Degree Requirements

The Ph.D. degree requires the satisfactory completion of a minimum of 60 semester hours of graduate credit beyond the bachelor’s degree, or a minimum of 30 hours beyond the master’s degree, including at least 12 credit hours of GEOL 899  Dissertation Preparation. Additional course work is determined by the student and his/her advisory committee in accordance with departmental requirements and the student’s background and specific needs. Qualifying and comprehensive exams must be successfully completed in a timely manner. The oral portion of the comprehensive exam consists, in part, of the defense of a paper written by the student which has been submitted for publication in an approved peer-reviewed journal. All Ph.D. candidates are required to publish one paper in and submit a second paper to refereed scientific journals prior to graduation. A written dissertation is required which must be successfully defended. Additional details are available from the director of graduate studies in geological sciences.