12.1  COLLEGE OF HUMAN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
 
Admission Requirements

The master of science degree offered through the College of Human Environmental Sciences reflects a diverse range of missions and objectives. Enrollment in all specializations is limited and competitive. Admissions are supervised by committees of the graduate faculty in each of the specializations. General application and admission requirements are outlined in the Admission Criteria and Application sections of this catalog. Students with deficiencies in undergraduate preparation may be required to complete designated undergraduate requirements before admission to the program.
 
General Degree Requirements

The following is a brief summary of requirements; students should confer with their department heads for additional information. A program plan for completing course requirements for the master's degree must be approved by the student's major advisor and committee and filed in the office of the dean of the College of Human Environmental Sciences no later than the beginning of the second semester of graduate study. Program plans are based on undergraduate preparation, previous experiences, and expressed objectives for graduate study. Students pursuing the master of science in human environmental sciences can specialize in one of the following areas: clothing, textiles, and interior design; consumer sciences; human nutrition; human development and family studies; and general studies in human environmental sciences. Students may complete degree requirements following Plan I (thesis) or Plan II (nonthesis).

Plan I (thesis).  All Plan I students must earn a minimum of 24 semester hours of credit, including HES 509, one course in statistics, and 18 hours in courses in the area of specialization and in areas supporting the specialization. In addition, all Plan I students must complete at least 6 semester hours of thesis research and write a thesis. The format of the thesis may vary, depending on the advice and consent of the thesis committee. A final oral examination is required upon completion of the thesis, and a manuscript of publishable quality based on the thesis research is expected of each Plan I degree candidate.
 
Plan II (nonthesis).  Students pursuing the master of science in human environmental sciences degree under Plan II complete 30 hours of coursework, including HES 509, and a final evaluation as determined by departmental guidelines.

Admission to Candidacy

Admission to the Graduate School does not imply admission of a student to candidacy for a degree. Admission to candidacy is contingent upon the recommendation of the student's department and the approval of the graduate dean.

The application for Admission to Candidacy for the Master's Degree should be filed after 12 semester hours of graduate credit have been earned at The University of Alabama. It must be approved by the time of registration for the semester in which requirements for the degree are completed.

Information on Admission to Candidacy and all other degree requirements is in the the Degree Requirements section of this catalog.  

 
Repeating Courses in Selected Programs

Students majoring in Human Nutrition, Consumer Sciences, or Human Development and Family Studies are permitted to repeat a course in which a grade of C was earned. The option to repeat a course is not available to HES students in any program other than these three. Both grades earned will be recorded on the transcript and will be included in the computation of the grade point average. Only one attempt will count in the Plan of Study, and the second attempt will not reduce the minimum number of hours required for the degree.

(The Graduate Council approved the above policy as a waiver to the usual policy on not being able to repeat a course in which a C was earned.  The policy's effective date was September 25, 2007.
 

THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA GRADUATE CATALOG

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