Minimum Degree Requirements
A candidate for the Master of Professional Studies in International Agriculture and Rural Development must complete the following items to be eligible to graduate:
- A minimum of 2 semesters of coursework, in residence, for a total of 30 credit hours. One unit may be earned by successfully completing a minimum of 12 credit hours in a single semester.
- Out of the 30 credits, 20 must be in CALS; 18 must be for a letter grade; 24 must be in graduate courses or seminars 4000 and higher.
- A petition to the MPS committee for exceptions to credit hour requirements may be submitted to the Director of Graduate Studies. English language courses will not normally be considered toward the credits required for the degree.
- A maximum of 6 credit hours earned outside the program at Cornell University or elsewhere may be counted toward requirements at the discretion of the Special Committee. These credits must be appropriate to the subject of the chosen field of study and completed not more than 5 years prior to admission.
- Satisfactory completion of a problem-solving project paper under the supervision of the Special Committee. Â This paper may be the execution of an action program, the development of materials or methodology suited to the student's situation, or development and execution of research appropriate to the profession.
- Hold a minimum grade point average of 2.5.
- Complete the degree within 4 years of admission.
If you have completed the degree requirements above and are ready to graduate, the following steps must be completed:
- Obtain project paper approval from your Special Committee, including completion of the Thesis Approval Form and Attestation Form.
- Fill out the Graduate School’s Graduation Manager feature (you will need to login with your NetID and password).
- Submit degree information for section 1 and choose "My degree does not require the submission of a thesis or dissertation to The Graduate School." On section 2, click “next” and then “submit” to complete the process.
- Verify that your paper’s minimum formatting requirements are met. Visit the Graduate School’s website for formatting requirements and templates.
- Submit final, formatted paper and a copy of the Attestation Form and Thesis Approval Form to the IARD Graduate Field Assistant for final field approval.
- When the approval process is complete, send a pdf of your project paper to libcopycenter@cornell.edu (CU Olin Library Copy Center, B41 Olin ) and provide your Student I.D. number to have it printed and bound. Inform them when you place the order that you will be providing a signed Approval of Thesis Form. The charge for printing and binding will be added to your Bursar bill. You are required to provide 2 bound copies of your project paper to Ann Gantner with the signature of your Committee Chair in the upper right hand corner of the Abstract page. One copy will be archived in Mann Library and the will be submitted to the International Programs/CALS office.
