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.

Students seeking a dual Master of Science degree should go to this page: Dual Master of Science Degree in Wood Science.

II. Requirements of the Department

A. Graduate Course Requirements

B. Seminar Participation

All full-time wood science Master of Science (MS) 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 MS graduate students must give at least one Graduate Seminar presentation as a requirement for their degree.

C. Thesis Requirements

The student must submit a satisfactory thesis on his/her research. The thesis must be approved by the student’s graduate advisory committee and must meet Graduate School requirements. The student shall provide one hard bound copy of the approved thesis to be a permanent reference in the Department, which is in addition to the University requirements.

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 presentation of the thesis and then a comprehensive examination covering the thesis and course work. The examining committee is the student’s graduate advisory committee. The thesis presentation for this examination is open to all University faculty, graduate students, undergraduate students, and the public. At the conclusion of the examination, the committee decides if the student has passed or failed. The time and place of the final examination must be announced to the Department of Wood Science & Engineering at least seven days in advance.

The major professor, in consultation with the candidate and committee, will select one of two options to be used for the final exam presentation. These options are: 1) an approximately 45-minute public presentation by the candidate on his or her thesis topic aimed at a lay audience and open to faculty, staff, students and guests; or 2) a shorter, focused presentation by the candidate to the examining committee only. Option 2 is most appropriate when the candidate has made a recent public presentation of his or her thesis work as part of the WSE 507-2 Seminar requirement.

III. Procedural Requirements

A. Graduate Student Advisory Committee

The committee is composed of the major and minor professors, the departmental representative, and a Graduate Council Representative. The departmental representative is selected from the Wood Science & Engineering faculty by the major professor and the student. This representative is a permanent member of the student’s faculty 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 thesis, and assuring that during the examination, a fair balance of questions is maintained on all coursework in the student’s program. A faculty member representing the minor department is also included as a permanent member of the advisory committee. The Graduate Council Representative is selected by the student from an approved list provided by the Graduate School.

B. Programs

A program of study must be filed with the Graduate School before completing 18 hours of graduate credit. The program is required to have a stated major in Wood Science and a minor.

C. Research Plan

All Wood Science graduate students shall prepare a written research study plan or proposal with the guidance and direction of their major professor and committee. The plan shall be presented to the committee for approval by the end of four terms in residence. The approved plan shall be filed in the departmental office.

D. Performance Expectations

Students shall be evaluated annually by their major professor and/or committee on their progress toward completing the degree program. A written copy will be filed in the departmental office. For students employed as GRAs, this evaluation will normally be done prior to reappointment. The major professor and/or committee may require more frequent evaluations and additional means of assessing performance and ability.

Students are expected to maintain a 3.0 grade point average, both overall and on program of study classes to be satisfactorily progressing toward degree completion.