College of Agriculture & Natural Resources Department of Community Sustainability

400-level Courses: By MSU policy, more than half of the credits of the total required for a master’s degree must be taken at the 800 and 900 levels, except as specifically exempted by the dean of CANR. Courses at the 400 level may be applied to the master’s degree program; however, when both a 400- and 800-level course are available and cover the same content, the 800-level course should be selected if at all possible, and if the student has the content background for the 800-level course.

Doctoral students are expected to select 800- and 900-level courses, but may take 400-level courses when no comparable courses exist at the 800 or 900 levels. However, no more than nine (9) credits of 400-level courses should be taken as part of the curriculum requirements of the PhD program; 300-level courses and below are not allowed in a PhD program.