Graduate Program

Prospective Graduate Students

The graduate programs within the Department of Environmental Sciences include: (a) M.S. degree in Environmental Science with concentrations in: i) Geospatial Sciences, ii) Natural Resources, and iii) Plant Sciences; (b) Ph.D. degree in Agricultural Sciences; and (c) graduate certificate (non-degree program) in Applied Geospatial Information System (GIS).

Before applying to our graduate program, please visit the departmental website at: http://www.tnstate.edu/environmentalsciences, learn more about our research projects at: http://www.tnstate.edu/agriculture/research_projects.aspx, and then familiarize yourself with the research interests of our graduate faculty (faculty members with their research focus areas). We encourage you to identify faculty member(s) whose research aligns with your interest, academic background, and past work experience, and then you may contact them directly. For M.S. degree applicants, we recommend that you contact potential advisors (you may list more than one potential advisor if you like) before submitting an application; however, for Ph.D. applicants, it is required to identify an advisor before submitting your application. You may indicate the name of potential advisor(s) in your personal statement when submitting the application.

The candidates for the M.S. degree in Environmental Science must have a) a Bachelor's degree from an accredited four-year degree granting college or university with a major in one of the Agricultural Sciences, Environmental Science, Forestry, Geography, Natural Resources, or other related sciences, b) a minimum quality grade point average (GPA) of 2.50 on a 4.0 point scale, and c) a minimum score of 290 on the GRE (verbal and quantitative, or verbal, quantitative and subject).

The candidates for the Ph.D. degree in Agricultural Sciences must have the equivalent of a research-based (thesis-based) Master’s degree with a major in Agricultural Sciences, Environmental Science, Forestry, Geography, Natural Resources, or other related sciences, a minimum quality grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 point scale, and a minimum GRE score of 290 (verbal & quantitative, or verbal, quantitative & subject).

To apply online, please visit the TSU “Apply Now” webpage: www.tnstate.edu/applynow. It will prompt a website, where you are required to fill in your personal details. Please select Environmental Sciences using the checkbox option in your area of interest. Then select a program including concentration that you are interested in applying to (if you are not sure about the concentration, you may select Environmental Sciences (M.S.) and update your choice later in consultation with your advisor). If you want to learn more about TSU, the Department of Environmental Sciences and/or College of Agriculture, Nashville, and other related information, please browse some of the tabs located at the top of the website. Once you are ready, please click the Apply Now tab; this will lead to an application portal where you are about to begin your journey to the graduate school at TSU. For first-time users, please create a unique username and password. Please note that you will be using these login credentials (login ID and password) to complete the application (re-login) or check your status after the application is successfully submitted.

There are four sections where you are required to upload or enter Personal Information, Academic History, Supporting Information, and Program Materials. Below is the brief description.

  1. a) Personal Information – please provide all necessary personal information (please fill out all required fields).

  2. b) Academic History – please provide information on previously attended colleges or universities, standardized tests, transcripts and GPA, etc. All transcripts (including your B.S. degree and M.S. degree for prospective Ph.D. students) must be submitted to GradCAS directly by the agency (please download the “transcript request form” and submit it to your previously attended colleges or universities).

  3. c) Supporting Information – please upload any supporting documents such as CV/Resume, published papers, project reports, writing samples, peer-reviewed manuscripts, recognitions/awards, or any other documents or activities that show your scholarly activities or accomplishments in a single pdf file.

  4. d) Program Materials – please click the Program Materials and then College of Agriculture. Once the Program Materials tab opens, check the home page (please note what the application requirements are for the Agricultural Sciences program), then click the next tab “Documents”. You may upload your personal statement of purpose here. In your personal statement of purpose (SOP), please briefly describe how your academic background and prior work/research experiences have shaped your research interests and motivation to earn a M.S. or Ph.D. degree in Agricultural Sciences. In addition to your career goals, the personal SOP should include the research questions and/or issues that interest you the most for your research work here at the College of Agriculture at Tennessee State University. You may upload your copy of standardized test scores and unofficial copy of transcripts for review purpose only. Please note that standardized test scores and official transcripts must be sent by the agency directly to GradCAS.

Please click the next tab “Reference Letters”. Here you need to submit the contact detail of three professional or academic referees who can speak about you, your professional growth, accomplishments and future career goals. Once you enter his/her name and email address (official email address, no personal email please), and click “Save This Evaluation Request,” an automated email goes to the referee with a link to fill out and submit a reference letter on your behalf. You may add a personalized note to the referee. Please note that all letters must be on academic or company letterhead with signatures, and academic credentials or official title in the signature line. Also make sure that you use their official email addresses. Applications with letters that do not meet these requirements are unacceptable and will not be reviewed.

Applicants with foreign university degree(s) need to evaluate their official transcripts or authorized school records with a listing of courses and grades by a foreign educational credential agency (such as World Education Service https://www.wes.org/) at applicant’s own expense. Evaluation reports of transcripts (course-by-course evaluation) must be sent directly to GradCAS by the agency (do not mail to the Graduate School or College of Agriculture). There is an option for requesting it directly from the agency to GradCAS (please download “evaluation request form” if you have not started the evaluation process; if you have already completed the evaluation, please click “order WES evaluation” on Colleges Attended tab within the Academic History section). Non-English speaking applicants must submit TOEFL or IELTS test score as part of their application.

All official or translated transcript(s) and test scores must be sent directly to GradCAS. Please visit: https://help.liaisonedu.com/GradCAS_Applicant_Help_Center/Sending_Your_Official_Transcripts_and_Test_Scores_to_GradCAS for instructions on how to order and send them directly to GradCAS. Once you complete uploading all documents and fill out necessary information, click “Submit Application” tab.

Application deadline: All applications that are received and completed by the priority deadlines (April 1 for Fall and October 1 for Spring Semester) will receive full consideration for the Graduate Research Assistantship (GRA). We will still review applications received before the regular deadline (July 1 for Fall and December 1 for Spring Semester); however, GRA will be awarded on a space-available basis. We encourage submitting a complete Application Package as early as possible. Note, priority deadline is the final deadline for international students currently residing outside of the United States, whereas international applicants living in the United States will have the same deadlines as other applicants.

The departmental graduate admission committee is looking forward to reviewing your application. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Dr. Bill Sutton (wsutton@tnstate.edu), Graduate Coordinator. Thank you.