The degree of Master of Science (M.S.) is offered by BSMRAU to a candidate subject to the fulfillment of the academic requirements laid down as the rules and regulations mentioned hereunder and other relevant rules and regulations promulgated by the competent authorities of the University.

The M. S. degree shall be conferred on candidates in Agricultural Economics, Agricultural Extension and Rural Development, Agroforestry and Environment, Agronomy, Crop Botany, Entomology, Genetics and Plant Breeding, Horticulture, Plant Pathology, and Soil Science. Other disciplines may also confer M.S. degree on the recommendation of the respective Board of Studies and Academic Council with approval of the Syndicate of the University.

Candidates for admission to M.S. degree program must have a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural disciplines from a recognized University or Institution or an equivalent degree from a recognized University or Institution, relevant to the desired subject of specialization. The Equivalence Committee shall assess the eligibility of the candidates with degree other than Bachelor of Science in Agriculture.

An in-service candidate must submit an evidence of leave/deputation obtained from his/her employer along with the application for admission. If he/she is selected for admission must submit necessary clearance and leave of absence or deputation initially for 12 months from his/her employer within his/her first term of admission.

Note 4 The application of a candidate who left the university due to 'F' grade or cumulative GPA below 3.00 will not be considered for admission.

Applications are invited from interested students by announcement in newspapers before beginning of each term. Candidates are required to apply in a prescribed form, which is to be obtained from the academic section of BSMRAU for a fee (to be deposited to the Sonali Bank Branch in the Campus) fixed by the University, during the specified date.

A candidate for admission to BSMRAU may give choice for only three departments in order of preference, and his/her selection shall be made on the basis of his/her past performance in relation to the requirements of the respective departments. Students graduated from recognized foreign universities may also be considered for admission according to the same guideline.

The duration of M. S. degree program is usually 5 (five) terms.

Courses will usually been taken during first three terms, the remaining term(s) normally devoted to thesis research, analysis and writing.

However, the degree must be completed within the 9 (nine) terms from the commencement of the first term of admission. In special circumstances a candidate may be allowed another consecutive 3 (three) terms at end of the 9 terms without any interval, subject to the approval of readmission by the Academic Council.

For each student there will be a Major Professor to guide the student in his/her program of study. The student, with guidance from his/her major department, will choose a Major Professor for the student's program, before beginning of the second term of admission. Failing to do so the student will not be allowed to enroll in his second term of admission.

The Major Professor, with overall program responsibility, will be a BSMRAU faculty member. The Major Professor has the primary responsibility for advising and guiding the student in all aspects that lead to a successful graduate program. Such responsibilities include selection of courses, monitoring performance in courses, research and thesis guidance, and counseling to enable the student to derive maximum benefit from all academic activities of the University.

For each student there will be a Research Supervisor to guide the student in his/her thesis research. The Major Professor will usually supervise the thesis research of the student. However, a researcher or teacher from outside BSMRAU may also serve as the Research Supervisor, who has been approved by the appropriate authority of BSMRAU to supervise thesis research of a student.

Chairman : Major Professor
Members : One from the Major Department/Discipline
:One from another Department/ Discipline representing the Minor courses
:Other member(s), if required, will be selected from among the BSMRAU faculty or approved research supervisor.
: The Research Supervisor, if any, will also be member of the Advisory Committee.

The department/discipline which deals with a subject of specialization of a particular student shall be considered as his/her major department/discipline and courses offered by that department will be considered as major courses.

The department/discipline other than that of the subject of specialization will be considered as minor departments and courses offered by those departments will be considered as minor courses.

The Advisory Committee will be responsible for approving the student's program of study, advising on the research work, assessing progress of the program, evaluating the thesis and administering final examinations.

Under some unavoidable circum-stances, any changes in the Advisory Committee may be made only when the Department Head recommends such changes and approved by the Dean of Graduate Studies. The student will submit revised proposal for the Advisory Committee in prescribed forms to the Dean of Graduate Studies.
 

The Advisory Committee shall meet at least one in each term to review the student’s progress and to provide advice on the research program. The student and the Major Professor shall set dates for the committee meetings, student’s seminar presentation and the thesis defense.

The M. S. degree program of study consists of courses and thesis research. Each student, in consultation with the Major Professor will prepare a tentative program of study before end of the second term after admission. An M.S. degree program must contain a minimum of 43 credit hours, at least 31 credit hours of course works including major and minor fields of studies and 1 credit hour of seminar, and 12 credit hours of thesis research.

One lecture/contact hour in each week during a term (12 working weeks) shall be considered as one credit hour. For laboratory classes two to three class hours will be considered as one lecture hour. A course having one lecture hour per week in a term shall be considered as a one credit-hour course.

Major and Minor:

Out of 31 credit hours of course work (including one credit hour of seminar), a minimum of 18 credit hour must be chosen from the major department including a minimum 12 credit hours of major core and a minimum 6 credit hour of major elective. A minimum of 9 credit hour must be chosen from the Minor department(s) including minor core and minor elective. Rest of the credit hours may be chosen from the major or minor departments or from major or minor disciplines. A student can choose courses, which best fit his/her interests and career plans.

Core and Elective Courses:

A student is expected to complete a set of core courses required by each department. In addition, they can choose from a group of departmental multidisciplinary elective courses which best fit his/her interests and career plans.
Note 7  Core courses mean compulsory courses and elective mean optional course. 

Seminar:

In the course plan of each student at least one seminar carrying one credit hour must be included and it should be completed before graduation.

Additional Course Assignment:

Evaluating the knowledge of the student, the Advisory Committee can suggest more course works, if necessary, to strengthen and update the knowledge of the student.
 

Approval of Course Programme:

The student in consultation with his/her Major Professor shall develop individual course plan. The course plan should be approved by the Advisory committee and endorsed by the Head of major department and the Dean of Graduate Studies.

When the program is approved by the Advisory committee and endorsed by the major department Head and the Dean of Graduate Studies, it becomes an obligation of the student to complete the requirements as formulated.
Changes in the course plan may be made by the approval of the Advisory committee and endorsement of the department Head and the Dean of Graduate Studies.

Filing of Course Plan:

The student’s course plan must be filed in a prescribed form with the office of the Dean of Graduate Studies within second term after his/her admission.

A student who does not file the course plan with the Dean of Graduate Studies within the specified deadline (second term) will not be allowed to enroll for the next term.

The purpose of Reading and Conference courses is to provide students an opportunity to intensify their knowledge of a particular subject matter that is relevant to their degree program. Ordinarily, Reading and Conference courses entail the preparation of an in-depth written review of the literature in a particular subject that will enhance the student's understanding in a critical academic area. Reading and Conference courses may be arranged between the student and the major professor with approval of the Head of the major department. Such courses shall be designated as major department courses. A maximum of 3 (three) credit hours are considered for credit requirements and for calculation of student’s GPA.

Students having the cumulative GPA below 3.00 will not be allowed to enroll Reading and Conference courses until he/she raised the cumulative GPA to 3.00 or above.
 

The Purpose of Special Problem courses is to allow students to pursue a special study of a particular analytical procedure and/or conceptual problems. Ordinarily, the Special Problem course provides the students with the opportunity to conduct an in-depth study, with written documentation, of a relevant piece of equipment and/or an analytical procedure.

Special Problem courses may be arranged between the student and the major professor with approval of the Head of the major department. Such courses shall be designated as major department courses. A maximum of 3 (three) credit hours are considered for credit requirements and for calculation of the student's GPA.

Students having cumulative GPA below 3.00 will not be allowed to enroll Special problem Course until he/she raised the cumulative GPA to 3.00 or above.

A piece of research work in the field of specialization is a requirement for M.S. program. The research work should be done under the supervision of his/her Major Professor or Research Supervisor.

The student in consultation with the Major Professor and/or Research Supervisor will select the student’s research topic. The proposal of research topic should be approved by the Advisory Committee and endorsed by the Head of the Major department and the Dean of Graduate Studies.

When the program of research is approved by the Advisory Committee and endorsed by the Head of the Major department and the Dean of Graduate Studies, it becomes an obligation of the student to complete the requirement as formulated. However, the Advisory Committee with endorsement by the department Head and the Dean of Graduate Studies may make changes in the research proposal.

The student's thesis research proposal should be filed in prescribed form with the office of the Dean of Graduate Studies within second term of his/her admission.

A student who does not file the research proposal with the Dean of Graduate Studies within the specified deadline (second term) will not be allowed to enroll for the next term.

Continuing Students:

Continuing students are allowed to enroll course(s) during 11th week of the previous term paying regular fees and up to final day of the previous term with late fee.

A student who does not file the program of study including both course plan and research proposal with the Dean of Graduate Studies within the specified deadline (second term) will not be allowed to enroll for the next term.

Newly Admitted Students:

Newly admitted students are allowed to enroll course(s) paying reqular fees on the day of admission. Late enrollment for courses of newly admitted students is permitted through the 14th day of the term paying late fee.

The admission of a newly admitted student will be cancelled if he/she fails to enroll course(s) within the first 14 days of the term of admission and fails to attend the classes.

Adding and Dropping of Courses:

A student may add a course during the first 14 days of classes if sufficient class room space is available and permission is obtained from the Major professor, course instructor and Head of the Major department.

Similarly, a student may drop a course during the first 14 days of classes if permission is obtained from the Major professor, course instructor and Head of the Major department. The student will use a prescribed form for adding and dropping course(s) and must file it with the office of the Dean of Graduate Studies.

No student shall be allowed to drop/withdraw from all courses during the first term of admission, i.e. he/she must complete the first term of admission with nine credit hours. With adequate written justification, the student may be allowed to drop/withdraw from the courses during subsequent terms.

If a student drops all of his/her courses during his/her first term of admission his/her admission will be cancelled.

Withdraw from a Course:

A student may withdraw from a course, with permission from his/her Major professor, course instructor and Head of the Major department, within 56 days after commencement of the term, receiving a ‘W’ in the transcript. Withdrawal after 56 days will result in an ‘F’ grade. Any course with a grade of ‘W’ must be repeated with an acceptable grade before the final thesis/dissertation deafens examination.

When a student's academic progress is interrupted by an emergency situation such as serious illness, accident, or death of a family member, and the student submits evidence of such incident to the Dean of Graduate Studies, he or she may withdraw from the term with ‘I’ (incomplete) grades in all courses.

Withdrawal from the term:

When a student's academic progress is interrupted by an emergency situation such as serious illness, accident, or death of a family member, after the 56th day of the term, and the student submits genuine evidence of such incident to the Dean of Graduate Studies, he/she may apply to withdraw from the term with a ‘W’ grade in all courses. His/her written application must be approved by the Vice-Chancellor. If a student drops all of his/her courses in the first term of admission his/her admission will be cancelled.

Minimum and Maximum Credits per Term:

The minimum number of credits for a regular full time student per term is 9 (nine); and the maximum is 16 (sixteen). In exceptional cases, recommendation of the major professor and approval of the Dean of graduate studies may increase the number of credit. However, all students must enroll for at least 9 credit hours of course work and complete successfully in the first term of admission.

Auditing Courses:

The purpose of auditing courses is to enable student to learn about a particular subject matter which may or may not be directly related to their course of study. However, their presence in the class room should not place an additional burden on the instructor since no credit will be given for the course, but a grade of ‘X’ shall appear on their transcript.

Students are permitted to audit courses with the approval of the course instructor and the Dean of graduate studies. A maximum of one course per term may be audited by a student. M.S. students shall be allowed a maximum of three audit courses during their course of study and Ph.D. students a maximum of five courses. The audit courses will not be allowed to enroll as credit courses.

Students who audit courses must participate in the classes as other students including taking examinations.
 

Courses designed primarily for M.S. level programs, but also available for Ph.D. students are designated by 5xx numbers; while those primarily for the Ph.D. programs, but also may be available for M.S. students are designated by 6xx numbers. The full course designation carries a departmental abbreviation plus the course number.

In order to qualify for Stipend, Merit Scholarship or any other financial assistance a student must maintain a minimum of 80% class attendance in all courses taken in a term.

An instructor has the privilege of considering class participation in arriving at the student's grade. However, regular attendance in all classes shall normally be a factor in awarding not more than 10% of a student's academic accomplishment in a course. At least 80% attendance is required for stipend and merit scholarship holders.

Duration of Course Work in a Term:

Course work shall continue up to the final week of each term.

There shall be at least two classroom examinations and one final examination for each course in a term. The classroom examinations shall carry 50 per cent and final examination shall carry 30 per cent of the total marks carried by a particular course. The remaining 20 per cent of the total marks shall be assigned to report writing, homework and other assignments given by the course instructor(s).

Final examinations of courses shall be given during the last week of the term in accordance with the final examination schedule. The duration of final examination shall be at least two hours for 2 to 3 credit hours courses and it shall be at least one hour for one credit hour courses.

All examinations will be prepared, administered and evaluated by the instructor(s) of the respective courses. The course instructor(s) shall also evaluate report and other assignments. If a final examination is not given in a course, this action must be approved by the Dean of Graduate Studies.

Grading Examinations:

The grading system consists of five basic grades: 'A', 'B', 'C', 'D', and 'F'. Other grades are ‘E’, ‘I’, “W”, “R”, ‘T’, ‘X’ and ‘U’. The grades of:
A = superior accomplishment,
B = average,
C = below average,
D = inferior,
E = final examination not taken;
F = failure.
I = incomplete;
W = withdrawal;
R = thesis/dissertation research in progress;
T = course exempted;
X = audit, and
U = unsatisfactory progress of thesis/dissertation research.

Removing 'E', ‘I’, 'U' and “W” Grades:

A student who has done acceptable work to the time of the final examination but who does not take the final examination will receive an `E' grade. The student must file a petition to the Dean of Graduate Studies for permission to remove an `E' grade and present an acceptable reason for having been missed the examination. If the petition to this end is denied by the Dean of Graduate Studies, the student will be assigned a `W' for the course or the Dean of Graduate Studies may direct the instructor(s) to submit a grade for the course on the basis of a `W' for the final examination. If an `E', grade is not removed within the following term after the 'E', it will be changed to a `W' for the course.

When the quality of the work is satisfactory and the scheduled final examination has been taken but some essential minor requirement of the course has not been completed for reasons acceptable to the instructor, a grade of ‘I’ may be assigned and additional time may be granted. The instructor shall state the deficiency and the additional time for completing the deficiency on the grade report. To remove an `I' a student must complete the deficiency within allotted time and the teacher will submit the appropriate grade. If the deficiency is not removed within the subsequent term, the instructor shall submit a grade other than ‘I’, based on the work that has been completed. If an `I', grade is not removed within the following term after the receiving the 'I' it will be automatically changed to a `W'.

To remove the ‘U’ grade, the student must enroll same credit hour for research in his subsequent term of enrollment and complete the work satisfactorily.

Submission of Grade Report by the Instructor:

The course instructor(s) shall submit the grades of the students to the Dean of Graduate Studies within the 4th day after the last day of final examination week in a particular term. The course instructor(s) shall also submit answer scripts, question paper, reports, etc. along with mark sheets and grade to the respective department Head. The Head shall preserve all such records for a minimum period of four years.

Correction of Erroneous Grades:

An instructor may move to correct a grade erroneously given by filing a change of grade report during the following term with the Dean of Graduate Studies with a copy to the Vice-Chancellor. The Academic Council routinely will review such grade changes.

Rescheduling Class Room Examinations:

If a student does not sit for the classroom examination(s) for reasons acceptable to the course instructor(s), the course instructor(s) may give him/her another chance to take the examination(s) during the term, but it (they) must be taken before 'dead week2, the week preceding the final week of the term.

The ‘dead week’ means the week preceding the final week of a term. No final, midterm, or comprehensive examinations shall be given during the "Dead Week" but classes will be continued.

Students will be allowed to repeat a course with a ‘C’ grade to try to improve the grade. A course with a grade of ‘D’ or ‘F’ must be repeated before final examination. If a course is repeated, all grades received in that course (except for E, I, W, T) shall be used to compute the cumulative GPA. To compute the GPA mean value of grade points of previous grade and the grade received after repetition will be used. Although more than one grade will appear on the transcript for a repeated course, the credit hours of the course will be counted only once toward graduation requirements. All courses with ‘W’ and ‘U’ grades must be repeated before taking the final examination. Any course with 'W’ grade can not be excluded from the student's program of study.

The grade point average (GPA) shall be the quotient of total points divided by total credits; total credits will be the number of term credits in which grades A, B, C, D, and F are received. Each student must maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00.

Any student achieving a cumulative GPA below 3.00 will be placed or continue on probationary status for no more than two terms. If a student fails to raise his/her cumulative GPA to 3.00 or above within the following two terms after receiving such lower GPA his/her admission will stand automatically terminated.

Students who have been suspended or expelled because of academic deficiencies or serious breach of discipline are denied all the privileges of the University and readmission.

The instructor may impose any academic penalty including giving an ‘F’ grade after informing the student of the action taken. Additional penalties may be assessed subsequent to a review at the department level or above. The instructor must report the incident and the action taken to his/her Head, who, in turn, shall forward the report to the Dean of Graduate Studies with intimation to the Vice-Chancellor. Grade penalties imposed as a result of academic dishonesty may be appealed by the student in accordance with the procedures of the University.

A Student Disciplinary Committee deals with issues that arise related to misconduct on the part of the student as they may relate to the policy and procedures of the University or other relevant statutes or generally recognized rules and regulations. The Committee shall convene to address issues brought before it as per existing regulations.

Occasionally students encounter special problems whose proper solution may require deviation from the Academic Regulations and Procedures or Policies. Requests for such deviations in the regulations must be presented to the Dean of Graduate Studies. Petitions received by the Dean of Graduate Studies will be forwarded to the proper committee or office for review and appropriate action with intimation to the Vice-Chancellor. Other special problems may involve academic issues such as evaluation of student's academic performance. Concerned students should appeal about their academic grievances first to the instructor of the course and then to the Head of the department in which the course was offered. The concerned department Head will take necessary action and keep the Dean of Graduate Studies and the Vice-Chancellor informed about his action.

A candidate for the M. S. degree must submit his thesis embodying the results of his/her research following the style and format approved by the University. The student will submit adequate number of copies of the thesis in final draft form to the Dean of Graduate Studies at least two weeks prior to final examination.

The examining committee shall composed of the following members:

Chairman  : Major Professor

Members   :Members of the Advi­sory Committee

         :One member nominated by the Dean of Graduate Studies from a panel recom­mended by the Board of Stud­ies and for-warded by Head of the major depart­ment.

         At the time of Final examination the student must have completed or be cur­rently enrolled in all courses required by the student's program of study. In addition the student must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00. The final examination should be scheduled for a minimum of two hours. Final examinations must be sched­uled with the Dean of graduate studies two week in ad­vance. The final examina­tion will be composed of two parts: thesis defense and oral. The thesis defense is an open session while the oral examination is administered by the Examining Committee only.

         After the oral examination, the examination committee will evaluate the progress of the student's program of study (both courses and research) and his performance in the final examination. If the candidate fulfill all the requirements for the M.S. degree the examining com­mittee shall certify in a prescribed form that the student has successfully completed the final examina­tion.

         If the Examining Com­mittee recorded more than one nega­tive vote the candidate fails the examination. Not more two one reexamination is allowed. Nor­mally reexamination will be arranged after end of the term in which the candidate failed the first final examination. The results of the final examination should preferably be submitted to the office of the Dean of Graduate Studies in the same day of examination.

         In absence of one member of the Examining Committee, the final examination may be given provided that the Advisory Committee is composed of more than three members and the representative of the Dean of Graduate Studies is present.

         If the Advisory Committee is composed of three members and any one of them is absent on the day of Final  Examination, the examination may be given after reconstituting the Advisory Committee.

         Final examination should be administered at least one term before beginning of the last term of the duration allowed for completion of the degree.

Students will be required to be in residence at BSMRAU for a minimum of three terms as a full time students, two of which must be consecutive. At least nine credit hours of course works must be enrolled to be a full time student.

The office of the Dean of Graduate Studies and the major department will keep a record of each student's progress, including dates of examinations and evaluation of the student's program by committee members.

Students in all departments must meet standard requirements to qualify for conferral of the degree for which they are candidates. This includes a mini-mum number of course-credits and a minimum grade point average (GPA) and an acceptable dissertation. Conferral of the degree shall be recommended by the Academic council and approved by the Syndicate.

Anything not covered in this catalogue will be referred to and decided by the Academic Council.