Master of Science in Food and Animal Sciences
Nashville, USA
MSc
DURATION
2 years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
STUDY FORMAT
Key Summary
About: The MS in Food and Animal Sciences at Tennessee State University (TSU) has thesis and non‑thesis tracks. Thesis: 26 credit hours coursework + 4‑credit thesis, including 18 credit hours core AGSC 5060, 5110, 5120, 5440, 5610, 5620, and up to 12 credit hours electives. Non‑thesis: 35 credit hours, including 17 credit hours core AGSC 5060, 5110, 5350, 5440, 5610, 5620, and up to 18 credit hours electives. Advisor and department head must approve courses.
Career Outcomes: Graduates can work in food science, animal nutrition, production, quality assurance, research, extension, regulatory affairs, and consulting, with employers including industry, government and academia.
The Master of Science in Food and Animal Sciences degree is offered with two options, thesis or non-thesis. The thesis option requires a minimum of twenty-six (26) credit hours of course work and a thesis of four (4) credit hours. The candidate for the degree must complete eighteen (18) credit hours of core courses: AGSC 5060, AGSC 5110, AGSC 5120, AGSC 5440, AGSC 5610, AGSC 5620, and twelve (12) credit hours maximum of electives. The non-thesis option requires a minimum of thirty-five (35) credit hours of course work. The candidate for the degree must complete seventeen (17) credit hours of core courses: AGSC 5060, AGSC 5110, AGSC 5350, AGSC 5440, AGSC 5610, AGSC 5620; and eighteen (18) credit hours maximum of electives. These courses must be approved by the advisor and department head.
Thesis Option
Each student must pass Research Methods (AGSC 5110) and Statistics for Research (AGSC 5060), must have a thesis advising committee appointed, and must be advanced to candidacy before enrolling in Thesis Writing (AGSC 5120).
The candidate must submit a thesis on a topic approved by the major advisor. Upon completion of the thesis, the candidate must satisfactorily pass an oral examination conducted by the Thesis Examination Committee. Students choosing the thesis option will require 30 hours of course work which will include four (4) credit hours of thesis research.
Non-Thesis Option
This option is for students who would like to focus on training in specialized areas to meet the needs of employers in food and animal health-related industries, specialized fields such as food engineering, food safety, and quality, product development and sensor sciences, agricultural product processing, marketing organizations, teaching, agricultural extension services, and various state and federal government agencies. This program is not recommended for students who have any aspirations toward pursuing a Ph.D. degree.
Students choosing the non-thesis option will be required to take a minimum of 35 hours of course work which will include AGSC 5350 – Independent Study of Contemporary Issues and Problems. The graduate student with guidance from his or her major advisor will identify contemporary issues and problems in food and animal sciences, conduct a comprehensive literature review, write a report in a format of a review paper and make an oral presentation to his or her advisory committee.
