| The Professional Science Master’s (PSM) is a unique type of degree program - one that combines education in a scientific discipline with practical training in business, management, and organizational leadership. Students of the Illinois PSM take the same rigorous graduate level science classes as their colleagues but replace research and thesis writing with hands-on industry experience and introductory MBA level business courses through the Gies College of Business. The Illinois PSM program is designed for those students who seek graduate-level knowledge, but do not wish to work directly with research. Many of our students aspire to be project managers, analysts, or entrepreneurs, and seek to help solve some of the most challenging problems we are facing in feeding, fueling, and conserving resources for our growing population. These students excel at explaining the technical sciences to non-technical audiences both in the company and among the general population. At Illinois, we offer Professional Science Master’s programs in six exciting areas: - Agricultural Production - an advanced interdisciplinary program in science and agribusiness with food animal production, crop production, and sustainable production systems specializations
- Bioprocessing and Bioenergy - bridges science and business to help meet the demand for sustainable bio-based energy and food and energy bioprocessing
- Food Science & Human Nutrition - expertise in nutrition and food science for application in food, pharmaceutical, ingredient, and other settings
- Geographic Information Science - connecting our world by capturing cutting-edge geospatial technologies to market and provide real-time information to consumers and businesses
- Plant Biotechnology - fusing plant/biological science, business, and biotechnology techniques to develop, market, and regulate new hybrids of crops to feed the ever-growing population
- Technical Systems Management - a program focused on the application of physical and natural sciences to solve the world’s most pressing agricultural and biological technical systems problems
The Illinois PSM programs are designed to be completed in 16-months of full-time study on the Urbana-Champaign campus, which includes a summer internship. Our program is a collaboration between the Graduate College, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, College of Agricultural and Consumer Economics, and the Gies College of Business. To date, over 250 students have enrolled in the Illinois Professional Science Master’s program, and we see just how valuable our students are to the industry. Over 85% of our students have full-time positions within 12 months of graduation, and many of those students are promoted within 18-24 months of their hiring date. A few of the companies that have hired PSM students include: - Abbott
- Archer Daniels Midland (ADM)
- Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica
- Corteva Agriscience
- Eli Lilly and Company
- Esri
- Google
- John Deere
- Kraft Heinz
- Nestle
- PepsiCo
- Tyson Foods
- Univar
Here is a program quick guide for your reference. Additional flyers and admissions requirements can also be found at www.psm.illinois.edu Please contact me at bpschmi2@illinois.edu or (217) 300-3828 if you have any questions. I plan to follow up with you within the next few weeks to see if there are further questions I can answer about our program for you, your students, or anyone in your staff. |
