9/26/2013

Auburn Gets Nod for Online Environmental Science Master's Degree

AUBURN, Ala.—An online master’s degree program in soil, water and environmental science at Auburn University has gained final approval and will officially launch spring semester 2014, giving working professionals in fields related to natural resource management the opportunity to further their education and build their expertise via distance education.

The fully online program, which the Alabama Commission on Higher Education approved Sept. 13, is a multi-institutional and multidisciplinary program offered through the Agriculture Interactive Distance Education Alliance, or AG*IDEA, a consortium of universities offering distance education programs and courses in agricultural disciplines. In addition to Auburn, participating AG*IDEA institutions include the University of Georgia, North Carolina State University and Texas Tech University.

Through the consortium, students interested in the soil, water and environmental science master’s degree choose a home university where they apply and register for courses and from which they are awarded their degrees, but the required and elective courses they take are taught online by top faculty from all of the participating institutions.

The master’s program has a thesis and a non-thesis option; both require successful completion of 36 semester hours, including 15 credit hours in core courses. Students who complete the thesis option will receive a Master of Science degree; non-thesis students will be awarded a Master of Agriculture.

Prospective students can submit their applications to the Graduate School at Auburn now for spring semester, which begins Jan. 8, 2014. Tuition for the program is one set price, regardless of which home university a student chooses.

For more about the new degree program, including the application process, go to http://www.ag.auburn.edu/students/distanceeducation/IDEA/index.php or contact Megan Ross at mhr0001@auburn.edu or 334-844-3201. For more about AG*IDEA, go to http://www.agidea.org/.

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OFFICE OF AG COMMUNICATIONS & MARKETING
Auburn University College of Agriculture
Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station
3 COMER HALL, AUBURN UNIVERSITY
AUBURN, AL 36849
334-844-2783 (PHONE) 334-844-5892 (FAX)
AgComm@auburn.edu