Agriculture, MS

The road to finding the career you want can be challenging, but it is easier with the right education and training. Such is the case with the education and training you will receive with a master’s degree in either Animal Science or Plant Science from Delaware State University.  Students in these programs work closely with the faculty in their fields of study and interact with local specialists from federal and state agencies and organizations including NOAA, DNREC, USDA-ARS and the Delaware Department of Agriculture to gain vital knowledge and experience. 

The Department of Agriculture & Natural Resources offers the following master’s degree Agriculture programs.

Animal Science

The Master of Science (M.S.) in Animal Science Program in the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources prepares students for additional post-graduate work as well as career opportunities and cooperative ventures with federal and state agencies, private industry, and other interested organizations. An MS in Animal Science involves research designed to solve problems that lead to improvements in food animal productivity, profitability and sustainability.  

Admissions and Undergraduate Degree Requirements

In addition to the general graduate school requirements, potential candidates must have an undergraduate degree in agricultural sciences, respective of their area of concentration or the equivalent, with thirty (30) credits from the following lists of courses for specialization in Animal Science: Thirty (30) hours in Animal Production, Animal Reproduction, Anatomy and Physiology, Nutrition, Genetics, Selection, Forage Production, Immunity, Animal Diseases, Animal Behavior and similar courses are required for admission into the program.  

Graduate Degree Requirements

The Master of Science degree in Animal Science is designed to prepare students for advanced study in animal production/management, physiology, nutrition, and health.  The degree requires a supervised research program and a thesis. A total of thirty-one (31) credit hours are required for the degree, including 25 hours of coursework and six credit hours of research.

Facilities

The Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources (AGNR) is housed in the W.W. Baker Building in the agriculture complex at the rear of DSU’s campus.  AGNR holds classes and provides state-of-the-art research lab space in both the Baker and Agriculture Annex buildings, which each also contain faculty offices and student computer laboratories. The Claude E. Phillips Herbarium – located in the U.S. Washington Cooperative Extension Center building – the Aquaculture Research and Demonstration Center and a 6,000 square foot Research Greenhouse round out the agriculture complex. The Claude E. Phillips Herbarium contains the largest collection of preserved plant specimens at any historically black institution, dating back to 1799. Off-campus facilities include Hickory Hill Farm, a 75-acre beef, meat goat and forage research facility, located approximately seven (7) miles from campus in Cheswold, Delaware; and the Outreach and Research Center, a 192-acre farm in Smyrna, Delaware, which is used for high tunnel season extension and ethnic crop varietal trials, and research.

Faculty

The diverse faculty in the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources are dedicated to their respective fields of study. Specific areas of research interest of the agriculture faculty include, animal production, reproductive physiology, sustainable agricultural production, animal well-being, plant systematics, plant physiology, genomics tissue culture, forage production, forage utilization and minor crop production. Active research programs exist within these areas and offer graduate students many opportunities for active learning and discovery.

Required Courses

View the course curriculum

View the course descriptions

Plant Science

The Graduate Program in the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources prepares students for career opportunities and cooperative ventures with federal and state agencies, private industry, and nearby horticultural institutions. The program strives to generate research designed to solve problems encountered in the study, production and manipulation of plant species and in evaluating various aspects of the plant sciences including plant production, physiology, culture and taxonomy.

Admissions and Degree Requirements

In addition to the general Graduate School Requirements, potential candidates must have an undergraduate degree in plant sciences or the equivalent, with (30) credits from the following list of courses: General Botany, Horticultural Plant Materials, Statistics/Biometrics, Organic Chemistry, Biochemistry, Field Crops, Forage Crops, Ecology, Plant Systematics, Soils, Entomology, Weed Science, Genetics, Plant Physiology, Molecular Biology, Plant Pathology and Plant Propagation.
 

Degree Requirements

The Masters Degree in Plant Science is designed to prepare students for advanced study in plant culture, physiology, management and/or systematics. The degree requires a supervised research program and a thesis. A total of 31 credit hours are required for the degree, including 25 hours of course work and 6 credit hours of research.
 

Facilities

The Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources is housed in the W.W. Baker Building, which contains classrooms, offices, and laboratories that support the program. Other facilities include the Claude E. Phillips Herbarium and a 6,000 square foot Research Greenhouse. The Claude E. Phillips Herbarium, with ca. 145,000 specimens, contains the largest collection of preserved plant specimens at any historically black institution and is a premier center for studying plant diversity, human uses of plants, and the conservation of rare plants. A research greenhouse is located on the north side of the Baker building. Several fields and research plots are located on the campus grounds. Hickory Hill Farm, used for forage and animal research, is located approximately 7 miles away in Cheswold, Delaware.

Faculty

The faculty in the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources are dedicated to their fields of study and have diverse backgrounds. Their specific areas of research interest include plant systematics, plant physiology, tissue culture, forage production, forage utilization, and minor crop production. Active research programs exist within these areas and offer graduate students many opportunities for active learning and discovery.

Required Courses

View the course curriculum

View the course descriptions