I. General Requirements

General University requirements are included in the Graduate School's "Guide to Success" found online at: http://oregonstate.edu/dept/grad_school/current/success.html.

Please note: Students intending to seek a Mater of Science degree in Wood Science should go to this page: Master of Science in Wood Science.

II. Requirements of the Department

A. Graduate Course Requirements

The Master of Forestry program requires 45 credits, and at least 21 credits must be selected from the field of forestry and forest products. A minimum of 11 credit hours of 500/600 level WSE courses are required, including blanket numbered (50x/60x) courses.

B. Seminar Participation

All full-time wood science Master of Forestry (MF) graduate students are expected to register for and attend WSE 507, Section 2, each term that it is offered unless excused by the Department Head. All wood science MF graduate students must give at least one Graduate Seminar presentation as a requirement for their degree.

C. MF Paper

The student must submit a report written in thesis format. The report must be approved by the student’s graduate advisory committee, which will review and critique the paper prior to the final oral examination. The report is not submitted to the Graduate School. The student shall provide one hard bound copy of the MF report to be a permanent reference in the Department.

D. Qualifying Examination (Effective for new students entering Summer 2009)

Master’s students must pass a qualifying exam that evaluates understanding of basic wood sciences per the SWST Basic Wood Sciences competencies (http://www.swst.org/accred_handbook.pdf), and to test ability to identify common wood products. Details of the test are found in the Student Information Section of the WSE Intranet.

The test will be offered one time each quarter. Students must pass the test prior to scheduling their final exam and may take the exam a maximum of three times. The Qualifying Exam Committee will grade the exam and judge whether the student has passed or failed the exam.

E. Final Examination

A final oral examination is required that includes a comprehensive examination covering the report and course work. The examining committee is the student’s graduate advisory committee. At the conclusion of the examination, the committee decides if the student has passed or failed. The final examination cannot be scheduled until an acceptable paper has been received by the committee.

III. Procedural Requirements

A. Graduate Student Advisory Committee

The committee is composed of the major professor, the departmental representative, and at least one more faculty member from the Department of Wood Science & Engineering or another department that is involved in the student’s program. The departmental representative is selected from the Wood Science & Engineering graduate faculty by the major professor and the student. This representative is a permanent member of the student’s advisory committee and has responsibility for ensuring that departmental requirements are met. The departmental representative is involved in planning the course program and the topic of the report, and assuring that during the examination, a fair balance of questions is maintained on all coursework in the student’s program. A Graduate Council Representative is not included in the committee.

B. Programs

A program of study must be filed with the Graduate School before completing 18 hours of graduate credit.

C. Performance Expectations

Students shall be evaluated annually by their major professor and/or committee on their progress toward completing the degree program. An evaluation will be filed with the departmental office. The major professor and/or committee may require more frequent evaluations and additional means of assessing performance and ability.