Horse Science, Industry Management Concentration, M.S.
Rhonda Hoffman, Program Director
(615) 898-2908
Rhonda.Hoffman@mtsu.edu
The School of Agriculture offers the Master of Science (M.S.) in Horse Science, designed to prepare graduates for the multifaceted equine industry. Students may choose one of three concentrations: Equine Education, Equine Physiology, or Industry Management.
Please see undergraduate catalog for information regarding undergraduate programs.
Admission Requirements
Admissions are based on a comprehensive assessment of a candidate's qualifications including Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores or scores on the Miller Analogies Test (MAT), undergraduate and graduate grade point average, letters of recommendation, and a personal interview.
Applicants who do not meet admission requirements but whose overall record indicates the potential for success may be considered for non-degree admission. Students must meet all conditions established by the Horse Science Graduate Committee in order to gain full acceptance to the program.
Application Procedures
All application materials are to be submitted to the College of Graduate Studies.
The application deadline is April 15 for those wishing to be considered for graduate assistantships and admission in the Summer or Fall. October 1 is the application deadline for admission in the Spring. Applications will be accepted after these dates, but admission consideration is not guaranteed.
Applicant must
- submit an application with the appropriate application fee (online at www.mtsu.edu/graduate/apply.php). Once this initial application has been accepted, the applicant will receive directions on how to enter the graduate portal to be able to submit other materials.
- submit three letters of recommendation from professors or professionals that address the applicant's potential to successfully complete an M.S. program in Horse Science;
- submit official scores on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or Miller Analogies Test (MAT). Successful applicants typically have GRE Verbal and Quantitative scores exceeding 146 and 140 respectively, with a total combined score that exceeds 286 or a score above 385 on the MAT;
- submit official transcripts of previous college work reflecting a 3.00 GPA from a minimum of 12 credit hours of upper-division, undergraduate animal science and/or equine science courses or equivalent industry experience as approved by the Horse Science Graduate Committee;
- submit a letter of intent that addresses the following:
- In 500 words or less, applicant should describe his/her horse experience to date (which may include but is not limited to college coursework, club/team involvement, breed/discipline groups, etc.) as well as other experiences which may have impacted the decision to pursue this degree; and
- In 500 words or less, applicant should describe future plans and goals as they relate to obtaining an M.S. in Horse Science degree;
- after application review, participate in an invited interview with the Horse Science Graduate Committee at the applicant's expense before final acceptance into the program.
Degree Requirements
The Master of Science in Horse Science with a concentration in Industry Management requires completion of 36-39 semester hours (thesis option) or 36 semester hours (non-thesis option).
Candidate must
- successfully complete a written comprehensive examination (may be taken no more than twice) during the semester in which the candidate intends to graduate;
- successfully complete and defend a thesis project OR equine experiential learning project.
All students in the graduate program will be expected to complete a minimum of two consecutive semesters of full-time study in residence at MTSU.
Curriculum: Horse Science, Industry Management
The curriculum is structured for a specific industry-related career in the Industry Management concentration. Students have the option to conduct and complete a traditional, research-based thesis project or to select a more contemporary non-thesis option.
The following illustrates the minimum coursework requirements.
Thesis Option (36-39 hours)
Core Courses (15 hours)
ANSC 5420 - Animal Breeding and Genetics
3credit hours
Basic principles of genetics, heredity, crossbreeding, inbreeding, and molecular genetics. Animal breeding topics include quantitative traits, prediction of breeding value, methods of selection, and genetic evaluations including genomic-enhanced selection. Offered fall only.
AGRI 6000 - Research Methods in Agricultural Science
3credit hours
A review of current scientific methods related to experiments in agriculture. Topics include research ethics, welfare of research subjects, literature resources, critical review of scientific literature, experimental design, scientific writing, interpreting data, and data presentation.
AGRI 6100 - Graduate Seminar in Agriculture
1credit hours
Seminar presentations target current issues and research advances in agricultural science and production. Presenters include faculty, graduate students, and outside speakers. Active participation in topic discussions emphasized. May be repeated. S/U grading.
HORS 6170 - Issues in the Equine Industry
2credit hours
In-depth look at relevant events affecting the equine industry. Interaction with industry leaders provides a unique window to examine the issues affecting the horse industry. Oral and written reports on specific problems presented. Topics will vary depending upon the current issues important to the equine industry.
HORS 6440 - Advanced Equine Nutrition
3credit hours
A class in organic chemistry or biochemistry recommended. A biochemical approach to understanding the nutritional requirements for horses at various life stages, including maintenance, growth, reproduction, performance, age, and clinical support. Feeding management related to nutrient digestion, absorption, and metabolism. Current equine nutrition research and its applications to practical equine management emphasized.
STAT 6020 - Applied Statistical Methods
3credit hours
Prerequisites: MATH 1530, MATH 2050, or STAT 3150 or permission of instructor. Contemporary and medical research methodology for biostatistics. Descriptive and inferential statistics including parametric and nonparametric hypothesis testing methods, sample size, statistical significance and power, survival curve analysis, relative risk, odds ratios, chi square modeling, and analysis of variance. Data will be analyzed using statistical software.
Required Courses (9 hours)
HORS 6040 - Management of Equine Events and Facilities
3credit hours
Prerequisite: 12 hours of upper-division HORS courses. Fundamentals of managing equine and other livestock events and facilities. Emphasis placed on active participation in management of equine events held at MTSU facilities.
Choose two of the following:
LSM 6520 - Management Practices in Recreation and Leisure Services
3credit hours
Administrative processes and management techniques used in planning, organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling with respect to leisure service delivery systems.
MGMT 6100 - Strategic Decision Making
3credit hours
Prerequisite: MGMT 3610 or MGMT 6000. Managerial theory and practice of solving problems, making decisions, and developing strategies for services and/or products. Emphasis on developing practical responses to decision issues using creativity and innovation in a team environment. (This course is not open to students earning a Master of Business Administration degree.)
MGMT 6300 - Not-for-Profit Management and Governance
3credit hours
Prerequisite: JCOB student or permission of department. Focuses on the management theories and practices that impact effective management and governance of organizations in the not-for-profit sector. Emphasizes management decision making within the not-for-profit context and will be one of two core courses in the Master's of Science in Management Social Innovation and Not-for-Profit concentration curriculum.
MGMT 6740 - Leadership and Motivation
3credit hours
Issues in leadership and motivation in business organizations. An examination of the theoretical framework for leadership and motivation processes serves as foundation. Emphasis on practical issues and applications of leadership development and motivation.
MKT 6810 - Promotional Strategy
3credit hours
Promotional goals, plans, and concepts in marketing; the role of marketing communication in society; the organization, budgeting, and scheduling of promotion; innovation and the adoption process; managerial decision making in the promotional mix.
MKT 6870 - Digital Marketing Analytics
3credit hours
Covers what, why, and how of major current approaches, including search engine optimization, search and display ads, mobile marketing, social media, and online listening/monitoring. Covers the key performance indicators and basic techniques to evaluate the effectiveness of online marketing campaigns, including Google Analytics, regression analysis, logistic regression, and online experiments. Provides a quantitative and qualitative approach to understanding and harnessing tools in digital marketing analytics to meet business objectives.
MKT 6880 - Sport and Entertainment Marketing
3credit hours
Prerequisite: MKT 6000 or MKT 6800. Issues pertaining to marketing in the sport and entertainment industries. Focuses on role of sponsorship in a firm's marketing strategy.
Thesis (3-6 hours)
AGRI 6640 - Thesis Research
1 to 6 credit hours
(3 credit hours required)(3 credit hours required)
dotslash:(3 credit hours required)
title:(3 credit hours required)
(3 credit hours required)
AGRI 6640 - Thesis Research
1 to 6credit hours
Prerequisite: Completion of 24 hours of graduate-level course work. The completion of selected research problem, review of pertinent literature, collection and analysis of data, and preparation of the thesis. S/U grading.
Electives (9 hours)
In consultation with their committees, students must select a minimum of 9 hours from graduate-level courses in the College of Basic and Applied Sciences, the College of Education, and/or the Jones College of Business. Of these, a minimum of 6 hours must be taken from courses with similar content rubrics (i.e., MKT, MGMT, LSM, ABAS, etc.). Students may take a maximum of 12 hours of electives selected from the MGMT, MKT, and or MC rubrics. Students are limited to 6 hours at the 5000 level.
Non-thesis Option (36 hours)
Core Courses (15 hours)
ANSC 5420 - Animal Breeding and Genetics
3credit hours
Basic principles of genetics, heredity, crossbreeding, inbreeding, and molecular genetics. Animal breeding topics include quantitative traits, prediction of breeding value, methods of selection, and genetic evaluations including genomic-enhanced selection. Offered fall only.
AGRI 6000 - Research Methods in Agricultural Science
3credit hours
A review of current scientific methods related to experiments in agriculture. Topics include research ethics, welfare of research subjects, literature resources, critical review of scientific literature, experimental design, scientific writing, interpreting data, and data presentation.
AGRI 6100 - Graduate Seminar in Agriculture
1credit hours
Seminar presentations target current issues and research advances in agricultural science and production. Presenters include faculty, graduate students, and outside speakers. Active participation in topic discussions emphasized. May be repeated. S/U grading.
HORS 6170 - Issues in the Equine Industry
2credit hours
In-depth look at relevant events affecting the equine industry. Interaction with industry leaders provides a unique window to examine the issues affecting the horse industry. Oral and written reports on specific problems presented. Topics will vary depending upon the current issues important to the equine industry.
HORS 6440 - Advanced Equine Nutrition
3credit hours
A class in organic chemistry or biochemistry recommended. A biochemical approach to understanding the nutritional requirements for horses at various life stages, including maintenance, growth, reproduction, performance, age, and clinical support. Feeding management related to nutrient digestion, absorption, and metabolism. Current equine nutrition research and its applications to practical equine management emphasized.
STAT 6020 - Applied Statistical Methods
3credit hours
Prerequisites: MATH 1530, MATH 2050, or STAT 3150 or permission of instructor. Contemporary and medical research methodology for biostatistics. Descriptive and inferential statistics including parametric and nonparametric hypothesis testing methods, sample size, statistical significance and power, survival curve analysis, relative risk, odds ratios, chi square modeling, and analysis of variance. Data will be analyzed using statistical software.
Required Courses (9 hours)
HORS 6040 - Management of Equine Events and Facilities
3credit hours
Prerequisite: 12 hours of upper-division HORS courses. Fundamentals of managing equine and other livestock events and facilities. Emphasis placed on active participation in management of equine events held at MTSU facilities.
Choose two of the following:
LSM 6520 - Management Practices in Recreation and Leisure Services
3credit hours
Administrative processes and management techniques used in planning, organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling with respect to leisure service delivery systems.
MGMT 6100 - Strategic Decision Making
3credit hours
Prerequisite: MGMT 3610 or MGMT 6000. Managerial theory and practice of solving problems, making decisions, and developing strategies for services and/or products. Emphasis on developing practical responses to decision issues using creativity and innovation in a team environment. (This course is not open to students earning a Master of Business Administration degree.)
MGMT 6300 - Not-for-Profit Management and Governance
3credit hours
Prerequisite: JCOB student or permission of department. Focuses on the management theories and practices that impact effective management and governance of organizations in the not-for-profit sector. Emphasizes management decision making within the not-for-profit context and will be one of two core courses in the Master's of Science in Management Social Innovation and Not-for-Profit concentration curriculum.
MGMT 6740 - Leadership and Motivation
3credit hours
Issues in leadership and motivation in business organizations. An examination of the theoretical framework for leadership and motivation processes serves as foundation. Emphasis on practical issues and applications of leadership development and motivation.
MKT 6810 - Promotional Strategy
3credit hours
Promotional goals, plans, and concepts in marketing; the role of marketing communication in society; the organization, budgeting, and scheduling of promotion; innovation and the adoption process; managerial decision making in the promotional mix.
MKT 6870 - Digital Marketing Analytics
3credit hours
Covers what, why, and how of major current approaches, including search engine optimization, search and display ads, mobile marketing, social media, and online listening/monitoring. Covers the key performance indicators and basic techniques to evaluate the effectiveness of online marketing campaigns, including Google Analytics, regression analysis, logistic regression, and online experiments. Provides a quantitative and qualitative approach to understanding and harnessing tools in digital marketing analytics to meet business objectives.
MKT 6880 - Sport and Entertainment Marketing
3credit hours
Prerequisite: MKT 6000 or MKT 6800. Issues pertaining to marketing in the sport and entertainment industries. Focuses on role of sponsorship in a firm's marketing strategy.
Experiential Learning Project (3 hours)
HORS 6540 - Equine Experiential Learning
1 to 6 credit hours
(3 credit hours required)(3 credit hours required)
dotslash:(3 credit hours required)
title:(3 credit hours required)
(3 credit hours required)
HORS 6540 - Equine Experiential Learning
1 to 6credit hours
Prerequisite: Completion of 24 semester hours at the master's level. Practical experience gained while working with an equine-related program emphasizing hands-on involvement. Students will develop, implement, and conclude an applied project in consultation with a faculty member and approved by their committee. S/U grading.
Electives (9 hours)
In consultation with their committees, students must select a minimum of 9 hours from graduate-level courses in the College of Basic and Applied Sciences, the College of Education, and/or the Jones College of Business. Of these, a minimum of 6 hours must be taken from courses with similar content rubrics (i.e., MKT, MGMT, LSM, ABAS, etc.). Students may take a maximum of 12 hours of electives selected from the MGMT, MKT, and or MC rubrics. Students are limited to 6 hours at the 5000 level.
