Degree Requirements

Course List

Code	Title	Hours	Counts towards
Required Courses		18
SSC 511	Soil Physics	4
SSC 521	Soil Chemistry	3
SSC 532	Soil Microbiology	4
SSC 541	Soil Fertility	3
SSC 551	Soil Morphology, Genesis and Classification	3
SSC 801	Seminar 1	1
SSC 885	Doctoral Supervised Teaching 2	2
Elective Courses
"Elective Courses" will be determined in conjunction with the academic committee
Total Hours		72

¹

PhD students must take at least one credit of SSC 801 Seminar.

²

PhD students are required to serve as a TA in two sections of the appropriate assigned courses for a total of 2 credits.

Additional Requirements

Successful completion of the PhD in Soil Science requires completion of :

• At least 72 semester credit hours beyond the bachelor’s degree
  • If the student has an MS degree from another institution, a maximum of 18 hours of relevant graduate credit from that degree may be applied toward this minimum, upon the recommendation of the student’s Graduate Advisory Committee, and the minimum required will be 54 semester credit hours
  • If a student completes an MS degree at NC State and continues for a doctoral degree without a break in time, up to 36 relevant credit hours taken while in master’s status may be used to meet minimum requirements for the doctoral degree. If there is a break in time between completing the master’s (at NC State) and beginning the doctorate (at NC State), the allowance is limited to 18 hours. Either allowance may include those 400-level courses taken as an approved part of the MS degree​
• The preliminary written and oral examinations
• An original research program
• A doctoral dissertation
• The final oral examination
• A  non-credit exit seminar

Faculty