College of Arts and Sciences

Departmental E-mail: geograd [at] indiana [dot] edu

Departmental URL:  https://earth.indiana.edu/index.html

(Please note that when conferring University Graduate School degrees, minors, certificates, and sub-plans, The University Graduate School’s staff use those requirements contained only in The University Graduate School Bulletin.)

Curriculum

Curriculum
Courses
Faculty

Degrees Offered

Master of Science in Geological Sciences, Master of Science in Geological Sciences-Atmospheric Sciences; Doctor of Philosophy in Geological Sciences, and in Geological Sciences-Atmospheric Sciences.

Special Departmental Requirements

(See also general University Graduate School requirements.)

Admission Requirements

An undergraduate degree in the physical or natural sciences is required. It is expected that students will have an undergraduate back­ground that includes course work in allied sciences/mathemat­ics, equivalent to one year of chemistry and physics or biology, mathematics through differential and integral calculus, plus at least 6 credit hours of higher-level courses. Where appropriate, a substantive foun­dation course in field geology or comparable independent field experience is also expected. Students with degrees in engineer­ing or other related fields are also encouraged to apply.

Master of Science Degree

Course Requirements

Geological Sciences: A minimum of 30 credit hours. At least 22 of the 30 hours must be graduate-level courses (excluding G810) or one of the 400-level courses listed below from the Department of  Earth & Atmospheric Sciences that are approved for graduate credit. Twelve of the 22 hours must be from the Department of  Earth & Atmospheric Sciences and must include at least 9 hours at the 500 level or above. A minimum of 3 credits of G810 (Research) is required and a maximum of 8 credits of G810 can be applied toward the 30 required credit hours. A subset of 300 and above undergraduate courses in allied sciences are acceptable. Electives include but are not limited to: Mathematics, M301, M312, , M343, M344, M365, M415; Physics, P331, P332, P340, P400. Additional courses from other science departments can be substituted with written permission from the Director of Graduate Studies.

Geological Sciences-Atmospheric Sciences:   Requirements are identical with one exception. At least 9 of the 12 required credits from the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences must be from graduate courses defined as related to the Atmospheric Sciences track, which includes the listing below and other courses (e.g., new additions, including G690 offerings, to the atmospheric sciences curriculum) approved by the faculty

Thesis

A thesis or alternative research project is required. 

Dual Master's in Geological Sciences (M.S.) and in Environmental Sciences (M.S.E.S.)

Students must apply to and be accepted by both the School of Public and Environmental Affairs and by the Department of  Earth & Atmospheric Sciences. A total of 60 credit hours is required. For specific program requirements, see the Director of Graduate Studies of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences and the School of Public and Environmental Affairs Graduate Programs Bulletin

Doctor of Philosophy Degree

Course Requirements

Geological Sciences: A total of 90 credit hours, including dissertation and 35 credit hours of course work approved for graduate credit (excluding G810). A minimum of 12 credit hours must be graduate courses taken from the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences (excluding G810). The subset of allied science courses listed in the M.S. degree requirement applies to the Ph.D. Up to 30 credit hours of graduate classes can be transferred from another institution provided equivalent courses are offered at Indiana University. 

Geological Sciences-Atmospheric Sciences: Requirements are identical with one exception. At least 9 of the 12 required credits from the department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences must be from  graduate courses defined as related to the Atmospheric Sciences track which includes the listing below and other courses (e.g., new additions, including G690 offerings, to the atmospheric sciences curriculum) approved by the faculty.

Courses Approved for Geological Sciences-Atmospheric Sciences Track

G540 Physical Meteorology, G547 Atmospheric Instrumentation, G534 Dynamic Meteorology 2, G537 Synoptic Meteorology and Climatology, G538 Air Pollution Meteorology, G556 Wind Power Meteorology, G564 Dynamic Meteorology: Boundary-Layer Meteorology, G570 Micrometeorology, G574 Topics in Micro-and Boundary-layer Meteorology, G576 Climate Change Science.

Minor

Outside minor in a related field (including chemistry, physics, biology, mathematics, statistics, computational science, sustainable energy science, and environmental sciences), or, with approval, a self-designed internal minor in an area of Earth and Atmospheric Science distinct from the major research area.

Early Review

Written initial research plan followed by an oral defense.

Qualifying Examination

Written and oral.

Final Examination

Oral defense of the dissertation.