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 program of study (POS) 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.
Ph.D. Programs
A complete list of Ph.D. Programs can also be found on https://www.grad-college.iastate.edu/academics/programs/apprograms.php.
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, Agricultural, Technological and Environmental History
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 Graduate level programs is available at https://www.grad-college.iastate.edu/academics/programs/apprograms.php.
Accounting
Aerospace Engineering
Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering
Agricultural Economics
Agricultural Education
Agricultural Meteorology
Agronomy
Analytical Chemistry
Animal Breeding and Genetics
Animal Physiology
Animal Science
Anthropology
Apparel, Merchandising, and Design
Applied Mathematics
Applied Physics
Architecture
Artificial Intelligence
Astrophysics
Athletic Training
Biochemistry
Bioinformatics and Computational Biology
Biomedical Sciences
Biophysics
Business Administration
Business Analytics
Chemical Engineering
Chemistry
Civil Engineering
Community and Regional Planning
Community Development
Computer Engineering
Computer Science
Condensed Matter Physics
Creative Writing and Environment
Crop Production and Physiology
Cyber Security
Diet and Exercise
Digital Health
Earth Science
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Economics
Education
Electrical Engineering
Energy Systems Engineering
Engineering Management
Engineering Mechanics
English
Entomology
Entrepreneurship
Environmental Science
Event Management
Family and Consumer Sciences
Finance
Fisheries Biology
Food Science and Technology
Forestry
Genetics and Genomics
Geology
Gerontology
Graphic Design
Healthcare Analytics and Operations
High Energy Physics
History
Horticulture
Hospitality Management
Human Computer Interaction
Human Development and Family Studies
Immunobiology
Industrial and Agricultural Technology
Industrial Design
Industrial Engineering
Information Systems
Inorganic Chemistry
Integrated Visual Arts
Interdisciplinary Graduate Studies
Interior Design
Journalism and Mass Communication
Kinesiology
Landscape Architecture
Materials Science and Engineering
Mathematics
Mathematics Education
Meat Science
Mechanical Engineering
Meteorology
Microbiology
Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology
Neuroscience
Nuclear Physics
Nutritional Sciences
Operations Research
Organic Chemistry
Physical Chemistry
Physics
Plant Biology
Plant Breeding
Plant Pathology
Political Science
Professional Practice in Dietetics
Psychology
Real Estate Development
Rhetoric, Composition, and Professional Communication
Rural Sociology
Science Education
Secondary Education
Seed Technology and Business
Sociology
Soil Science
Statistics
Sustainable Agriculture
Sustainable Environments
Systems Engineering
Teaching English as a Second Language/Applied Linguistics
Toxicology
Transportation
Urban Design
Veterinary Clinical Science
Veterinary Microbiology
Veterinary Pathology
Veterinary Preventive Medicine
Wildlife Ecology
Graduate Certificates
A complete list of Graduate level programs is available at https://www.grad-college.iastate.edu/academics/programs/apprograms.php
Advanced Manufacturing
Agronomy
Applied Research Methods in the Human Sciences
Biochemistry
Breeding for Organic Crops
Business Analytics
Community College Teaching
Computational Fluid Dynamics (being discontinued)
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
Family Well-Being in Diverse Society
Finance
Financial and Housing Counseling
Food Safety and Defense
Forensic Sciences
Geographic Information Systems
Gerontology
Graduate Student Teaching
Human Computer Interaction
Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health
Instructional Design
Lifespan Development
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
Software Systems
Special Education
Superintendent Licensure
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.
Applied Scientific Computing
Criminal Justice
Linguistics
Philosophy
Spanish
Speech Communication
Women's and Gender Studies