Degree Requirements

Residency Requirements

• A minimum of two-thirds of the required non-research course work credits required for the degree must be taken through Michigan Tech.  PhD students must take at least 20 credits beyond the masters or 50 credits beyond the bachelors through Michigan Tech.
• Research credits used to satisfy degree requirements must be taken through Michigan Tech and must be supervised by a member of Michigan Tech's graduate faculty.

Courses which meet the "through Michigan Tech" requirement are defined as courses listed in the Michigan Tech course catalog and taught by Michigan Tech faculty.

Credit Requirements

Minimum requirements

Programs may have stricter requirements than listed here and may require more than the minimum numbers of credits listed here.

• Thirty credits beyond the bachelor’s degree are required for a master’s degree.
• Thirty credits beyond the master’s degree are required for a PhD.
• Maximum of 12 credits may be at the 3000 or 4000 level (with program approval).
• One-third of the non-research credits may be transfer credits as long as they were not applied toward another degree.
• Research credits are the only non-graded classes that may be counted toward a degree.

Unallowable credits

• Courses numbered below 3000
• Audited courses
• Continuous enrollment courses (ex: UN5951, UN5953)
• Non-research courses taken for a pass/fail courses
• Credits applied toward another degree (see exceptions below)

Special Exceptions

• Peace Corps Master’s International students may use 2 credits of language courses below the 3000 level.
• A portion of the non-research/non-practicum credits earned at Michigan Tech may be reused to earn an additional master's degree in accordance with Graduate School policy
• Students in an accelerated master’s program may apply up to 6 of the credits earned while an undergraduate toward both their bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accordance with University policy. Each program may set limits on the type and number of credits.

Academic Progress

Students must be in good standing to earn a graduate degree.

Time Limits

All work for the master’s degree must be completed within five calendar years of the first enrollment in the degree program or earliest course listed on the degree schedule, whichever is earliest. All work for the PhD must be completed within eight calendar years of the first enrollment in the degree program or earliest course listed on the degree schedule, whichever is earliest. Requests for extension must be made by the advisor to the Graduate School.

Responsible Conduct for Research Training

The University requires that students complete basic and advanced responsible conduct for research training. Basic training is required for all students.  Advanced training is required for all students who began their degree in spring 2013 OR who are funded by external sponsor. See our web page for details on how to complete the training.

Advisor

Faculty who advise graduate students must be members of the Michigan Tech graduate faculty. These individuals advise students on course selection and supervise the students’ research. All graduate students must have an advisor.

Each student’s advisor must hold a regular or adjunct appointment in the student's administrative home department or school. Students may be co-advised by two faculty members. At least one of the co-advisors must hold a regular or adjunct appointment in the student’s administrative home department or school.

• While one co-advisor may be from outside the student's administrative home department or school, it is recommended (but not required) that this co-advisor not also serve as the external member of the student's committee.
• Before recommending a sole advisor who holds an adjunct appointment in the student's administrative home department or school, the appropriate graduate program director should ensure that this person is sufficiently familiar with the department/school standards for research and with applicable university policies/procedures and that this person can maintain adequate contact with the student.

Students who enter the University may initially be advised by the graduate program director for their degree program.

A permanent advisor should be chosen prior to the end of the second academic-year semester in residence.

Master of Forestry (Plan B and Plan C)

The Master of Forestry (MFor) is a professional degree program intended for students who wish to redirect their career from some other discipline to forestry. The MFor degree has Plans B (report) and C (course work with exam) only, and is directed at students who want a course-work-only professional degree or who may be interested in working on a modest research project with a report. Students in this program will most likely lack a forestry background at the bachelors level, and would find the MFor degree more appropriate than any of the other options within the School. The structure of this program is significantly different from our master of science programs. In addition to a bachelor's degree, students applying for this program are expected to have had one semester of chemistry and one semester of elementary statistics. The curriculum for Plan C is listed below. Students completing Plan B may choose to take 2-6 research credits in lieu of the required course work listed below, upon consultation with their advisor. Curriculum:33 credits, depends on previous course work (at a minimum 30 credits)

• Fall Semester (11 credits)
• FW3020 Forest and Landscape Ecology (3 cr)
• FW3330 Soil Science (4 cr)
• FW5020 Identification & Biology of Forest Vegetation (2 cr)
• FW5376 Forest Environmental Resource Management (2 cr)
  
• Spring Semester (14 credits)
• FW3110 Natural Resource Policy (3 cr)
• FW3540 Remote Sensing/GIS (4 cr)
• FW5032 Integ Forest Inventory & Data Analysis (3 cr)
• FW5088 Advanced Forest Economics and Finance (3 cr)
• FW5800 Master's Graduate Seminar (1 cr)
  
• Fall Semester (8 credits)
• FW5700 Graduate Field Forestry (8 cr)

Advisory Committee Role

The advisory committee must approve the report (Plan B), and the necessary course work to successfully complete the project. The student's advisor is responsible for ensuring the report (Plan B) is within the capability of the student and can be completed within a reasonable period of time. The advisor and the advisory committee are responsible for ensuring the report (Plan B) and course work (Plans B and C) fall within the master's program selected by the student and the student's sdvisor. The role of the advisory committee for Plan C students is to help the student choose course work, keep track of the student's progress in his/her course work, and to test the student's knowledge on his/her course work at the student's oral defense.

General Procedures

A plan of work showing the courses to be taken, the topic of the report (Plan B), and the report format (Plan B) will be prepared by the student with his/her advisor. The student's advisory committee will review the design of study (Plan B) by the end of the second or third semester. For a Plan B master's, the study plan must be presented to the student's advisory committee no later than the end of the second semester in residence. A copy of the approved study plan will be given to all committee members once approved by the advisory committee. All graduate students are required to be enrolled each academic semester except summer following entry into the master's program until completion of all degree requirements. A full-time student must enroll in a minimum of 9 credit hours per semester except for the semester with 8 credits of Field Forestry. All master’s students will go through an oral defense. The oral defense for Plan B master's students will focus around the student's report and their course work. Early in the student's last semester, a draft of the report should be submitted to the student's advisor. Following review and revisions by the advisor, the report should be submitted to the student's advisory committee at least two weeks before the scheduled oral examination. Plan B students must give a scheduled oral presentation before their defense. The oral defense for Plan C students will focus on their course work.

Options

Each student must submit any necessary forms for their degree option to document their progress with the Graduate School. Individual option requirements are as follows.