Earth Science, M.S.
Overview
The mission of the Department of Environmental, Earth, and Geospatial Sciences is to promote intellectual, professional, and personal excellence through the highest quality instruction, research, and service. Its vision is to be recognized as a regional, statewide, and national resource for students and society as well as professionals who work in the many fields that are encompassed by the environmental, earth, and geospatial sciences.
The Master of Science in Earth Sciences curriculum requires satisfactory completion of a minimum of 36 semester-hours of approved graduate credit. There are two concentrations in the graduate program: applied earth sciences and general earth sciences. The program is designed to develop master’s level competence in applied earth sciences, with an emphasis on geographic information systems and remote sensing of the physical environment, or general earth sciences, which is designed to enhance the knowledge of earth science teachers and other professionals who wish to pursue additional graduate work.
The program requirements are met through the following components: (1) a core curriculum consisting of 12 credit hours, (2) a concentration of 9 credit hours in applied earth sciences or a concentration of 9 credit hours in general earth sciences, (3) 12 credit hours of electives with or without teacher certification, and (4) a thesis or internship project (at least 3 credit hours) coupled with a systematic program of guidance, advisement, and evaluation that involve students from entry through graduation. Students must maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher to remain in the program.
Admission Requirement
For unconditional admission to the Master of Science in Earth Science graduate program, the student must present at least 30 semester hours of “B” work in environmental, earth or geospatial sciences. Students who do not meet this requirement may gain conditional admission and can complete a course of study to rectify any deficiencies. Conditional admissions will be handled on a case by case basis. Depending on the selected concentration, possible courses which the student can take to better prepare for the graduate program include GEOG 4010-Applied Geographic Information Systems, GEOG 4920 Theory & Methods, GEOG 4110-Quantitative Techniques in Geography, GEOG-4130 Geospatial Statistics, GEOG 4220-Conservation of Natural Resources, or GEOG-4230 Minerals, Energy and Environment. These courses do not count towards the requirements for the degree.
The GRE is required for admission. A student with a GRE score of less than a 1000 may be required to retake the GRE within the first semester of study.
Degree Requirements for the Master of Science in Earth Sciences:
All students must complete the following curriculum requirements for the degree: 12 hours of core courses, 9 hours on concentration courses, 12 hours of elective courses, and either 3 hours of thesis or a project. Students must maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher to remain in the program.
Core Courses
All students are required to complete twelve (12) semester hours of core courses selected from those listed below.
Thesis Option
Candidates for the thesis option must complete thirty-three (33) credit hours of course work plus at least three (3) credit hours of thesis (EASC 5900 : 1-6 credit hours) or internship (EASC 5800 : 3 credit hours).
Project Option
Students may elect to complete a project (0 credit hours) in lieu of a thesis, in which case three elective hours must then be substituted for EASC 5900 .
Foreign Language Requirement
Students need to satisfy graduate the foreign language requirement by either passing a foreign language exam or by successfully completing a graduate level course in statistics or selected computer programming language.
Master’s Comprehensive Examination
The comprehensive examination is conducted on the day set each semester by the university and it consists of comprehensive questions from core and concentration courses as well as questions relevant to elective courses and thesis research.
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