Coursework

The Graduate School has no specific requirements related to the number of or level of courses that students must complete in order to obtain the M.S. or Ph.D. degree. Instead, the Special Committee determines which courses the student must complete. Also, satisfactory progress must be maintained, described in the next section. In the Graduate Fields of Atmospheric Sciences and Geological Sciences, students typically take 2-3 courses related to their major program each term during their first couple of years. Additionally, students often need to complete coursework in order to fulfill requirements related to their minor concentration(s). The faculty member on the Special Committee representing the minor concentration determines which courses the student must take in order to fulfill the minor. 

M.S. and Ph.D. students are required to enroll in at least 12 credits each term. If students are taking fewer than 12 credits of coursework or are no longer completing coursework, they will be automatically enrolled in an appropriate research course (i.e. GRAD 9012 Master’s Thesis Research, GRAD 9010 Graduate-Level Research, or GRAD 9011 Doctoral Dissertation Research) by the Graduate School for the remaining number of credits that they need.