Graduate Programs | Iowa State University Catalog

The Graduate College Handbook outlines the general requirements for completion of a graduate degree or credential at ISU. Faculty in a major field have the responsibility for establishing educational objectives for their graduate program, including specific course requirements and research requirements appropriate to the doctoral, master's, and certificate programs in the major. These requirements may place additional responsibilities on the student, the major professor, or the student’s Academic Plan Committee beyond those listed in the Graduate College Handbook as deemed appropriate to the goals of the major program.

Faculty and graduate students are active participants in the academic programs of Iowa State University. As active participants, they have a collective impact on the success of those programs and of the university in fulfilling its mission. Each graduate program is encouraged to implement a mechanism for responding to feedback from graduate students as a valuable resource for continuing improvement.

Academic Program definitions

Program - administrative infrastructure supporting the curriculum.
Curriculum - the requirements for a major, certificate, or minor.
Major - subject area of study that results in a named baccalaureate, master's, or doctoral degree upon completion of a set of requirements. A major appears on the academic transcript.
Certificate - an academic credential in a focused area of study. A certificate appears on the academic transcript and may be earned concurrently with a degree or on its own.
Minor - an academic area of emphasis that is in addition to a major. A minor appears on the academic transcript and must be earned in conjunction with a degree.

Doctoral Programs

A complete list of Doctoral Programs can also be found on the Graduate College Programs page: https://www.grad-college.iastate.edu/programs.

Aerospace Engineering
Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering
Agricultural Economics
Agricultural Education
Agricultural Meteorology
Analytical Chemistry
Animal Breeding and Genetics
Animal Physiology
Animal Science
Apparel, Merchandising, and Design
Applied Linguistics and Technology
Applied Mathematics
Applied Physics
Astrophysics
Biochemistry
Bioinformatics and Computational Biology
Biomedical Sciences
Biophysics
Business and Technology
Chemical Engineering
Chemistry
Civil Engineering
Computer Engineering
Computer Science
Condensed Matter Physics
Crop Production and Physiology
Earth Science
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Economics
Education
Electrical Engineering
Engineering Mechanics
Entomology
Environmental Science
Fisheries Biology
Food Science and Technology
Forestry
Genetics and Genomics
Geology
Gerontology
High Energy Physics
Horticulture
Hospitality Management
Human Computer Interaction
Human Development and Family Studies
Immunobiology
Industrial and Agricultural Technology
Industrial Engineering
Inorganic Chemistry
Kinesiology
Materials Science and Engineering
Mathematics
Meat Science
Mechanical Engineering
Meteorology
Microbiology
Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology
Neuroscience
Nuclear Physics
Nutritional Sciences
Organic Chemistry
Physical Chemistry
Physics
Plant Biology
Plant Breeding
Plant Pathology
Population Sciences in Animal Health
Psychology
Rhetoric and Professional Communication
Rural Sociology
Sociology
Soil Science
Statistics
Sustainable Agriculture
Toxicology
Veterinary Microbiology
Veterinary Pathology
Wildlife Ecology
Wind Energy Science, Engineering, and Policy

Master's Programs

A complete list of Master's programs is available on the Graduate College Programs page: https://www.grad-college.iastate.edu/programs.

Graduate Certificates

A complete list of Graduate level programs is available on the Graduate College Programs page: https://www.grad-college.iastate.edu/programs.

Advanced Manufacturing
Agronomy
Applied Research Methods in the Human Sciences
Biochemistry
Breeding for Organic Crops
Business Analytics
Computational Fluid Dynamics
Computer Networking
Construction Management
Cyber Security
Data Driven Food, Energy, and Water Decision Making
Developmental and Family Sciences Advanced Research Design and Methods
Digital Marketplace Analytics
Early Childhood and Family Policy
Education and Outreach in Agriculture and Natural Resources
Education for Social Justice
Embedded Systems
Energy Systems Engineering
Enterprise Cyber Security Management
Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Environmental Engineering
Environmental Systems
Family Financial Planning
Finance
Food Safety and Defense
Geographic Information Systems
Gerontology
Human Computer Interaction
Instructional Design
Literacy Coaching Certificate
Mathematics
Meat Science
Nondestructive Evaluation
Postsecondary Teaching
Power Systems Engineering
Preservation and Cultural Heritage
Public Management and Policy
Quantitative Psychology
Seed Business Management
Seed Science and Technology
Special Education
Supply Chain Management
Systems Engineering
Teaching English as a Second Language/Teaching English as a Foreign Language
Veterinary Preventive Medicine
Youth Development Specialist
Youth Program Management and Evaluation

Graduate Minors

Minors are available in many disciplinary and interdepartmental graduate programs. Some programs offer only a minor. In other programs, students may declare either a major or a minor. Programs offering a major are not required to offer a minor. A student may not major and minor in the same discipline for a single degree or across multiple degrees. To illustrate, a student earning a Ph.D. in computer science may not minor in statistics for their Ph.D. program if they are also pursuing an MS in statistics.

Graduate Minor Only Programs

The following programs are available as minor only. These minors do not have an associated graduate major.