School of Food and Agriculture

Program Highlights

1. The accelerated degree program allows students to complete two degrees in less time and thus pay lower undergraduate tuition rates for nine credits.
2. Opportunities to gain hands-on research and outreach experience.
3. Thesis and non-thesis options are available.
4. Graduate practicum/internship for students not undertaking a thesis project.

Accelerated Degree Program Timeline

Junior Year: Students will submit an internal application signifying their intention to pursue a 4+1 accelerated graduate program at the University of Maine. They may complete 1-2 of the required classes during the third year. The program will review the application and send the student a letter informing them of admission status and copying the Graduate School.

Senior Year: Student completes the nine credits of required graduate-level coursework (FSN 502. FSN 585, and FSN 587) and submits a formal graduate application to the Graduate School. The FSN  graduate faculty members and the Graduate School review each application. If the students meet the criteria, the Graduate School will send an admission letter in consultation with the graduate program coordinator. Acceptance by the Graduate School constitutes admission to the Graduate School and to the accelerated degree program only for students who had been previously admitted to an accelerated degree program and met all conditions of admission.

Graduate Studies (1-2 years post- B.S.): Each student completes graduate coursework within 15 -18 months of acceptance to Graduate School. Upon completing the program requirements, the three required classes taken as an undergraduate will be applied to the student’s graduate program.

Thesis or Non-Thesis?

Completing a thesis project and writing and defending the thesis are time-consuming activities. The program cannot offer thesis projects to all accepted students, so advance planning is essential. The advantages of pursuing the thesis option are practical experience directly applicable to future employment, eligibility for teaching and research assistantships to help offset the cost of graduate studies, and demonstrating your ability to carry out a complex project. Many Ph.D. programs expect applicants to have completed an M.S. thesis. However, if there are problems with the research project, graduation may be delayed by a semester or more. Research often takes more than twenty hours per week. Depending on the nature of the thesis project and the student’s commitment, more than 1.5 years post-baccalaureate may be necessary to meet the program requirements. The non-thesis option is ideal for students with limited time to be on campus or who prefer to have set schedules. Some federal Work-Study assistantships are open to non-thesis students who are American citizens, have permanent residency status, or hold an I-94 documentation of Refugee or Asylum-seeking status. A Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA must be filed to demonstrate financial need. The FAFSA application can be found at https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa

Program Requirements (Thesis Option)

• A minimum of 6 credit hours for the thesis (FSN 699) is required.
• The student must take a responsible conduct of research class. (see Graduate school guidelines: https://umaine.edu/graduate/students/progress/rcr/). FSN students generally take either the one-credit INT 601 or the 3-credit FSN 524, which also fulfills the statistics requirement.
• At least 3 credits of statistics at the 400- or 500- level.
• A minimum of 3 credits of FSN lecture classes at the 500- or 600- level.
• The schedule of FSN graduate classes can be found here:
• Two credits of seminar: FSN 571 Technical Presentations and FSN 671 Advanced Graduate Seminar. These classes are one credit each and are only offered on campus.
• No more than 6 credits of FSN 581 Problems in Food Science and Human Nutrition may be applied to the M.S.
• GPA of 3.0 or higher.
• A plan of study describing the thesis topic and the schedule of classes to be taken must be submitted to the Graduate School no later than the end of the first semester of graduate matriculation. An advisory committee consisting of the student’s advisor and two other professors with graduate faculty standing who have expertise related to the thesis must approve the Plan of Study. At least one committee member and the advisor should be a faculty in Food Science and Human Nutrition with expertise in food science and technology.
• Each student should make a proposal to the advisory committee describing the research to be done for the thesis.
• Students should work closely with their advisor to ensure timely completion of their research. Regularly-scheduled meetings are recommended. The advisor should approve the thesis before it is shared with the advisory committee members no later than two weeks before the thesis defense.
• A thesis defense should be promoted through the Graduate School and School of Food & Agriculture. The student makes a 45-60 minute presentation of the thesis to the public, followed by a closed question-and-answer session with the advisory committee.
• Students are encouraged, but not required, to present their research findings at campus and scientific society meetings with the approval of their advisors.
• Preparing a manuscript for publication in a peer-reviewed journal is highly recommended but not required for graduation.