Geology Major, PhD

The prerequisite for the PhD program, in addition to that for the MS program, is either a master’s degree with a major in geology or a bachelor’s degree plus completion of 24 hours of graded course work with at least one course from any three of the groups listed in the third bullet above. These courses may be taken while completing other course requirements.

Requirements

Successful completion of the PhD requires a minimum of 24 hours of graded course work beyond that required for the master’s degree, an additional 24 hours of dissertation credit, approval of a written dissertation proposal, completion of a comprehensive examination, and successful oral defense of a written dissertation. A minimum 3.0 GPA is required in all graduate course work, and taking courses from outside the department is encouraged. After a written dissertation proposal is approved, students are required to pass a comprehensive examination, which is usually taken by the end of the second year. The examination includes both written and oral components in which individuals are tested on their knowledge of their intended research area and related fields.  The candidate is expected to be conversant across a wide range of the geological sciences. The written dissertation will demonstrate high-quality, original research by the student. Research results will be presented orally in a departmental seminar open to the public, and will be defended in a private defense restricted to the Dissertation Committee and interested departmental faculty.