Master of Science in Innovation and Management

at Montana State University - Bozeman USA

In the Sustainable Food Systems graduate program at Montana State, candidates dig further into special topics on sustainability and the food industry to better understand the relation between food systems and public health. Sustainable Food Systems graduate student projects can potentially cover a broad range of topics, including but not limited to food system education and public awareness, how local food systems can localize diets, institutional purchasing of local foods, food policies, community supported agriculture, food processing and distribution, community food security, community-based food and nutrition assistance and more. Additionally, students are able to tailor the program to their specific interests by taking coursework connected to health promotion and education, political science, economics, business, Native American Studies, agriculture and food science.

Candidates in the Innovation and Management graduate program at Montana State develop skills and knowledge in an innovative one-year program designed to accelerate their career potential, either through entrepreneurship or leadership in existing organizations. The Innovation and Management program is made for candidates interested in innovating, leading, and solving challenging problems, especially in the design, science, technology, engineering, or math fields. Innovation and Management students will expand their skill sets through first-hand experiences working on projects with researchers, entrepreneurs, industry leaders and government programming.

Housed within the Civil Engineering department at Montana State, the Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Engineering is intended to address the demand for classically trained engineers with focus on environmental, municipal and industrial processes and strengths in water chemistry, fluid mechanics and hydraulics. Students learn to work with the environment, not against it, preserving and protecting resources while providing for the structural needs of society.

In the graduate program for Plant Sciences at Montana State, candidates pursue research projects within state-of-the-art laboratories on subjects such as plant breeding and genetics, plant pathology, mycology, biotechnology, plant physiology and systematics, molecular evolution and biochemistry. Candidates conduct these projects in labs such as the Plant BioScience Facility or the Plant Growth Center, with over 29 glasshouse rooms and 8,300 square feet of bench space. They also train under award-winning researchers in the field.

Situated jointly within the College of Agriculture and the College of Letters and Science, the economics program at Montana State has an excellent reputation with regional, national and international firms as well as exceptional graduate schools. Students examine behavioral economics, development, public policy and more under award-winning faculty members who are dedicated to high-quality education, outreach and research. More than just a subject of study and memorization, economics at Montana State is a tool for understanding and improving the world.

The Computer Engineering program at Montana State is an interdisciplinary major that incorporates substantial coursework from both Electrical and Computer Engineering and Computer Science. Students learn common skills in science, mathematics, electronics and circuits as well as additional computer science and computer architecture courses to round out their understanding of the field. With hands-on experiences in labs across campus and a mandatory capstone project to display their skills in their senior year, Computer Engineering graduates have a great reputation for confidence and effectiveness in engineering design, analysis and troubleshooting.

In the German Studies program at Montana State, students are able to explore a full range of courses on German language, culture and literature. German Studies students start with a grounding of the German language throughout their freshman and sophomore years before delving into advanced language labs and other in-depth research surrounding German interests.

Candidates in the Community Health graduate program at Montana State integrate public health theory and critical thinking in an interdisciplinary program that allows students to design their course of study with a faculty mentor in order to ensure that their curriculum is aligned with professional interests and goals. In addition to nurturing close professional relationships with faculty mentors, Community Health candidates also gain hands-on research experience with research projects and partnerships with rural or Native American communities.

Students in the Sustainable Crop Production program at Montana State pursue the answers to hard-hitting questions pertaining to sustainability and agriculture. Those questions include “Where does our food come from? Are there ways to sustainably maintain production levels and yet protect our natural resources? Is it possible to improve the quality and nutrition of our food supply? Are local food systems a viable alternative to corporate agricultural production? Can crops grown for bioenergy production reduce our use of fossil fuels and lessen carbon dioxide emissions?” Coursework in the Sustainable Crop Production program help students in digging for those answers, including agronomy, soil fertility, plant genetics and physiology, greenhouse production, plant propagation, integrated pest management and small business management.

Candidates within the Earth Sciences graduate program at Montana State are encouraged to dive into independent thesis research across a variety of specializations within the fields of geography and geology. Faculty and advisor expertise spans many subfields of the discipline, including settlement geography, bioclimatology, GIS, planning, snow science, volcanology, paleobiology, dinosaur taphonomy, stratigraphy and geomorphology. Recent M.S. students have produced groundbreaking research and have expanded our knowledge of issues from GIS-based assessment of landslide hazards to exotic species assessment in Grand Teton National Park.