Ph.D. in Agronomy Requirements

• Major advisor or Co-major advisor must be in the department of Agronomy and must be a member of the graduate faculty certified to supervise Ph.D. candidates
• Committee must include at least four faculty with graduate faculty membership (including major/co-major advisor(s)). Consult with your major advisor regarding the composition of your committee.
• At least one of the committee members must be an “Outside Committee Member” (see definition in Supervisory Committee Roles). NOTE: an “External Committee Member” does not fill this requirement.

Basic requirements for the program of study are 90 hours of graduate credit including the following stipulations:

Basic requirements for the program of study are 90 hours of graduate credit including the following stipulations:

• No courses <500 from any department
• Maximum of 12 hours of courses at the 500 to 599 level
• No courses <600 from AGRON (i.e., courses at 500 to 599 must be outside Agronomy)
• Maximum of 6 hours of problems courses (AGRON 600, 670, 800)
• MUST include at least 30 hours of Ph.D. research (AGRON 999), may include more than 30.
• MUST include 3 hours of seminar (AGRON 810). Details on ways to fill this requirement are in the syllabi for AGRON 810A, AGRON 810B, and AGRON 810C.
• MUST include at least 15 hours of coursework ≥800 (not including research hours, AGRON 999).
• MUST be approved by your committee
• Note that most committees in Agronomy also have a basic requirement of STAT 703 and STAT 705 plus one more statistics course (9 hours of statistics).

• Use the Program of Study Form on the graduate school website to submit your program of study. This should be completed before the end of your second semester.
• Read and carefully follow the written instructions for each section of the form.
• Use the Supervisory Committee Role Descriptions as a guide when entering the names of your committee members.
• Be sure committee member names and e-mail addresses are correct
• Enter the following for Graduate Program Director:
  • Nathan Nelson
  • nonelson@ksu.edu
  • Agronomy
• Enter the following for the Program Advisor
  • Bob Berry
  • rwb7@ksu.edu
  • Agronomy

• The preliminary exam must be completed at least 7 months before the final defense
• You must complete the Request for Preliminary Examination Ballot Form on the graduate school website at least one month prior to your scheduled oral exam date. You must have an approved program of study before submitting this form.
• Use the Supervisory Committee Role Descriptions as a guide when entering the names and roles of your committee members.
• Be sure committee member names and e-mail addresses are correct
• Enter the following for the Program Advisor
  • Bob Berry
  • rwb7@ksu.edu
  • Agronomy

• You must complete the Approval to Schedule Final Examination Form on the graduate school website at least two weeks prior to your scheduled defense date. It can be completed far in advance, especially if you are positive about your defense date.
• Use the Supervisory Committee Role Descriptions as a guide when entering the names and roles of your committee members.
• Be sure committee member names and e-mail addresses are correct
• Enter the following for Graduate Program Director:
  • Nathan Nelson
  • nonelson@ksu.edu
  • Agronomy
• Enter the following for the Program Advisor
  • Bob Berry
  • rwb7@ksu.edu
  • Agronomy