Mar 28, 2024  
2018-2019 Graduate Catalog 
    
2018-2019 Graduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Biosystems Engineering Technology Major, MS


Five-Year BS-MS Program – Biosystems Engineering Technology Major, MS

The department offers especially qualified students a Five-Year BS/MS program with a BS degree (major in environmental and soil sciences) and an MS degree (major in biosystems engineering technology). This option is particularly applicable to students in the Construction Science, Off-Road Vehicle Technology, and Agricultural Systems Technology ESS concentrations, but is also available to students in the other ESS concentrations (Soil Science, Environmental Science, and Conservation Agriculture and Environmental Sustainability). The primary component of the program is that qualified students may take up to 9 hours of approved graduate courses for their upper-division undergraduate electives and have them count toward both their BS and MS degrees at the University of Tennessee. This program is designed for students who intend to complete their MS degree at the University of Tennessee, as other universities may not accept these courses for graduate credit since they were used to satisfy requirements for the BS degree. Significant components of the program are as follows:

  • Students must have an overall GPA of 3.4 in required coursework. Conditional admission to the five-year program may be granted after completion of 65 hours of coursework meeting requirements of the BS degree with at least 15 credit hours of that in technical courses within their concentration. Full admission may be granted after the completion of 96 hours of required coursework with a minimum GPA of 3.4 and at least 24 hours of that in technical courses in their concentration.
  • Admission must be approved by the department and the Graduate School. The approval process begins with application to the BSE Undergraduate Program Coordinator. The admission decision will be based on the coursework, level of maturity, letters of recommendation, GRE scores as required by the department, and work experience.
  • Students must at least be conditionally admitted to the program prior to taking courses that receive credit for both the BS and MS degrees. All courses taken for graduate credit must be approved by the BSE Graduate Program Director. Students admitted to the program must also request permission from the Graduate School to take approved courses for graduate credit, and must be admitted to the Graduate School within the BSET program following the normal admission process.
  • Students will not be eligible for assistantships until they are enrolled as graduate-level students in the Graduate School.

 

Biosystems Engineering Technology Major, MS - Requirements

Thesis Option

Applicants accepted into the program must complete at least 30 graduate credit hours to earn a degree. Of these 30 credit hours, 20 must be in courses numbered 500 or above (6 credit hours of thesis plus 14 credit hours of other courses). ESS 503  must be taken three times during the course of the program, the last of which must be in the student’s final semester before graduation. Other specific requirements for the 30 credit hours are listed below.

  Credit Hours
ESS 503  (3 times -1 credit hour ), BSET 506  and other major subject course work1 12
2Course work in computational methods 6
Program electives 6
BSET 500 - Thesis   6
  Total 30

1Includes all BSET and BSE graduate courses.

2Mathematics, computer science, statistics, or any course containing appropriate computational components that may be approved by the department.

In addition to completing the 30 graduate credit hours, master’s students must pass a final oral examination covering the thesis, related areas, and graduate course work.

 

Non-Thesis Option

A non-thesis option in biosystems engineering technology is available to qualified students. Applicants accepted into the program must complete at least 33 graduate credit hours to earn a degree. Of these 33 credit hours, 22 must be in courses numbered above 500. ESS 503  must be taken three times during the course of the program, the last of which must be in the student’s final semester before graduation. BSET 504  may be substituted for 503 with prior approval of the department, and may be taken during any three semesters. Other specific requirements for the 33 credit hours are listed below.

  Credit Hours
ESS 503  (3 times -1 credit hour) or BSET 504  (maximum repeat 2), BSET 506 , and other major subject course work1 12
2Course work in computational methods 6
Program electives 6
Course work in special emphasis area 6
Capstone Experience (project and report, typically BSET 508  or 3 credit hours BSET 501 ) 3
   Total 33

1Includes all BSET and BSE graduate courses.

2 Mathematics, computer science, statistics, or any course containing appropriate computational components that may be approved by the department.

In addition to completing the 33 graduate credit hours, non-thesis students must pass a comprehensive written final examination covering the graduate program, including the capstone experience. At the discretion of the candidate’s committee, an oral examination may also be required.