30 hours of graduate credit with a 3.0 GPA or higher, including:

1. At least 22 of the 30 hours must be graduate-level courses. 400–level courses from the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences that can be taken for graduate credit are listed in Appendix 8. 500– 700-level Geology courses and lower-level courses from other departments that count toward graduate credit can be found in the University Graduate School Academic Bulletin (see the section entitled Graduate Credit-General in the Academic Regulations section of the University Graduate School Academic Bulletin).
2. 12 of the 22 hours must be from the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences.
3. A minimum of 3 credits of G810 (research credits) are required; a maximum of 8 credits of G810 can be applied toward the degree.
4. At least three 3–credit hour courses of 500 level or above must be taken from the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences.
5. Selection of courses must be approved by the primary advisor in consultation with the student’s research committee.
6. M.S. degrees must be completed within five years of the last month of the first semester of matriculation.

Students are strongly encouraged and urged to select this option. It requires a thesis prepared in a form that is essentially ready for publication, with 8 credit hours (or fewer) of research.

This option requires three or more credit hours of research (G810, G700). The report should include an abstract, introduction, field and/or laboratory methods, results, discussions and conclusions, accompanied by a citation list. It must be submitted for approval to CGS.