Food Safety & Defense Certificate
• Horticulture
  • Advanced Horticulture Certificate
  • Floriculture & Nursery Production Management Certificate
  • Ornamentals, Landscape, & Turf Certificate
• Leadership Education
• Mechanized Systems Management
• Natural Resource Sciences
• Statistics
• Veterinary Science

Specializations

• Community Development
• Science for Educators
• Beef Cattle Production
• Environmental Studies

Note: Not all course work areas offer the depth of distance-delivered courses to build a program based entirely on distance delivered courses. Please consult the list of available online classes.

Guidelines for Degree Project –

1. Identify, in collaboration with the advisor, a degree project in an area of interest associated with the area of concentration. This occurs about when half of the required coursework has been completed and the Memorandum of Courses is filed.
2. The degree project serves as a capstone experience for students and provides an opportunity for the student to apply knowledge they have gained from their course work to create an original body of work. The project may involve field, laboratory and/or library research, dependent on the area of concentration and the student’s career.
   • Research responsibility requirement for research with animals or human subjects:
     • Student speaks with the advisor regarding the need for approvals to conduct research with animals or human subjects.
     • For more information: Refer to Institutional Review Board (IRB) and Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) guidelines from the Office of Research Responsibility.
3. After the student has conducted the necessary research for the degree project, the student must prepare a paper (including a literature review) describing the research project and findings. The paper should be between 15-20 pages in length.
4. The advisor reviews the degree project paper; once approved, the advisor signs the Final Examination Report (at least 4 weeks before the final oral exam) and submits the form to the Master’s Programs Coordinator in the Office of Graduate Studies. If the project paper is used in lieu of the comprehensive exam, the advisor must notify the Master’s Program Coordinator of the results.
5. The examining committee must review the paper in preparation for the presentation of the degree project’s findings.
6. The degree project findings must be presented to the student’s examining committee in a seminar open to the academic community (this is the final oral examination). The presentation should be no more than 20 minutes in length with an additional 10 minutes reserved for questions and answers. The presentation may be presented using slides or some form of multimedia, e.g., animations, video.
7. The chair of the committee, the advisor, will facilitate the evaluation of the degree project, which should involve time for the examining committee to review the paper and presentation, and assign a final grade.
8. Once approved, the examining committee members will sign the “Final Examination Report” form, assign a grade, and file the appropriate graduate forms with the Graduate Office.

Application for Degree

Students can apply via MyRed early in the semester they are graduating. Deadline for submission can be found on the Graduate Studies Website: http://www.registrar.unl.edu/student/commencement/application/. Failure to submit the application by the deadline will result in postponement of graduation.

Final Examination Report for the Master’s Degree

• Form can be found at http://www.unl.edu/gradstudies/current/Masters-FinalExam.pdf
• Must be filed at least four weeks prior to the final oral exam and no later than the deadline posted on Graduate Studies website. Complete the form and submit to the CASNR Office of Online Education (Melissa Sailors/Matt Douglass – 149A HARH) for signatures and filing with the Office of Graduate Studies.
  • Completed form due to: Master's Specialist in the Office of Graduate Studies. Receipt of this form generates the final graduation check.
  • Deadline notes: Must be filed at least four weeks (three weeks in summer) prior to the date of the final oral exam. This form must indicate the date and time of the examination and the names of the examining committee (Part 4).
  • Sections required: For all Options, Parts 1 through 4 of the form — including signatures in Part 3 but omitting signatures in Part 4
• Graduate Studies will return the signed form to the advisor before the final oral exam date. All members of the examining committee must sign the form after the examination (Part 4) and return it to Melissa Sailors – 103 Ag Hall, East Campus 0702

Graduation

Final check that all incompletes and grades have been submitted with the exception of the final oral exam the grade for the final oral exam will be submitted after the oral is completed.

Advisor Stipend

Once the student has graduated you will be eligible for a $400 stipend to use at your discretion. Contact Matt Douglass for details.

Resources

Any questions or concerns should be addressed to the CASNR Office of On-line Distance Education

Graduate Studies: http://www.unl.edu/gradstudies/current/degrees/masters, http://www.unl.edu/gradstudies/prospective/programs/AppliedScience
CASNR Applied Science: http://appliedscience.unl.edu/master-applied-science-degree