FAQs
MS Agronomy Online Program students are charged in-state tuition, regardless of location.
Tuition and Fees
- ISU Online Graduate Tuition: $748/credit for 2024-2025 academic year. The program has no delivery fees.
- ISU Online Technology Fees (Standard) depends on the number of credits/semester.
Other Expenses
- Textbook costs: These will vary. Some courses do not require texts, some texts are free electronic resources, and some texts are used in more than one course.
- AGRON 5940: Practicum in Agronomy. You will be responsible for travel to Ames and lodging expenses during the 3-day course. The program tries to cover in-class transportation and most meals during the course.
Cost Example (1 Course)
- Tuition (3 credits): $2,244.00
- Technology Fee (less than 4 credits): $81.00
- Total: $2325
Cost Example (2 Courses)
- Tuition (6 credits): $4488.00
- Technology Fee (more than 4 credits): $121.50
- Total: $4,609.50
You may be receiving professional development funding from your employer. Iowa State University offers a deferment option for employees of businesses and organizations that provide tuition reimbursement programs. With successful enrollment in the deferment plan prior to the beginning of each semester, all applicable charges will be due after grades are presented.
Students are allowed to transfer up to 3 courses (9 credits) into the program, with the following guidelines:
- Applicants should request possible transfer courses with transcript documentation during the preapplication process
- Possible transfer courses must be equivalent in content to Agronomy Online courses. The selection committee will review any requests and determine content similarity.
The learning management system (LMS) used by ISU is Canvas. All course materials are hosted in Canvas, organized in Modules. Some courses have an additional required textbook.
The course material is delivered asynchronously, with no specific login time. Instructors do hold “office hours” each week, with times posted on the course calendar or in the course syllabus. This is an opportunity for personal interaction between instructors and students; however, due to wide variance in student schedules, attendance is not required.
A few lecture videos are embedded into a course, including short introductory videos or podcast-type audio recordings to introduce or summarize a lesson. Course materials are all online, and use a variety of comprehension activities built into the lessons.
Courses are not self-paced – you need to keep up with the material. Courses follow the ISU semester system, and each course has a calendar with weekly due dates for submitting course work, such as assignments, discussion participation, exams, etc.
Exams are different for each course, examples include:
- An application-type exam question at the end of each lesson.
- Take-home exams that can be downloaded, completed, and submitted.
- Midterm/Final exams that are online.
- Some courses have no exams due to the writing-intensive nature of the course.
Agronomy Online courses follow the Iowa State University Academic Calendar.
- Fall Semester: August-December
- Spring Semester: January-May
- Summer Semester: May-August
Within each semester, a course calendar is provided, outlining weekly due dates for course requirements. Students can expect to spend between 6-10 hours/week/class to review course materials, participate in discussions, submit assignments, and any other requirements.
It is important to note that courses are not self-paced. When students register for classes, they are expected to meet course deadlines as described above. Should events occur in which a course deadline cannot be met, it is critical to communicate with instructors as soon as a conflict arises.
Yes, the Online Program in Agronomy office can report the units to the American Society of Agronomy(ASA).
To receive CEUs for completed courses, please email msagron@iastate.edu with the following information:
- Student name
- Course name and number
- Semester course was completed
- CCA license number and state of certification (for example, 123456 IA)
List of MS Agronomy courses and relevant CEUs.
Educational Area
(according to Certified Crop Adviser Continuing Education Standards )
| Courses | Crop Mgt. | Soil & Water | Nutr Mgt. | Pest Mgt. | Prof. Dev. |
| 5010 | 45.0 cr. | – | – | – | – |
| 5020 | – | 26.25 cr. | 18.75 cr. | – | – |
| 5030 | 45.0 cr. | – | – | – | – |
| 5110 | 45.0 cr. | – | – | – | – |
| 5120 | – | 22.5 cr. | 22.5 cr. | – | – |
| 5130 | 45.0 cr. | – | – | – | – |
| 5310 | 45.0 cr. | – | – | – | – |
| 5320 | – | 33.75 cr. | 11.25 cr. | – | – |
| 5440 | – | – | – | 45.0 cr. | – |
| 5910 | 20.0 cr. | 5.0 cr. | 10.0 cr. | 10.0 cr. | – |
| 5920 | 15.0 cr. | 7.5 cr. | 10.0 cr. | 7.5 cr. | 5.0 cr. |
| 5940 | 7.5 cr. | 2.5cr. | – | 5.0 cr. | – |
| 5990M | 22.5 | – | – | – | 22.5 |
If you would like to receive continuing education units/credits through a particular organization, please contact the Agronomy Online program office, msagron@iastate.edu.
One of the great advantages to being a student at Iowa State is that you have access to a world-class research library, which is made possible through the e-Library services. The e-Library is the online portal to everything the ISU library has to offer. You may utilize the library collections in several ways, including viewing materials online, or having hard copies of materials delivered to you.
Yes, here is a link to the MS Agronomy handbook.
Here is a link to the Plant Breeding handbook.
FAQs Masters Degree
Most students enroll in only one or two courses per semester while working full time. At this pace, students can achieve their masters in two (2 courses/semester) to six years (1 course/semester). Iowa State University Grad College policy has a 7-year maximum time limit to complete an MS degree.
- The project must show independence and creativity on the part of the student.
- A well-written report must be developed about the project.
- The project must be agronomically related and demonstrate the student’s understanding of agronomic principles in the context of the project topic.
- The project must be approved by the student’s Program of Study (POS) Committee.
- The results of the creative component must be defensible in terms of its findings, conclusions, or recommendations to the student’s POS Committee.
- Research
- Case Studies
- Field Guides (informational publications)
- Literature Reviews
- Instructional Modules
Examples are available, contact MSAgron@iastate.edu.
It is highly recommended that you start your creative component project by the time you have completed 4 courses. This will be the 4th semester if taking 1 course/semester, or 2nd semester if taking 2 courses/semester.
Enrollment in the AGRON 5990M Seminar helps students develop their topic ideas into a workable project. During the semester you will develop a project proposal and find a major professor to guide you in completing the creative component.
You will work on your project independently with the guidance of your major professor. The MSAgron Program has many resources that can help you to successfully develop your creative component. When your creative component is written to your major professor’s satisfaction, you may proceed to planning your final oral examination.