- Master's Degree
The Department offers the M.S. degree under Plan A, which requires a thesis,
and a non-thesis Plan B.
Master Degree with a thesis (Plan A).
The requirements for the Master's Degree (Plan A) are as follows:
- completion of a minimum of 45 hours of graduate credit at this university;
- Three courses from Group I:
- achievement of a cumulative point-hour ratio of at least 3.0 in all courses taken for graduate credit
(failure to maintain the 3.0 minimum at any time results in probation);
- presentation of an approved thesis;
- successful completion of a comprehensive oral examination; and
- a departmental seminar on the topic of the student's research. The seminar must be presented during
the quarter in which the student expects to graduate, and before the Final Examination. If possible,
it should be presented immediately before the Final Examination but this is not required.
All requirements for the M.S. shall normally be completed within 2-3 years of the date of first enrollment
as a regular graduate student in the Department of Entomology. Students who anticipate continuing beyond
4 years must petition the Graduate Committee.
A student expecting to finish the M.S. in a given quarter must file an "Admission to Candidacy" form with
the Graduate School not later than two weeks after the beginning of that quarter. The student must submit
to his/her advisor the completed draft of the thesis at least four weeks before commencement; the deadline
for submitting two approved copies of the thesis to the Graduate School is normally one week before
commencement (this date is announced each quarter by the Graduate School).
A final examination for M.S. candidates is conducted by the student's advisory committee with the advisor
acting as chairperson. It is the responsibility of the student to contact the committee members, check their
schedules, and set the time and place of the examination. This examination may be written, oral, or both, at
the option of the examining committee. (Most M.S. Plan A examinations in this department are entirely
oral.) This examination is concerned primarily with the student's research, but may be as broad in scope as
the committee wishes. The report of the committee must be unanimous to be considered satisfactory. If
there is a single dissenting vote, the case is referred to the Executive Committee of the Graduate School for
final action. It is the responsibility of the advisor to certify the results of the examination to the Graduate
School and to the Department Graduate Committee. The report going to the Department Graduate
Committee will include an assessment by the examining committee of the student's potential as a doctoral
candidate (see Form Ent-1).
Any special costs involved in the completion of a thesis or dissertation (typing, photographic work, and the
like) are normally paid by the student, but in some cases funds may be available to pay a part or all of these
costs. The advisor should be consulted on this matter.
Instructions concerning the typing and form of the thesis or dissertation are available from the Graduate
School, and the deadline for submission of these are set by the Graduate School.
Students wishing to continue for a Ph. D. program. The Graduate Studies Committee will evaluate requests
from students completing their M. S. degree requirements for entering a Ph. D. program. Evaluation will be
based on: 1) the student's M. S. program application materials, 2) Form Ent-1, 3) transcripts or advising
reports of coursework for the M. S. program, 4) a statement of purpose for the Ph. D. program. The student
may not continue for a Ph. D. without the approval of the Graduate Studies Committee. Students for whom
English is a second language must complete the more stringent English language requirements for their Ph.
D. program (see section XI).
- Master's degree without a thesis (Plan B)
The Department also offers a Master's degree without a thesis (Plan B) to students who
desire specialized graduate study in Entomology for their chosen profession. The Plan B
Master's degree is not considered to be adequate preparation for a Ph. D. program, rather it
is considered to be preparation for professional practice in Entomology.
The requirement for the Master's Degree (Plan B) are as follows:
- completion of a minimum of 45 hours of graduate credit of which 35 must be graduate credit hours in Entomology;
- Three courses from Group I:
Each student will also be required to take: Individual Studies in which a literature review is conducted, Ent.
693 and at least two additional Entomology courses in the area of the students professional interest at the
600 level or above; 2) achievement of a cumulative point-hour ratio of at least 3.0 in all courses taken for
graduate credit; 3) successful completion of a comprehensive Master's exam. The student must demonstrate
competency in the following areas: a) general entomology (including morphology, physiology, behavior
and ecology); b) classification (sight identification to family of adult arthropods and immatures of
economic importance; c) their area of professional interest.
Following is an example of a program tailored to a particular professional interest in integrated pest
management (IPM). Students working toward the Plan B M.S. in IPM are expected to take Entomology
660 (or equivalent) and Entomology 531 (or equivalent) in addition to the core requirements listed above.
The IPM M.S. student must demonstrate competency in the following areas: a) general entomology
(including morphology, physiology, behavior and ecology); b) classification (sight identification to family
of adult arthropods and immatures of economic importance; c) economic entomology (identification, life
history, control, sampling, data analysis); d) pesticides (classification, modes of action, application,
regulation, etc.)
An advisory committee, consisting of the advisor and specialists in the students area of professional
interest selected by the advisor and student together, will be convened for each student in the Plan B
Master's program. The committee will rigorously examine incoming students to assess their mastery of
material from introductory courses required for admission. To this end, the advisory committee, at its
option, may require a written diagnostic exam in addition to the Proficiency Conference. The results of this
meeting will be summarized by completing form Ent 6-MB. If a temporary advisor was assigned, the
permanent advisory committee will review the Ent 6-MB document and revise the plan of study if
necessary. A student wishing to change advisors or members of the advisory committee must petition the
Graduate Committee to do so.
A Master's examination is conducted by the advisory committee with the student's advisor acting as
chairperson. The exam must have a minimum 4-hour written portion and may include an oral portion. The
examination will be as broad in scope as the committee wishes but will generally cover those areas in
which the student has taken coursework. The report of the committee must be unanimous to be considered
satisfactory. Normally, the Plan B Master's degree is not considered adequate preparation for the Ph.D.
- Doctor of Philosophy Degree
The Department offers the Ph.D. degree. In addition to the requirements set forth in the Graduate School Handbook,
the Department requires:
- Teaching: for all students a minimum of one quarter of Teaching Associate experience,
or equivalent, in Entomology or Introductory Biology. Teaching experience gained during work on the M.S. degree
will count toward this requirement. The teaching requirement may be waived by the Department Graduate
Committee if the student has previous teaching experience at another college or university;
- Foreign Language Requirement: the advisory committee shall determine if specific training or testing in one or more foreign languages
is essential to the student's program of study;
- Required Courses - Three courses from Group I:
- Entomology 621 Insect Systematics and Diversity
- Entomology 623 Insect Morphology
- Entomology 631 Insect Physiology
- Entomology 641 Insect Ecology
- One course from Group II -
- Entomology 650 Biocontrol of Arthropod Pests
- Entomology 660 Advanced Economic Entomology
- Entomology 661 Medical Entomology
- Entomology 662 Principles of Insect Toxicology
- two Special Topics Seminars, at least one of which is Entomology 795
(the second can come from any relevant department or program at OSU as long as it
meets the guidelines and objectives for 795s set out by the Department)
- Seminar: A departmental seminar on the subject of the student's research, which must be presented
during the quarter in which the student expects to graduate and before the two-hour final oral
examination, normally immediately before the examination.
Work at OARDC Wooster and at the Franz Theodore Stone Laboratory is considered on-campus for purposes of
satisfying residence requirements.
The Candidacy Examination. The committee conducting this examination consists of the advisory committee, with
the advisor acting as chairperson, and a Graduate Faculty Representative who is selected by the Dean of the
Graduate School from another department. It is the responsibility of the student to contact the committee members,
check their schedules, and set the time and place of the examination. It is also the responsibility of the student to
notify the Graduate School (through the Department Graduate Committee and use of "Doctoral Notification of
General Examination", OSU Form 9813) of the examining committee members, and the time and place of the examination.
This examination is both written and oral. The written part usually begins about three weeks before the oral and
must be completed at least one week before the oral so that the Graduate Faculty Representative and other members
of the committee can review the student's performance. The scope of the examination is entirely at the discretion of
the examining committee, but generally includes all areas of entomology as well as ancillary disciplines. The result
of the Candidacy Examination is to be reported to the Graduate School on the appropriate form (Doctoral
Notification of Candidacy Examination, OSU Form 9813). For the student to successfully complete the Candidacy
Examination, the decision of the Candidacy Examination Committee must be unanimously affirmative.
The advisory committee approves (on the graduate school form, Doctoral Draft Approval/Notification of Final Oral
Examination, OSU Form 9814) both the preliminary draft and the final version of the dissertation. The preliminary
draft must be presented at the Office of the Graduate School at least six weeks before the end of the quarter in
which the degree is sought; deadlines for this are set each quarter by the Graduate School.
The Final Examination. Arrangements for this examination, conducted by the advisory committee with a Graduate
School Representative, are the responsibility of the student. The final oral examination should immediately follow a
public seminar on the dissertation research, although the only requirement is that the seminar be presented in the
same quarter and before the oral examination. This is an oral examination, and deals chiefly with the student's
defense of the dissertation. Students are responsible for ensuring that all necessary forms are filled out and
deadlines met.
The Department of Entomology's criterion for passing the final examination is identical to that of the Graduate
School; a student will pass when there is a unanimous decision or a single dissenting vote. The results of the
examination are reported to the Graduate School and the departmental Graduate Committee on the appropriate form,
"Doctoral Draft Approval/Notification of Final Oral Examination, OSU Form 9814."
Any member of the Graduate Faculty may attend the Final Oral Examination, by mutual consent of the candidate
and the chairperson of the Examining Committee. Other visitors may attend if approved in advance by the
Examination Committee and the candidate. Visitors may question the candidate. The chairperson is responsible for
limiting visitors' questioning, if necessary, so that the examining Committee may thoroughly evaluate the candidate's
performance. At the conclusion of questioning, visitors must be excused; they may not participate in either
discussion or voting on the Candidate's performance. "Visitors" may include professional persons who may have a
serious interest in, and expertise in the student's dissertation research. Such persons might be Ph.D. entomologists in
industry or governmental agencies (USDA, Ohio State University Extension, etc.), faculty members from other
institutions, or professional technicians (as at OARDC) who may not be faculty members but who have a long
association with a student's area of research.
The Graduate Committee in Entomology would certainly consider requests for visitors very carefully, with
professionalism being of paramount importance.
Upon completion of all degree requirements, the student must submit to the Graduate Committee Chairperson form
Ent-9, Checklist for Graduation, along with the application to graduate form from the graduate school.
