2021-22 Academic Catalog

Agricultural and Extension Education

This is an archived copy of the 2021-22 catalog. To access the most recent version of the catalog, please visit http://catalog.msstate.edu.

Department Head: Dr. Michael Newman
Graduate Coordinator: Dr. Kirk Swortzel

120 Lloyd-Ricks-Watson Building
Box 9745
Mississippi State, MS  39762
Telephone: 662-325-7837
E-mail: kirk.swortzel@msstate.edu

The Agricultural Education, Leadership, and Communication program in the School of Human Sciences offers graduate programs leading to the following degrees.

  1. Master of Science in Agricultural and Extension Education with a concentration in Teacher Licensure or Community and Extension Education
  2. Doctor of Philosophy in Agricultural Science with a concentration in Agricultural and Extension Education

Admission Criteria - Master of Science Degree

To obtain admission to the master's program, the applicant must meet all the general requirements of the Office of the Graduate School.  Specifically, an applicant must:

  • Meet all MSU Graduate School requirements for admission.
  • Complete the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), with scores competitive with other applicants (recommended).
  • Have an upper-division undergraduate grade point average of 2.75 (approximately last 60 undergraduate hours).
  • Provide the names and e-mail addresses of three individuals who can provide a letter of recommendation.  These letters of recommendation will attest to the applicant's academic performance and potential ability to successfully complete graduate degree requirements.
  • Write a statement of purpose (500-1,000 words) describing the applicant's purpose for undertaking graduate study, including professional plans and career goals.
  • International non-native speakers of English must submit TOEFL or IELTS scores indicative of ability to successfully complete graduate work (see International Admission requirements in this catalog).

A student applying to the Master of Science degree in Agricultural and Extension Education in the teacher certification concentration must have an undergraduate degree in an agriculturally related field and submit GRE scores.  The student must qualify for admission to teacher education by presenting an ACT score of 21 (SAT equivalent of 860) or by obtaining at least the following scores:

Pre-Professional Skills Test (PPST)

Subject Score
Reading 156
Writing 162
Mathematics 150

Admission Criteria - Doctor of Philosophy

To obtain admission to the master's program, the applicant must meet all the general requirements of the Office of the Graduate School.  Specifically, an applicant must:

  • Meet all MSU Graduate School requirements for admission.
  • Complete the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), with scores competitive with other applicants.
  • Have earned a bachelor's, master's, or doctoral degree from an accredited college or university.
  • Have at least a 3.00 grade point average on previous graduate coursework.  
  • Provide the names and e-mail addresses of three individuals who can provide a letter of recommendation.  These letters of recommendation will attest to the applicant's academic performance and potential ability to successfully complete graduate degree requirements.
  • Write a statement of purpose (500-1,000 words) describing the applicant's purpose for undertaking graduate study, including professional plans and career goals.
  • International non-native speakers of English must submit TOEFL or IELTS scores indicative of ability to successfully complete graduate work (see International Admission requirements in this catalog).

Provisional Admission

An applicant who has not fully met the GPA requirement stipulated by the University may be admitted on a provisional basis. The provisionally-admitted student is eligible for a change to regular status after receiving a 3.00 GPA on the first 9 hours of graduate courses at Mississippi State University (with no grade lower than a C).  The first 9 hours of graduate courses must be within the student's program of study.  Courses with an S grade, transfer credits, or credits earned while in Unclassified status cannot be used to satisfy this requirement.  If a 3.00 is not attained, the provisional student shall be dismissed from the graduate program.  Academic departments may set higher standards for students to fulfill provisional requirements; a student admitted with provisional status should contact the graduate coordinator for the program’s specific requirements.  While in the provisional status, a student is not eligible to hold a graduate assistantship.

Academic Performance

Unsatisfactory performance may be defined as the failure to maintain a "B" average in graduate courses attempted after admission to the program; a grade of "U," "D," or "F" in any course; more than two grades below a "B"; failure of the comprehensive examination or of the thesis/dissertation defense. Any one of these or a combination of these may constitute the basis for the termination of a student's graduate study in a degree program. To be eligible for the comprehensive examination, a graduate student must have a 3.00 GPA on all graduate courses taken after being admitted to the degree program.

Upon the recommendation of the major professor or the graduate coordinator, a student whose academic work is unsatisfactory at any period during a given semester or term may be forced to withdraw from a graduate program. A student forced to withdraw can appeal to department faculty and, if upheld by the faculty, the student can then submit a written appeal to the Director of the School of Human Sciences. If upheld there, the student may appeal the Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. 

// ex: printoption:/pdf/undergraduate.pdf|Undergraduate Catalog|A PDF of the entire Undergraduate catalog.|/undergraduate/