All students must conduct original research, under the supervision of the major professor and the advisory committee, on a selected problem related to Horticulture. A hypothesis must be proposed and tested. A review of the literature in the selected area of study should precede the experimental work. The data collected must be analyzed, interpreted, and presented in the form of a bound thesis (M.S.) or dissertation (Ph.D.). (Candidates for the M.S., plan B. may submit a research report in lieu of a thesis.)

The 7 Essential Elements of a Doctoral Research Proposal
Adopted 3 Sept 2004

A baseline expectation for all Doctoral students associated with the MSU Horticulture Department is that they develop a doctoral research proposal that addresses each of these elements (derived from federal granting agencies, i.e., NRI-USDA, NSF, etc.):

1) one or more testable hypotheses
2) clear research objectives
3) rationale for the proposed research, including a scientific literature review and, if available, preliminary data
4) feasible proposed research methodology
5) expected outcomes
6) potential impact
7) pertinent literature citations

Doctoral students in the Horticulture graduate program are required to develop a written research proposal that is reviewed and approved by their graduate advisory committee. The graduate advisory committee should assure that these 7 elements are addressed clearly and adequately in the submitted research proposal. Following advisory committee approval of the research proposal, it must be submitted to the Graduate Programs Committee for inclusion in the student’s file records, as which time it also will be reviewed by the GPC solely to confirm that the essential elements have been addressed (i.e., not for detailed content). If there is an omission or inadequacy in the essential elements, the GPC will return the proposal to the student and major professor and identify the element that fails to adhere to departmental expectations. The student will be required to correct the proposal within a specified time in order to continue making adequate progress towards the completion of their graduate program.

Doctoral Dissertation Research Proposal Requirement - Form