Information about the Dual-Titles available to M.S. Forest Resources students.

What is a Dual-Title?

A graduate dual-title degree is a fully integrated program of study that allows students to define a problem that combines both the graduate major and dual-title fields.

Note: A dual-title graduate degree program cannot exist as a separate (stand-alone) graduate degree program at Penn State.

The student's diploma will carry the name of both the graduate major and the dual-title degree program.

Dual-Title Requirements

A dual-title graduate degree program must require a minimum of 6 credits for a dual-title master’s program.

Credits required for a dual-title master’s program may be counted towards the student’s graduate major degree requirements.

If a student completes both a dual-title master’s degree and a dual-title doctoral degree in the same dual-title, credits required for the dual-title master’s degree may be counted towards the dual-title doctoral degree requirements.

Students must apply and may be admitted to an existing dual-title graduate degree program only after being enrolled in an existing graduate program.

UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES should students be encouraged to take coursework related to or recruited for admission to a dual-title graduate degree program that has not yet been adopted by the student’s graduate major program by means of a program change proposal approved through the Graduate Council curricular review process.

Students may complete only one dual-title in addition to a graduate major program of study within a single degree program.

What are the Dual-Title options available for the Forest Resources program?

1) Dual-Title M.S. in Forest Resources and Transdisciplinary Research on Environment and Society (TREES)

Admission Requirements

Students must apply and be admitted to the graduate program in Forest Resources and The Graduate School before they can apply for admission to the dual-title degree program. After admission to their primary program, students must apply for admission to and meet the admissions requirements of the TREES dual-title program.  Doctoral students should enroll in a dual-title graduate degree program early in their training, and no later than the end of the fourth semester (not counting summer semesters) of entry into the graduate major program. 

TREES Admission Requirements

To pursue a dual-title intercollege degree under this program, the student must first apply and be admitted through one of the existing graduate programs that offers the dual-title degree in TREES:

  • Anthropology
  • Architecture
  • Energy and Mineral Engineering
  • Forest Resources
  • Geography
  • Landscape Architecture
  • Recreation, Park and Tourism Management
  • Rural Sociology

Once enrolled in their home degree program, the student can apply to the Admissions Committee of TREES. The TREES admissions committee reviews applications and recommends students for admission to the dual-title degree program to The Graduate School. TREES admission requirements include:

  1. A minimum baccalaureate Jr/Sr grade point average of 3.0 out of a 4.0 scale;
  2. A statement of professional goals, natural resource management philosophy, and reasons for applying to the program; and
  3. A letter of support from the student’s doctoral advisor acknowledging the TREES dual title program’s requirements and their individual and departmental support of the student’s participation in the program.

TREES Degree Requirements

To qualify for the TREES dual-title intercollege degree, students must satisfy the requirements of the major degree program in which they are enrolled, including the communication/foreign language requirements, if any.

In addition, they must satisfy the minimum requirements in the TREES dual-title intercollege program described here. Final course selection, including which courses will satisfy the both the graduate major program and dual-title program requirements, is determined by the students with approval by their dual-title program advisers and their major program advisers. All dual-title intercollege degree candidates should enroll in TREES 590 in their first semester.

A student in TREES must complete 15 credits of TREES course work beyond the bachelor's degree in addition to curricular requirements for the master's or doctoral degree in the student's primary program.  These courses are required for both the M.S./M.A. and Ph.D. degrees.

  • TREES 590 - Colloquium in Transdisciplinary Research on Environment and Society (1 credit)
  • TREES 574 - Integrated Perspectives in Transdisciplinary Research on Environment and Society (3 credits)
  • TREES 575 - Ethical Issues in Transdisciplinary Research on Environment and Society (6 credits)
    • Two courses from at least two pools that provide the most breadth for the student as determined by the program chair. A list of courses in each pool is maintained by the graduate program office.
  • TREES 596 - Individual Studies (at least 1 credit)
    • Graduate-level Internship (at least 1 credit at the 495/595/895 level); internship credit can reside in student’s home department or related program, but requires approval by the program chair.

All courses, including which courses will satisfy both the graduate major program and dual-title program requirements, must be approved by the student’s M.S./M.A. adviser(s) and/or committee. The thesis supervisor and chair of the student's committee shall be a member of the student's major program, and a member of the dual-title program. All members of the committee must hold Graduate Faculty status or secure the same before serving on the committee.

The culminating experience (e.g., thesis or scholarly paper or capstone course) must incorporate a TREES interest together with the primary field of study.

2) Dual-Title M.S. in Forest Resources and International Agriculture and Development (INTAD)

Admission Requirements

Students must apply and be admitted to the graduate program in FORR and The Graduate School before they can apply for admission to the dual-title degree program.  After admission to their primary program, students must apply for admission to and meet the admissions requirements of the INTAD dual-title program. 

INTAD Admissions Requirements

INTAD is a dual-title degree program, meaning that students must first apply and be accepted into one of the participating primary programs.  A list of participating program is as follows:

  • Agricultural & Biological Engineering
  • Agricultural & Environmental Plant Science
  • Biorenewable Systems
  • Civil Engineering
  • Ecology
  • Education, Development, and Community Education
  • Entomology
  • Food Science
  • Forest Resources
  • Plant Pathology
  • Rural Sociology
  • Soil Science

Students must first enroll in one of the primary participating programs listed above. Prospective students are encouraged to express their interest in INTAD when contacting the primary program. 

Students may apply to the INTAD dual-title after they are enrolled and accepted in the primary degree program. INTAD admission requirements include:

  1. Application Form;
  2. Statement of Purpose describing the student's interest in international agriculture and development, what they hope to accomplish by earning a dual-title degree, and how the dual-degree will help fulfill their professional goals;
  3. Letter of support/reference from the student's INTAD advisor or another member of the INTAD faculty familiar with the dual-title program.

INTAD Degree Requirements

To qualify for the INTAD dual-title degree, students must satisfy the requirements of the primary graduate program in which they are enrolled. In addition, they must satisfy the minimum requirements of the INTAD dual-title degree specified here.

Graduates of the dual-title INTAD master's degree program who wish to pursue an INTAD doctoral degree must re-apply to the INTAD program for admission. INTAD master's degree credits may be carried over to the doctoral program. Six additional INTAD credits will be required. INTAD master's degree graduates who pursue an INTAD Ph.D. are required to take INTAD 820 a second time.

Students are required to complete a minimum of 13 INTAD course credits (400, 500, or 800) for a dual-title master's degree. Ten credits will form the core curriculum:

  • INTAD 820 - International Agricultural Development Seminar (3 credits)
  • RSOC 517 - International Rural Social Change (3 credits)
  • INTAD 577 - Global Agricultural Systems (3 credits)
  • INTAD 590 - Colloquium (1 credit)
  • Electives - The remaining three credits must be taken as an internship or applied course/independent study with international development content. (3 credits)

Final course selection is determined by the students, their major program advisers and their INTAD advisers. These advisers will discuss with the student a program of study that meets the student's career goals and that is in accord with the policies of the Graduate Council and the INTAD dual-title program. Some courses may satisfy both the major graduate program requirements and those of the INTAD dual-title program.

Students pursuing a M.S. degree that requires a master's thesis, in addition to the 13 credits specified above, must write the thesis on a topic that reflects both their primary graduate program and the dual-title in INTAD. At least 6 thesis research credits (600 or 610) must be taken in the student’s primary graduate program.

All members of the student's committee for the dual-title master's degree will be members of the Graduate Faculty. The committee must include at least one Graduate Faculty member from INTAD.

3) Dual-Title M.S. in Forest Resources and Operations Research (OR)

Admissions Requirements

Students must apply and be admitted to the graduate program in Operations Research and The Graduate School before they can apply for admission to the dual-title degree program. After admission to their primary program, students must apply for admission to and meet the admissions requirements of the Operations Research dual-title program.

OR Admissions Requirements

To pursue a dual-title degree in Operations Research at Penn State the student must apply for admission to the Graduate School and select one of the following graduate major programs:

  • Agricultural & Biological Engineering
  • Bio Renewable Systems 
  • Business
  • Chemical Engineering
  • Civil Engineering
  • Computer Science & Engineering
  • Economics
  • Electrical Engineering
  • Energy and Mineral Engineering
  • Energy, Environmental, and Food Economics
  • Entomology
  • Forest Resources
  • Geosciences
  • Geography
  • Hospitality Management
  • Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering
  • Mathematics
  • Statistics
  • Workforce Education and Development

For the M.S., M.A., M.Eng. dual-title degree in Operations Research, in addition to those prescribed by the graduate major program, prerequisites for acceptance to the program without deficiency include the following or their equivalent:

  • MATH 140 - Calculus With Analytic Geometry I (4 credits)
  • MATH 141 - Calculus with Analytic Geometry II (4 credits)
  • MATH 220 - Matrices (2-3 credits)
  • CMPSC 101 - Introduction to Programming (3 credits)
  • 3 credits of probability and statistics

Master’s students must apply and be admitted to the OR dual-title program at least one semester prior to their graduation.

OR Degree Requirements

To qualify for a dual-title degree, students must satisfy the requirements of the graduate major programs in which they are enrolled, in addition to the minimum requirements, or their equivalent, in the Operations Research program. Students must enroll in OR 590 for at least 1 credit in each year enrolled in the program and in residence.

For the M.S. or M.A. dual-title degree in Operations Research, the minimum requirements are:

  • 6 credits in stochastic/statistical methods, including a minimum of 3 credits in each of the areas of statistical methods and stochastic processes;
  • 6 credits in optimization, including a minimum of 3 credits in linear programming;
  • 3 credits in computational methods; and
  • 3 credits in applications/specialization. (Application courses are those that involve problem solving through the use of decision methods.)

A minimum of 9 credits must be in the 500 series. Particular courses may satisfy both the graduate major program requirements and those in the Operations Research program. A list of courses that will satisfy these requirements is maintained by the graduate program office.

A thesis may be required by the graduate major program, the supervisor of which must be a member of the Graduate Faculty recommended by the chair of the program granting the degree and approved by the Operations Research committee as qualified to supervise thesis work in operations research. If the graduate major program has an approved non-thesis track for the M.A./M.S. degree, a scholarly paper may be written in lieu of a thesis. All M.Eng. students and M.A./M.S. students who choose to submit a scholarly paper instead of a thesis must take an additional 6 credits in the Operations Research program. It is the prerogative of the graduate major program to assign these credits to one or more of the following categories: stochastic/statistical methods, optimization, computational methods, or applications.