Dec 08, 2024  
University of Alberta Calendar 2023-2024 
    
University of Alberta Calendar 2023-2024 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Master of Science with Specialization in Plant Biology (Biological Sciences)


Program Requirements


Students are required to complete research leading to a thesis, a minimum of 6 units in graded coursework, a seminar component, one term of graduate teaching, 8 hours of ethics activities, and 8 hours of professional development activities.

Thesis


  • Registration in 900-level THES. Students must present their thesis research to the Department in the form of a public seminar within two weeks prior to the date of the thesis defence. In addition, students are strongly  encouraged to present annual progress reports to their supervisory committee.

Coursework and Seminar Component


Individual programs will be developed by agreement between the student and the supervisor/supervisory committee.

  • Two 3-unit graded courses.
  • Students must register in BOT 600  in their first year. Continued participation in BOT 600  in subsequent years is recommended.
  • Project courses or individual study courses may not be included in the minimum requirements, but may be taken for credit in addition to the minimal graded requirement on the recommendation of the supervisory committee with approval of the Associate Chair (Graduate Studies).
  • Generally, coursework should be completed in the first year of the program.

Teaching


  • Hold a 0.5 (6 hour per week) graduate teaching assistantship for one semester.

Ethics


  • Complete 8 hours of approved ethics activities.
  • Ethics hours are approved by the Associate Chair (Graduate Studies).

Professional Development


  • Complete 8 hours of approved professional development (PD) activities.
  • PD hours are approved by the Associate Chair (Graduate Studies) but cannot include any activity for which the student has previously received credit, cannot be required for the student’s thesis research, cannot be required  training, and cannot reasonably be an expected part of the students graduate program.

Residence Requirement


Candidates for the master’s degree must complete a minimum of two (four-month) terms in full-time residence at the University of Alberta.

Length of Program


The time required to complete the MSc degree will vary according to the previous training of the applicant and the nature of the research undertaken; however, a minimum of two years is normally required.

The maximum time to complete the thesis-based MSc program as set by the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research is four years.