Graduate Student Handbook: Master’s Degree Requirements

Degree Requirements for M.S. Students

See the “Record of Student Progress, Botany M.S. Degree” worksheet for a more concise timeline.

1)  Academic Advisory Committee Meeting

All entering graduate students meet with the departmental Academic Advisory Committee (AAC) at the beginning of the first semester, usually during orientation week. If a major professor has been selected, he or she may participate in the meeting. The AAC answers questions about the Botany graduate programs and advises the student on making up deficiencies, meeting general course requirements, and formulating a program that will lead to an advanced degree in the time allotted. If a major professor has not been selected, a member of the AAC serves as temporary advisor.

Prior to the AAC Meeting, the Graduate Program Coordinator provides each student with a

• Graduate Program in Botany policy book
• Record of Student Progress
• Academic Advisory Committee Meeting Worksheet
• Track Worksheet, multiple worksheets can be provided if a student has not selected a track
• Certification Meeting Worksheet

Students enter their prior coursework and grades on the Academic Advisory Committee Meeting Worksheet. If the student is ready to select a track, he/she enters relevant prior coursework and grades on a track worksheet. Students do not need to enter the same course on both worksheets. Students should be prepared to discuss the recommended prior coursework and the track requirements as they relate to their background and future program with the AAC.

A copy of the Record of Student Progress and complementary worksheets (i.e., Academic Advisory Committee Meeting Worksheet, a Track Worksheet, and Certification Meeting Worksheet) for each student is kept on file in the Graduate Program Coordinator’s office. As requirements are completed, each student is responsible for updating his/her information.

2)  Selection of Major Professor, Vice Major Professor, and M.S. Committee

Students select a major professor and a vice major professor as early as convenient within the first year of graduate studies. The major professor is primarily responsible for directing the student’s coursework in their selected track, supervising the student’s research and preparation of their thesis, and chairing the M.S. Committee during the Certification Meeting, annual meetings, and the Final Oral Examination. The major professor may specify appropriate requirements in addition to those listed here. The major professor also is responsible for monitoring satisfactory academic progress toward a degree at the end of each semester. The vice major professor assumes the major professor’s duties when the major professor is unavailable.

Students form a committee by the end of their first year of graduate study. In most cases, the committee is formed earlier. The M.S. Committee consists of at least 3 faculty members with a majority from Botany. Typically, M.S. committees are comprised of 3 Botany faculty or 2 Botany faculty and 1 non-Botany faculty member. The committee can change in composition, in consultation with the major professor, depending on the student’s needs (e.g., the student may find a substitute for a committee member who is not available for the final oral examination.)

3)  Selection of a Track in Botany

Students select a track as soon as possible but no later than the Certification Meeting. Depending on when the track is selected, students fill out the relevant track worksheet for the Academic Advisory Committee Meeting or Certification Meeting. The AAC or the M.S. Committee advises the student on available courses that could fill track requirements. Students can also use the track worksheet to record courses that meet the Botany Department’s minimum credit requirement and seminar requirement. A copy of the track worksheet is kept on file in the student’s electronic file (google docs, BOX for students entering after Fall 2015.) Each student is responsible for updating his/her information.

For more information, see the “Course Requirements” section of this document.

4)  Certification Meeting

Students meet with their M.S. Committee by the end of their first year of study to determine what courses in addition to the major requirements (e.g., courses for the student’s selected track, seminar courses, and minimum Botany credits) are required or recommended. These courses are listed on the Certification Meeting Worksheet that the student receives from the Graduate Program Coordinator. A minimum of 3 committee members must be present during the meeting. A copy Certification Meeting Worksheet is kept in the student’s electronic file. Each student is responsible for updating his/her information.

5)  Completion of Coursework

M.S. students who started their program prior to the Fall of 2014 must complete a minimum of 16 credits while in residence at UW. M.S. students who started or returned to their program in or after the Fall of 2014 must complete a minimum of 30 credits (at least 16 while in residence at UW). Credits include:

Courses required for their selected track,

• Six (6) credits within the Botany Department (can also fulfill track requirements),
• Two (2) seminar courses
• Courses assigned by the Academic Advisory Committee and/or the student’s MS Committee
• Research credits

Graduate School requirements (e.g., GPA requirements, course levels, etc.) are detailed in the “Course Requirements” section in this document.

Each student is responsible for updating his/her Record of Student Progress as course requirements are completed. A copy is kept on file in the student’s electronic file.

Timing:

Warrant requests should happen as soon as the student plans to complete their pre-lim exam at the beginning of that semester, or at the latest three weeks before the date of the exam.

6)  Research and Thesis Options

Students who complete a M.S. degree and plan to pursue a Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin – Madison have two options.

THESIS

This option requires a written thesis based on original research conducted for formal research credits (Botany 990-998). For guidelines on how to prepare a thesis, see the Graduate School’s “Guide to Preparing your Master’s Thesis.” Students provide copies of their thesis to all committee members at least 3 weeks prior to the final oral exam. The thesis is reviewed and approved by the student’s M.S. Committee. After corrections and revisions are completed, the student deposits his/her thesis in the Memorial Library.

RESEARCH REPORT

This option requires a written research report based on research conducted for formal research credits (Botany 990-998). Students provide copies of their research report to all committee members at least 3 weeks prior to the final oral exam. The research report is reviewed and approved by the student’s M.S. Committee. Research reports are not deposited in the Memorial Library.

Students may select the research report option for a number of reasons. For example, graduate students who are funded by foreign government scholarships are often required to complete a M.S. degree before they can go forward with a Ph.D. program. In other cases, research results may be potentially patentable, and therefore, cannot be published in a library thesis, which would invalidate the patent application.

FOR THESIS & RESEARCH REPORT:

• As stipulated by the Graduate School, PhD candidates must explicitly acknowledge within the dissertation contributions made by others to the work presented. This includes contributions to design or to execute the research, analyze the data, interpret the results, and writing the chapters. Botany MS theses and PhD dissertations will therefore now include a new brief section, immediately following the Table of Contents, that will:
  1. list the vice(co)—chair of the graduate committee, and
  2. clearly state the particular contributions made by each co—author(including the student) of all co— authored chapters or published papers included as part of the thesis/report.
• If there is a co—advisor/co—chair, this individual will be acknowledged on the contributions page above.

6)  Research and Thesis Options continued

Students who expect to end their graduate studies at the University of Wisconsin – Madison with a M.S. degree have three options:

THESIS

(same as the Thesis option described above)

RESEARCH REPORT

(same as the Research Report option described above)

WRITTEN LITERATURE REVIEW

Graduate students who select the written literature review option complete a minimum of twelve (12) credits of formal, graduate-level (300 or above) courses other than seminars or research credits while in residence at the UW. A minimum of six (6) of these credits is taken in the Botany Department. No formal graduate research credits are required for this option; however, students may have completed some research credits before they select this option. The written literature review is approved by the student’s major professor. Students do not deposit their literature reviews in the Memorial Library and do not need to take a final oral exam. Candidates who submit a written literature review normally will not be admitted to the Ph.D. program in the Botany Department at the University of Wisconsin – Madison.

Students may select the written literature review option if they decide to leave a Ph.D. program early but want a product from their work. A thesis proposal is a common document submitted for this degree because such documents are often primarily literature reviews. If the thesis proposal has been used in a successful preliminary exam, the student’s committee does not have to further approve the document.

Conservation & Restoration Ecology Non-thesis Track The Conservation & Restoration Ecology non-thesis track leads to an M.S Degree in Botany. It is based on coursework and skills training. It is designed to prepare Botany students for careers in environmental consulting, natural resource and environmental agencies, and nongovernmental organizations. The degree is intended for students who wish to complete their studies with a Master’s degree.

Along with coursework, each student completes a restoration field practicum and literature review or an internship. A restoration field practicum involves 4 skill modules and may include:

• Plant Identification,
• Surveying,
• Wetland Delineations,
• Monitoring and Assessment,
• Use of chainsaws, herbicides, and prescribed burn techniques,
• Environmental Planning,
• Environmental Regulations,
• Global Positioning System (GPS),
• Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and
• Facilitating meetings to plan restorations.

Self-funding: Students enrolled in this program are not guaranteed financial support but may compete for graduate assistantships and other funding.

Time to degree: Students, who enter with at least 20 credits in natural sciences that include plant ecology, plant physiology, evolution, genetics, plant identification, plant anatomy or morphology, could complete this curriculum in 1 calendar year. If enrolled part-time, students would normally finish in <= 3 years.

For more information, contact the Botany Graduate Program Coordinator.

7)  Final Oral Examination

M.S. candidates who submit a thesis or research report take a final oral examination administered by the student’s M.S. committee. A minimum of three committee members from the Botany Faculty, including the student’s major professor, administer the final oral exam. Students contact the Graduate Program Coordinator and submit a “Master’s Degree Warrant Request Form” at least 3 weeks prior to the scheduled final oral exam (deadlines from the graduate school may require the request earlier than three weeks). The Graduate School issues the warrant authorizing the department to administer the final exam.

The committee will base the final oral exam on the student’s thesis or research report and test the student’s ability to:

• analyze biological problems and formulate effective research approaches to such problems,
• integrate and apply knowledge from a variety of related fields to his/her research,
• respond articulately to questions regarding his/her research and related fields, and
• exhibit knowledge of recent advances and perspective on the history and philosophy of scientific investigation in his/her field.

Students will be evaluated by these criteria enumerated and shared with the student

see appendix for rubric

(As approved by Botany Faculty April 6, 2018)

Successful completion of the final examination is recorded on a warrant from the Graduate School, which is signed by the entire Committee. To receive a M.S. degree, students can receive no more than one dissenting vote from their committee (a missing signature is considered a dissenting vote.) The original warrant is submitted to the Graduate School and a copy of the warrant is kept on file with the Botany Department’s Graduate Program Coordinator.

For guidelines on completing a M.S. degree, refer to the Graduate School’s “Expecting Your Master’s Degree? Procedures to Help”

8)  Time Limitation

Normally a Master’s degree is completed within 2 ½ calendar years of residency. Upon petition, the Academic Advisory Committee may approve one or two additional semesters to complete the degree. If the degree is not completed within four years, ordinarily the student will be dropped from the graduate program.

9)  Before Student Departure

Before students depart the department before leaving the program or graduating they must:

1. return all borrowed materials & specimens.
2. dispose of samples no longer needed
3. submit manuscripts for publication developed during a student’s graduate work (or make plans with advisor with a timeline for submission.)

CHANGES IN GRADUATE DEGREE STATUS: M.S. to Ph.D.

Students who are on an M.S. Thesis track may petition the graduate committee to continue after receiving their M.S. to continue to the Ph.D. program or change from the M.S. thesis track to the Ph.D. track (without first receiving a M.S. degree). To do so, the student should petition the Botany Graduate Committee in writing with a letter of support from their advisor.

Additional Program Requirements/Opportunities

• Weekly bi-weekly meetings (in most labs)
• Attending Biology Colloquium and or other relevant campus colloquium as feasible
• Training in the Responsible Conduct of Research: https://irb.wisc.edu/
• Internship/fieldwork as expected in particular situations
• Publishing requirement or expectation: discuss the publishing requirement within your lab with your advisor
• Study Abroad: multiple study abroad opportunities you may want to take advantage of
• Individual Development Plan (IDP)

The content of the IDP remains private to the student, but programs may require that students have one and talk with their selected mentor(s) about it. Although the impetus to develop and maintain an IDP lies with the student, many programs check in with students about the progress of their IDPs annually. For more information, visit grad.wisc.edu/pd/idp.