Programs of Study

Graduate students in Soil Science are drawn from a wide range of disciplines and participate in the department in a wide range of programs.  We offer graduate programs that lead to the Master of Soil Science, the Master of Science, and the PhD in Soil Science.  

Core Requirements

To ensure that all students who complete a graduate program in Soil Science are well-grounded in the broad discipline of Soil Science, they are required to demonstrate a background in major sub-disciplines in Soil Science as a departmental requirement for a graduate degree.

All Master’s students must demonstrate competence in four of the five sub-disciplines listed below, and Doctoral students must demonstrate competency in all five.

  • Soil Chemistry
  • Soil Fertility and Plant Nutrition
  • Soil Genesis and Classification
  • Soil Microbiology and Biochemistry
  • Soil Physics

The required competencies can be achieved by any combination of the following: (1) relevant course work from previous undergraduate and/or graduate degree programs; (2) prior professional experience in the major sub-discipline(s); and (3) graduate courses included in the student’s Plan of Work (POW) for their current degree program. Whenever the student’s Advisory Committee determines that competency for a required sub-discipline is met via previous course work or prior professional experience, the “Assessment of Prior Competency in Core Sub-disciplines” form should be submitted jointly with the student’s Plan of Graduate Work to the Director of Graduate Programs (DGP).

A GPA of at least 3.000 for the degree requirements as well as on overall graduate course work at NC State is required for graduation from all degree programs.

Teaching Requirements

An important component of graduate education is gaining teaching experience. Even if the student does not plan an academic career, the practice of teaching builds competence and confidence in communication and organization.  All MS and PhD students are required to teach.  Master of Soil Science students are not required to teach.

The teaching requirement are as follows:

  • Master of Science students are required to teach the equivalent of two sections of SSC 201 during their degree program.
  • PhD students are required to teach the equivalent of three sections of SSC 201 during their degree program.

We do not require students who are not on assistantship to teach but opportunities are available if one desires.

Master of Soil Science (the MR program)

The Master of Soil Science is a non-thesis program that is available as both a campus-based and an online, distance education program. Requirements for the degree and graduation are as follows:

  • Core requirements completed
  • Completion of a minimum of 36 credit hours
  • Four to six of the credits at the 500+ level will be SSC 675 – Project in Soil Science
  • At least one credit of SSC 601 – Seminar, and you may take up to two credits
  • No more than six credit hours of 400-level undergraduate courses may be used in the 36 hour requirement and those course must be from outside soil science
  • At least 18 credit hours must be letter grade courses (i.e., A, B, C, etc) at the 500 and 700 level earned while the student is in the graduate program – these must be NC State courses or inter-institutional courses
  • Up to 18 credits of graduate course work from other accredited universities may be used as transfer credits if approved by the student’s advisor, the Director of Graduate Programs, and the Graduate School.
  • Complete all requirements within six calendar years after the student first enrolls in a graduate course applicable to the program

Master of Science (MS)

The Master of Science in Soil Science is a research degree that requires the successful completion of a research problem and the submittal of a written thesis that documents the research. The requirements for the degree and graduation are:

  • Core requirements completed
  • Completion of a minimum of 30 semester credit hours
  • At least one credit, but not more than two, of SSC 601 – Seminar
  • Minimum of two credits and no more than six credits of SSC 693 or SSC 695 – Research
  • No more than six credits of 400-level undergraduate courses may be counted toward the 30 credit hour requirement and they may not come from the major field
  • At least 18 credit hours must be letter grade courses (i.e., A, B, C, etc) at the 500 and 700 level earned while the student is in the graduate program – these must be NC State courses or inter-institutional courses
  • Additional credit hours of seminar and research may be taken in addition to the required 30 credit hours to fulfill continuous registration requirements, but do not need to be listed on the POW
  • Successful completion of a research problem
  • A non-credit exit seminar is required
  • All requirements must be completed within six calendar years after the student first enrolls in a graduate course applicable to the program

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

The PhD degree symbolizes the ability of the student to undertake original research with minimal supervision and demonstrates the student’s ability to write a dissertation reporting the results of this research. Eventual publication in a scholarly, refereed journal is expected of research from the dissertation. The requirements for the degree and graduation are:

  • Core requirements completed
  • Completion of at least 72 semester credit hours beyond the bachelor’s degree
    • if the student has a Master’s degree from another another institution, a maximum of 18 hours of relevant graduate credit from that degree may be applied toward this minimum, upon the recommendation of the student’s Graduate Advisory Committee, and the minimum required will be 54 semester credit hours
    • If a student completes a master’s degree at NC State and continues for a doctoral degree without a break in time, up to 36 relevant credit hours taken while in master’s status may be used to meet minimum requirements for the doctoral degree. If there is a break in time between completing the master’s (at NC State) and beginning the doctorate (at NC State), the allowance is limited to 18 hours. Either allowance may include those 400-level courses taken as an approved part of the master’s degree.
    • A typical POW has 30 to 40 semester credit hours of graded course work at the 500-level and above, with about one-third of the credit hours coming from courses taught outside of the discipline of Soil Science
    • A minor is optional
  • At least one credit of SSC 801 – Seminar
  • Minimum of two credits of SSC 893 or SSC 895 – Research
  • Additional credit hours of research may be used to fulfill continuous registration requirements but do not need to be listed on the POW
  • Completion of preliminary written and oral examinations must be completed within six calendar years from the date of admission
  • Successful completion of an original research program
  • Success completion of the final oral examination
  • Completion of a non-credit exit seminar is required
  • The final oral examination and all other requirements must be completed within ten calendar years from the date of admission