Geology, M.S.

• Introduction
• Deadlines
• Background Requirements
• Program Information

Introduction

The Department of Geosciences offers a wide range of courses leading to the Degree of Master of Science in both Geology and Geophysics.  Applicants to the Master’s of Science Program must have earned a Bachelor’s Degree or its equivalent.  Applicants to graduate school will be evaluated based upon their Grade Point Average (GPA), Graduate Record Exams (GRE) scores, and letters of recommendation.  A GPA of 3.0 or better in the last 60 hours and commensurate scores on the verbal, quantitative, and analytical writing sections of the GRE are generally considered acceptable for admission.  Individuals with a lower GPA but elevated GRE’s may also be admitted.  Letters of recommendation are also given considerable weight in the evaluation process.  All non-native English-speaking students must take the TOEFL examination and receive a score of 550 or better for the paper exam, 213 or better for the computer exam, and 79 or better for the internet-based exam.  In addition to these requirements, graduate admission may also be contingent upon a faculty advisor agreeing to supervise the applicant’s research.  Therefore, prospective students are strongly encouraged to contact faculty members in the applicant’s field of interest prior to the application deadline.

Submit all online graduate applications to www.applytexas.org.  Please ensure that you have asked ETS to submit your GRE and TOEFL scores to UH using code 6870.  Also, for reference letter purposes, ensure that you have included 3 names and email addresses on your application.

Have original transcripts mailed to:

Sylvia Marshall, Academic Advisor II
Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
Rm. 312, SR1
University of Houston
Houston, Texas 77204-5007

Deadlines

All students:  Complete applications for Fall semester admissions must be submitted for review no later than January 1.  Complete applications for Spring semester admissions must be submitted for review no later than September 1.  All of the required forms (letters, test scores, and original transcripts) must be received by our departmental office by the deadlines stated above.

Please do not send any material to the Office of Admissions.

Background Requirements

Candidates for an M.S. degree in Geology are required to have successfully completed course work equivalent to the University of Houston’s undergraduate B.S. in Geology program.  These courses include:

• Physical Geology
• Mineralogy
• Paleobiology
• Petrography
• Geologic Field Methods
• Stratigraphy
• Igneous/Metamorphic Petrogenesis
• Structural Geology
• Sedimentary Petrogenesis
• Introduction to Geophysics
• Field Camp

Allied courses include:

• 3 semesters of Calculus
• 2 semesters of Calculus-based Physics
• 2 semesters of Chemistry.

Substitution of courses equivalent to those listed above as well as waivers of requirements will be considered on an individual basis.  Applicants with a few deficiencies can satisfy those requirements while also taking graduate courses at the University of Houston.  It is normally recommended that a student with 6 or more deficiency courses - e.g., those whose undergraduate degree was in another discipline - work toward a second undergraduate degree in Geology prior to graduate work.

Program Information

A minimum of 30 credit hours is required for the M.S. degree in Geology, 6 of which are thesis hours.  All students are responsible for familiarizing themselves with all rules, regulations, etc., of the University, College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, and Department of Geosciences and for meeting all requirements.  Applicants are encouraged to review the detailed requirements for the M.S. degree.

Twenty-one (21) hours must consist of 6000-level EAS courses, and the remaining 9 hours can be selected 4000-level (or above) courses or approved 3000-level (or above) course work in other departments.  No more than six (6) undergraduate hours may be in EAS.  A maximum of 6 semester hours of graduate level course work can be transferred from other institutions, provided they were taken as part of a graduate degree program, that the grades are B or higher, and that the courses were taken within the last 5 years.  In order to insure breadth, each student is required to take at least one course from 3 of the 4 Graduate Core Course Work Categories.  These categories are:

1. Geochemistry/Petrology,
2. Sedimentary Geology,
3. Stucture/Tectonics, and
4. Applied/Analytical (a list of courses in each category is on the web site).

An average of B must be maintained in courses taken for graduate credit.  A grade of C+ or lower in four courses (12 hours) renders the student ineligible for any advanced degree at the University of Houston.

Additionally, all international students must familiarize themselves with all regulations, etc. relevant to their status (e.g., International Student Services).  Students are reminded that the University requires them to complete their degree requirements within five (5) consecutive years after their initial enrollment in graduate course work at the University of Houston.  Additionally, graduate credit is not given for any University of Houston course work completed prior to admission into the graduate program, e.g., courses taken as a post-baccalaureate student (PB) and non-degree option do not count.