Students may petition for an M.S. Bypass towards a Ph.D Degree.
Traditionally a Ph.D. candidate will have earned a Masters in Entomology or a closely related discipline. This helps ensure mastery of subject matter, experience in research and writing a peer-reviewed journal article, experience in communication in scientific settings, and integration of experiences and productivity into the training program. The Department of Entomology also recognizes that excellent Ph.D. programs can be accomplished without a Masters degree. The department requires acceptance of a petition for an M.S. bypass. The petition, along with supporting documentation and a letter of recommendation from the faculty advisor, is presented to the Department Head who will forward it to the Graduate Program Council (GPC) for their recommendation. The petition must be approved by two-thirds of the GPC and the Department Head. Decisions will be made within one month of receipt of documentation.
The decision to accept an M.S. bypass will consider the following:
Student Check-off List
First semester
_____ Meet with provisional advisor, select first semester courses
_____ Visit all department faculty members
_____ Select thesis advisor
_____ M.S. committee or provisional Ph.D. committee appointed
_____ Meet with committee to plan program
_____ Preregister for next semester
Second semester
_____ Become familiar with Graduate School and departmental requirements for
examinations, thesis submission, payment of thesis fee, and thesis seminar
_____ Annual progress summary submitted
_____ Preregister for next semester
Third semester
_____ Qualifying Examination (for Ph.D. students)
_____ Ph.D. committee appointed after passing Qualifying Examination
_____ Meet with Ph.D. committee to plan research and coursework
Other items
_____ Course requirements completed
_____ Comprehensive exam (Ph.D. candidates--at least three months before defense)
_____ Thesis seminar
_____ Thesis defense
_____ Thesis submitted
_____ Voucher specimen deposited
