American College of Applied Science Virtual Campus

This is a 12 week, online, course. At least 6 hours a week is required of students to complete the readings, assignments, and online conferences with students and the instructor.

The American College of Applied Science does not advocate, require, or condone its students recommending or prescribing pharmaceutical agents. This course is intended to provide the students with an overview of the more commonly used pharmaceutical agents used in behavioral therapy so that the student may discuss such use of agents with the veterinarian. The American College of Applied Science acknowledges that the recommendation or prescription of any pharmaceutical agents is strictly under the medical auspices of a veterinarian.

This course sequence affords Master’s degree students the opportunity to integrate their program of study into an in-depth exploration of an interest area that includes the completion of an original research study. Students complete the Master’s thesis independently, with the guidance of a thesis supervisory committee chairperson and committee members. Students will complete a prospectus, proposal, institutional review board (IRB) application, thesis paper, and oral defense. Submission and defense of the thesis represents the completion of the final requirement for the degree being sought. Registering for three semesters in the course sequence for a total of nine credits is required. All graduate level theses must be defended. A thesis defense, also known as an oral defense, is completed via a recorded teleconference with the student’s thesis committee members (examinee and the examiners) and is a type of final examination for a master’s candidate. Grading for the thesis sequence is as follows: 1) Accepted / pass with no corrections. 2) Must be revised, 3) Must be revised extensively and undergo the evaluation and defense process again from the beginning with the same examiners, 4) Unacceptable - the thesis is unacceptable and the candidate must withdraw from the program. This verdict is given only when the thesis requires major revisions and when the thesis defense makes it clear that the candidate is incapable of making such major revisions. Students will follow a thesis timeline contained in the school’s Thesis Manual, will report progress, and communicate with the thesis chairperson and other students in an online classroom on a weekly basis. This is an online course and a research project.