The Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences offers both the Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees with a major in geology. Individuals interested in these programs should contact the faculty member most closely related to the applicant’s interests. Those who would like more information about the application process should complete the form below to contact the Director of Graduate Admissions.

Requirements

Credit Hours Required

• Minimum of 30 graduate credit hours

Course Requirements

• EEPS 500 (6 credit hours)
• 24 credit hours of approved course work, including
  • EEPS 595 every semester students are in residence unless course or teaching conflicts preclude a student from being present.
    • Students must also enroll in EEPS 596 one time during their residency.
    • A student may apply a maximum of 2 credit hours of EEPS 595 and 1 credit of EEPS 596 toward graduation.

Additional Course Requirements

• Taking courses from outside the department is encouraged, and are selected in consultation with the advisor and committee.
• Students without a Bachelor’s degree in the geosciences may need to take geology courses at the undergraduate level, which may be recommended by the advisor and the Dissertation Committee. These courses supplement the required graduate course work.

Non Course Requirements

• Approval of a written thesis proposal.
• Successful oral defense of a written thesis.
• Before receiving an MS degree, students must demonstrate committee-approved proficiency in field-based Earth Sciences, which is typically done by completing an undergraduate field camp or a field-based program of equivalent length and curriculum.

Concurrent MS

Credit Hours Required

• Minimum of 30 graduate credit hours

Additional Course Requirements

• For students enrolled in the PhD program, a concurrent master’s degree may be awarded as a 30 credit hour project-based (non-thesis option). To be eligible a student should:
  • not have a prior master’s degree in Geology;
  • have successfully completed 30 credit hours of approved graduate course work;
  • have demonstrated a committee-approved proficiency in field-based Earth Sciences;
  • have a PhD dissertation proposal accepted;
  • have passed his/her preliminary exams; and
  • have at least one first author paper submitted for consideration for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.