Master of Science Geological Sciences, USC

The MS program in the Department of Geological Sciences prepares students for professional careers in industry and/or government. A Thesis is required for students seeking a MS degree. Graduate students are expected to conduct scientific research under the supervision of their advisor, and to have a basic understanding of the fundamental principles and practices related to the primary area of their study.

The Department expects all graduates to possess effective oral and written communication skills.

Upon admission, Master students must make satisfactory progress toward the award of the degree. Satisfactory progress includes (in order of execution):

(i) Selection of a Thesis advisor from the faculty of the Department of Geological Sciences (1^st semester);

It is expected that a full-time student will obtain a MS degree within two years of admission.

Master’s students are usually admitted with a Thesis Advisor. If no advisor has been assigned, the student is admitted with the Graduate Director as the default Thesis advisor. Within the first semester, the student must select an advisor. The advisor must be a member of the faculty of the Department of Geological Sciences. In exceptional circumstances, faculty outside the Department may act as Thesis advisors. However, in these cases, a Thesis co-advisor from within the Department of Geological Sciences must also be assigned.

Meeting all degree requirements is the student's responsibility. The major professor, in consultation with the other Thesis committee members, will direct the student's efforts towards a successful completion of research goals and provide advice on course selection and other matters. The major professor will also assist the student in selecting the other Thesis advisory committee members.

The student in consultation with his/her advisor must create a Thesis committee. The committee will consist of at least three faculty members (including the advisor). At least two of the members (including the advisor) must be faculty of the Department of Geological Sciences. The Thesis advisory committee sets the Program of Study for the student and advises and approves the Thesis proposal and final Thesis defense.

Approved members from outside the University of South Carolina can participate as members of the Thesis advisory committee, but they must agree to participate in all committee meetings. The Department provides no funding for travel expenses for participation in committee meetings. Participation via videoconference is acceptable by the program in cases when the member cannot participate on-site. Securing such videoconferencing facilities is the responsibility of the student and his/her advisor.

It is strongly recommended that the student works closely with and schedules regular meetings with all committee members during his/her study.

Each Master’s candidate, in consultation with the Thesis advisory committee (usually at the Thesis Proposal Presentation, see section 3.4), must prepare a Program of Study. This outlines his/her entire program course requirements and should be submitted no later than the end of the second semester, after entrance into the program. The courses listed in the Program of Study must adhere to all course requirements listed in section 3.3.1 and should be submitted on the appropriate form (for forms see: http://www.gradschool.sc.edu/DocLibrary/doclibrary.html). The Graduate Director and the Dean of the Graduate School must approve this form.

The course requirements in the Program of Study represent the minimum hours and should not be interpreted as an upper limit. The Program of Study is determined by the advisory committee based on each student’s needs and may include additional coursework beyond the 30 minimum credit hours (see section 3.3.1), if the committee judges that it is necessary for the student’s success.

3.3.1 Course Requirements

For the Master of Science degree, the minimum course requirements include 30 semester hours of work, not more than six of which may be taken in GEOL 799 (Thesis Preparation), and not more than six of which may be taken in GEOL 790 (Directed Individual Studies). At least 12 credit hours must be in courses numbered 700 and above, excluding of GEOL 799 and GEOL 800 or other independent study and pass-fail seminar course provided by other departments.

These courses must carry an average grade of B (GPA score of 3.00) or better. The remainder of the requirements may include courses numbered from 500 to 699 that are taken for graduate credit. An average grade of B is also required for all courses taken in the Program of Study, and any grade C+ or lower is considered a failure and does not count toward meeting degree requirements. In addition, the student must achieve a B average (GPA score of 3.0) on all courses taken for graduate credit including courses that are not part of the degree program, and must not accumulate more than 11 credits with grades of C+ or lower. For calculating your projected GPA, please use the form published on the Registrar’s website (http://registrar.sc.edu/html/gpa_calc/gpa.htm).

The table below shows the minimum and maximum number of credit hours required to create a typical Program of Study for a MS degree as well as the conditions that need to be met.

	Courses	Credit Hours
(A)	GEOL 799	2 to 6
(B)	GEOL 790	0 to 6
(C)	GEOL 800	0 to 4
(D)	Any 700 & 800 level courses (excluding GEOL790, GEOL799, GEOL 800, independent study and pass-fail seminar courses)	9 or more
(E)	Any 500 and 600 level courses (graduate credit)	any
	Condition 1: (B)+(D)	³12
	Condition 2: (A)+(B)+(C)+(D)+(E)	³30

A number of graduate level courses available through other departments and colleges may be counted toward the MS degree in Geological Sciences. Students must consult with their major professor and advisory committee for advice and approval concerning curriculum planning. The faculty regularly offers seminar courses in specialized areas in response to student requests. Students should confirm when courses are offered to avoid delays in their progress, as many courses are offered only once every other year or when there are enough students interested in a particular course.

3.3.2 Course Distribution Requirement

All MS students must complete one course in each of two out of the three departmental focus areas (Environmental Geosciences, Solid Earth and Climate Change and Ocean Sciences). Courses outside the department, including those taken at other universities, cannot be substituted for this requirement. A list of courses satisfying this requirement can be found in Appendix I.

All Master’s candidates must register for GEOL 800 in all semesters when they are registered for 6 or more credit hours. Exemptions to this requirement are granted solely by the Graduate Studies Director and only for exceptional circumstances.

All Master’s candidates must present on campus public seminars on their research plans and progress at least once per year. Students on a normal timetable can satisfy this requirement by giving their Thesis Proposal Presentation (see section 3.4) in their first year and their Thesis Defense (see section 3.3) in their second year.

3.3.5 Foreign Language Requirement

The Department of Geological Sciences has no mandatory foreign language requirement for its MS program.

Graduate credits that are not part of a completed degree or certificate program at USC or another institution may be transferred subject to the following restrictions:

(ii) The credits must be relevant to the program and approved by the Thesis committee.

(iii) The credits are from an accredited institution recognized by USC; carry graduate credit with a grade of B or better and have been earned within a four year period prior to the beginning of the Master’s program.

A maximum of 9 semester hours of graduate credit that are part of a completed degree or certificate program at USC or elsewhere may be applied toward the Master’s degree requirements.

3.4 MS Thesis Proposal

Once a student has selected a major advisor, formed a Thesis committee, and identified a Thesis topic, he/she must present his/her Thesis proposal at a pre-scheduled date. The Thesis proposal involves the student presenting the proposal in a seminar to the public and to the Thesis committee. The Thesis committee then determines whether the student is qualified to carry out the proposed work and whether the proposed project is a viable research topic.

A written Thesis proposal must be submitted to the student’s Thesis advisory committee. The final version must be submitted at least one week prior to the presentation. An announcement of the presentation must be distributed by the student to all faculty and students at least one week in advance of the event. The distribution should include a departmental email announcement and public postings. The announcement should include a title, short abstract, name of student and advisor, date, time and location.

(i) A technical research presentation of the Thesis project for the Thesis committee. This presentation is open to the public. Normally, the presentation is followed by technical questions from the public at the discretion of the committee chair.

(ii) A private discussion with the Thesis committee in which the project and the candidate's proposed Program of Study are discussed. The committee will determine whether the student is qualified to carry out the proposed research and whether the proposed project is a viable study. If the committee decides that the proposal is not a viable study, then an alternative should be discussed with the student and a new proposal should be presented to the committee within 90 days of the first Thesis proposal. If the committee rejects the second proposal, then the student will be terminated from the MS program.

The Thesis Proposal Presentation should be completed by the end of the first year. A copy of the approved proposal must be filed with the Graduate Director's office using the appropriate form within one week of the date of the presentation (see Appendix). This form must be accompanied by the appropriate program assessment forms (see section 6).

The MS Thesis Defense consists of a public seminar, public question and answer period and a private consultation / examination with the Thesis committee. It must take place no earlier than sixty (60) days after a successful MS Thesis proposal presentation. This defense must be recorded with the Graduate Director at least one week in advance by submission of an abstract with the date, time and place of the defense. This information will be distributed by the Graduate office to all faculty and students and posted on the department’s web site. Students must be registered for at least one semester hour of graduate credit during the term in which the Thesis is completed and approved.

A Program of Study (see section 3.3) must be filed with the Graduate School before the Thesis Defense / Comprehensive exam or the exam cannot take place. The results of the Thesis Defense should be filed with the Graduate Director's office within one week from the defense date using the appropriate form (see Appendix). This form must be accompanied by the appropriate program assessment forms (see section 6). If the student fails the Thesis defense, then he/she is required to repeat it within 120 days. Failure to do so or a second failure leads to disqualification of the student from the MS program.

The Graduate School publishes deadlines for the final submission of approved Thesis (all copies). Students should consult the Graduate School and their web site at least one semester before the Thesis is to be submitted regarding general Thesis regulations and deadlines.

The first draft of the master’s Thesis must be in the hands of the major professor and other committee members at least sixty (60) days before the deadline for final submission. Final copies of the Thesis are to be submitted to the major professor and other committee members for their approval at least thirty (30) days prior to the submission deadline. The student should schedule an appointment with The Graduate School at least one week in advance of the deadline.

The Thesis should be formatted according to the requirements set by the Graduate School (see Dissertation Guidelines link at http://www.gradschool.sc.edu/currentstudents/index.html). In addition, the Department of Geological Sciences requires the names of the committee members and the Dean of the Graduate School be listed on the first page under their respective signature.

3.7 Accelerated MS Degree

An accelerated schedule enables a currently enrolled USC student to complete the requirements for both their Bachelor's degree and a Master's degree in Geological Sciences in only 5 years (10 semesters). This schedule allows the student to take a combination of undergraduate and graduate-level coursework in the fourth year of his/her undergraduate study. Additional course and Thesis work is completed in the 5^th year so that the student obtains the 30 hours of graduate-level coursework required for the Master's Degree.

Students interested in the accelerated Master’s degree have to fulfill all requirements set in sections 3.1 to 3.6 for the Master’s degree. In addition, as part of this program students are allowed to use 9 credit hours of graduate work (500 level and above) towards both undergraduate and graduate degrees. In some instances, this may require students to enroll in classes at the 700 level or above via Senior Privilege permission (6 credit maximum). The Program of Study and Thesis advisory committee must be established before the end of the fourth year of study.

3.8 Time Limits / Restrictions

After admission to the MS program, students are expected to make satisfactory and timely progress toward their degree.

If a break in studies occurs, the student’s admission status expires following three (3) years of non-enrollment. In this case, students wishing to continue must re-apply and fulfill the admission requirements in effect at the time of re-application. Upon readmission, these students are subject to regulations in the current Graduate Studies Bulletin and Departmental Program requirements.

Students who fail to graduate within 10 years of their initial registration will be considered withdrawn from the MS program.

3.9 Progression from MS to PhD Degree

Students who wish to pursue a PhD degree after completion of the Master's degree in the Department of Geological Sciences are not automatically considered for admission. They must submit a formal application to the Graduate School. No student will be accepted into the PhD program unless a faculty member agrees to serve as a major professor for that student.