Food Science

P.h.D Degree

General Requirements
For the Ph.D. degree in Food Science or in Human Nutrition, 24 research credits are required beyond the M.S. degree. There is no specific number of course credits that is required for the Ph.D. degree beyond that specified for the M.S. degree. There is however a core of graduate courses that is required for fulfillment of the Ph.D. degree in Human Nutrition. Additional course work will be specified by the guidance committee. Such courses will likely be those which will benefit the student's research as well as courses necessary to complete the M.S. core requirements (especially for students who have earned the M.S. degree in another department). A typical doctoral program is recommended to include 20 to 34 course credits to provide the desired breadth and depth of academic training of the student. Program requirements for a Ph.D. in Food Science or in Human Nutrition are found in Section 8 of this Handbook. A cumulative GPA of 3.0 must be maintained (exclusive of collateral and research credits).

One year of residence (defined as enrollment in courses offered and attended on campus) is required to meet the University residence requirement. One year of residence will be made up of two consecutive semesters involving the completion of at least 6 credits of graduate work per semester.

Academic Requirements
All Food Science Ph.D. students are required to present two seminars for credit (FSC 892). One of these seminars will be outside of the student's dissertation research area. The other seminar will be related to the student's dissertation research. Ph.D. candidates are also required to present a dissertation research proposal seminar and a final dissertation defense seminar (both without FSC 892 credit). These seminars are open.

Guidance Committee
The major professor, in consultation with the student, shall recommend to the Department Chairperson for approval a Guidance Committee composed of at least four regular MSU faculty members, three of whom shall be from this Department. The fourth member of the committee should be from another department. Regular MSU faculty is defined in the MSU faculty handbook. Adjunct faculty and others may participate on graduate committees as long as the number of adjunct faculty and others does not exceed the number of regular MSU faculty.

The completed Appointment of Guidance Committee form must be submitted to the Chairperson for approval at least two weeks prior to the first committee meeting.

When a student has completed 14 credits or no later than three semesters after admission to the Ph.D. program, the Guidance Committee will meet and review his or her competency in subject matter and outline a research program. At that time, the Report of the Guidance Committee - Doctoral form detailing the doctoral program should be signed by the committee and submitted to the Department Chairperson. Students are expected to submit an outline of a dissertation project to be approved by their Guidance Committee at the first committee meeting.

Upon approval of the dissertation project outline, students should complete a research proposal for presentation and discussion at the oral comprehensive exam as outlined in Section 5.1.3. Formats for proposals may vary but should include background, objectives and protocol for proposed studies. Additional meetings are to be held to consult on the student's research as deemed necessary by the Chairperson of the Guidance Committee and the student. Informal consultation between the student and individual members of the committee is encouraged.

Examinations

Comprehensive Examination

The doctoral comprehensive examination is a required component of the doctoral program at MSU.

The purposes of the examination are:

To evaluate the student's ability to integrate and to apply knowledge obtained in the core courses recommended for the Ph.D. program (Section 8) to general problems in Food Science or in Human Nutrition.
To evaluate the student's preparation and knowledge in his/her research emphasis area to ascertain the candidate's potential to communicate ideas, design experiments, conduct research and interpret data -- qualifications necessary for successful completion of a Ph.D. dissertation.

The FSHN comprehensive examination consists of two components: a written Food Science General Examination and an Oral Comprehensive Examination based upon a dissertation research proposal. The Food Science General Examination will be administered once per year in August. The written examination is under control of all FSHN Food Science Faculty and is administered by the Director of Graduate Studies. The Oral Comprehensive Examination must be taken within six months after completion of the written examination. The Oral Comprehensive Examination and all other aspects of the Ph.D. comprehensive examination are under the control of the Food Science student's Guidance Committee and will be in compliance with the regulations and guidelines of the MSU Graduate Program and the Department of FSHN.

Written General Subject Examination
Content: The written examination (usually closed book) will be a general subject examination. The general subject examination is designed to evaluate the doctoral candidate's general knowledge and ability to apply fundamental concepts based on the knowledge obtained in the discipline. Students will select three core areas in food science. This selection will be made at the student's first committee meeting. The core areas as outlined in Section 8 are: 1) Food Chemistry, 2) Food Microbiology/Safety, 3) Nutrition, or 4) Food Processing/Engineering. These three areas will be the basis for the common written general subject examination. The core area examinations will be identical (e.g. all students selecting Food Chemistry as a core area will be administered an identical exam). Faculty members will select one or more areas in which they have expertise. They then will have the responsibility of submitting review questions in each core area selected as well as participate in writing questions for the comprehensive exam in each core area.

The Director of Graduate Studies will select two faculty from each of the four core Food Science areas to prepare and submit general knowledge questions in their respective core areas. These two core area faculty will be selected on a rotating basis so that each core area faculty member will have equal input into the writing of exam questions over time. Additionally, the Director of Graduate Studies will, each year, select a faculty member from within the FSHN Food Science Faculty to arrange and preside at a meeting of all Food Science faculty where the general subject examination questions are selected and directions are prepared. This presiding faculty member will not have an advisee scheduled to take the examination. The four core area subject examinations will be submitted to the Director of Graduate Studies at least a week before the scheduled examination date. The Director of Graduate Studies will then administer the examination to the Food Science Ph.D. candidates.

To assist the students in studying for the written general examination a file containing sample questions in each of the core areas will be available from the Director of Graduate Studies. These questions are to be used as a study guide as examples of the types of questions the student should expect on the general examination. It is recommended that the student obtain these questions after their first committee meeting. Approximately 4-6 weeks before the scheduled general subject examination, the presiding faculty member will arrange at least one session with the doctoral student to discuss the general expectations of candidates in these examinations.

Grading, Pass/Fail Criteria and Retake Policies: The answers to written examination questions will be graded by the faculty member(s) who submitted the questions within 2 weeks. Grading will be numerical, adjusted for the weight assigned to each question. The final grades for the general examinations will be based on a 0.0-4.0 scale. The grade on each of the core examination components must be at least 3.0 to pass. Any failed examination component may be retaken within 6 months. Only one retake will be allowed. Failing any part of the exam twice will result in dismissal of the student from the Ph.D. program.

Copies of all examination questions will be filed by the Director of Graduate Studies in the Department Office. The students' answer to these examinations will be kept in departmental files as long as the student is in the program (MSU regulation, three years). Copies will be made available for independent review, if necessary.

Oral Comprehensive Examination
Within six months after completion of the written general subject examination the student will prepare and defend a written research proposal. The Director of Graduate Studies will appoint a member of the Guidance Committee (other than the student's major professor) to preside at the oral examination. The proposal should be in the current USDA format and include the following: Introduction, Hypothesis, Rationale, Description of Methods to be Used, and Expected Results. This proposal will be distributed to the student's Guidance Committee at least 14 days prior to the proposal defense. The student will present his/her dissertation research proposal in the form of an open seminar. Immediately following the presentation, the Ph.D. candidate will meet with the committee to defend the proposed research. The student will be evaluated on his/her ability to defend the proposed research, design experiments, interpret data, and communicate in related areas of food science research. The student should be prepared to discuss his/her proposed research and be able to relate the proposed studies to the overall context of Food Science. The student's major professor will attend the proposal defense. However, the major professor will not ask questions, but will be available for clarification of technical points should the need arise. The major professor will participate in the discussions following the defense and will vote.

Grading, Pass/Fail Criteria, Retake Policies: Following the dissertation research proposal defense faculty will vote by secret ballot. A passing grade will require a passing vote from at least three-fourths of the voting examiners and with not more than one dissenting vote from among MSU regular faculty members of the Guidance Committee. A failed dissertation research proposal defense may be retaken only once within the following 4 months. A second failure of the oral comprehensive examination will result in dismissal of the student from the Ph.D. program.

Final Examination

The final examination consists of an open oral presentation, followed by the defense of the dissertation in a closed examination. The Director of Graduate Studies will appoint a member of the Guidance Committee other than the student's major professor to preside at this closed examination. A draft of the dissertation must be provided to the members of the Guidance Committee at least 14 days prior to the scheduled final exam. The student's major professor will attend the final examination. However the major professor will not ask questions, but will be available for clarification of technical points should the need arise. The major professor will participate in the discussions following the final examination and will vote. When the Ph.D. final examination is passed, a form should be completed and signed by the major professor and members of the Guidance Committee and distributed.

All Ph.D. candidates are required to prepare rough drafts of manuscripts based on the dissertation and provide them to the major professor prior to scheduling the final examination.