Course Requirements All Graduate School requirements for a master's degree must fall within the six-year time limit beginning with the first registration for graduate courses listed on the program of study. Course requirements are the same as for the PhD degree (see Curriculum) and consist of at least 30 semester hours of graduate-level courses. These 30 hours must include at least 21 hours of graduate courses exclusive of 7000 (research) and 7300 (thesis writing). Twelve of these 21 hours must be courses that are restricted to graduate students. The program of study must include a minimum of 3 hours of 7300 (thesis writing). The remaining six hours may be 7000 (research), 7300 (thesis writing), or any other appropriate graduate course. Courses not allowed on a program of study are POLS 7005, GRSC 7770, GRSC 9270, and ELAN 7768/7769. As with PhD students, all MS students are required to give an annual student seminar starting in their second year within GENE 8880. Laboratory Rotations Due to the short time frame of the program, masters students are not required to do lab rotations. Major Professor The major professor for master's students must be a member of the Graduate Faculty of UGA. Master's Advisory Committee Every master's student in consultation with his/her major professor, who serves as chair of the committee, will select two additional advisory committee members by the end of the second semester of graduate school. Once committee members are selected, the web-based Advisory Committee form must be completed and submitted to the Graduate School. The advisory committee should include one individual outside of the student's immediate research area and at least two members who hold Genetics faculty or adjunct appointments. The major professor and at least one member of the advisory committee must be a member of the graduate faculty of UGA. The third member may be a member of the graduate faculty or a person with a terminal degree holding one of the following ranks at the University of Georgia: professor, associate professor, assistant professor, public service assistant, public service associate, senior public service associate, assistant research scientist, associate research scientist, or senior research scientist. The third member can also be a non-UGA faculty member with a terminal degree in his/her field of study. More details on advisory committee members are provided in the appendix. The functions of the advisory committee include evaluating the student's progress and approving the student’s plan of study, advising the student on required research skills, guiding the thesis research, administering the thesis defense and final examination, and evaluating and approving the student's master's thesis. The first advisory committee meeting should take place no later than the fall semester of the second year. Permission to delay the first committee meeting must be obtained from the graduate coordinator. After the first advisory committee meeting, the student should complete and submit the web-based Program of Study form to the Graduate School. Thesis Defense Master's students must submit their theses to their advisory committees at least two weeks in advance of their scheduled defense. The major professor should approve the thesis before it is submitted to the committee. Following a concise oral presentation of the thesis, the student should be prepared to defend the contents of the thesis before any faculty member of the Genetics Department. At the January 17, 2024 meeting of Graduate Council, the following policy was approved: Per the Graduate Bulletin, the master's thesis demonstrates independent judgment in developing a problem from primary sources, and a dissertation represents originality in research, independent thinking, scholarly ability, and technical mastery of a field of study. It is the responsibility of the advisory committee to review and evaluate the thesis or dissertation as a representation of a student's individual effort. As such, the use of generative AI in theses and dissertations is considered unauthorized assistance per the Academic Code of Honesty and is prohibited unless specifically authorized by members of the advisory committee for use within the approved scope. If approved by the advisory committee, the extent of generative AI usage shoudl be disclosed in a statement within the thesis or dissertation. Assisting in Courses The requirement is the same as for PhD students. All graduate students in the Department of Genetics must serve as teaching assistants for either GENE 3000 or GENE 3200 for at least one semester of their graduate tenure, regardless of the nature of their financial support. back to main page
