Department of Geology
Michael W. Phillips, Chairperson
James A. Harrell, Graduate Coordinator
V. Max Brown, Graduate Adviser
Requirements for the Master's Program
For the degree of Master of Science in Geology, students must meet the following departmental requirements: (a) A minimum of 30 hours of formal course work must be taken. Included in these 30 hours are 6 hours of thesis research and 24 hours of lecture courses that may include up to 8 hours in a related field outside the Department; (b) Students who have not taken the equivalents of GEOL 1010, 1020, 1030, 1040, 2210, 2220, 3320 and 4650 as undergraduates will be required to do so in addition to the required 30 hours. Additional remedial course work may be prescribed by the thesis adviser if it is deemed necessary for the chosen thesis research topic; ( c ) Candidates for the Master's degree must prepare a written thesis, present an oral summary of the thesis research and defend the thesis before a faculty examination committee.
Inorder to graduate in a timely fashion, students are expected to choose a thesis adviser and a thesis topic by the end of their first semester of study. Once an adviser is chosen, the student and adviser are expected to develop and submit a Plan of Study immediately.
Applicants should have the minimum undergraduate GPA (2.70) required by the Graduate School for admission to a M.S. program, and should also take the Graduate Record Examination and report the results to the department. Applicants requesting a graduate assistantship should have a combined verbal/quantitative score on the GRE of at least 950. International applicants should have a minimum TOEFL score of 550.
Master of Science and Education Degree
The Master of Science and Education degree in Geology requires a minimum of 6 hours of thesis research and 24 hours of approved formal course work distributed between the Department of Curriculum and Instruction (College of Education and Allied Professions) and the Department of Geology (College of Arts and Sciences). Course scheduling is designed to accommodate in-service teachers. Candidates must prepare a written thesis, present an oral summary of the thesis research and defend the thesis before an examination committee consisting of faculty from both colleges.