San Francisco State University Department of Geosciences—

Requirements for MS Degree Program in Applied Geosciences

A. Apply to the Graduate Program in Applied Geosciences (see Graduate Division web site for application deadlines and procedures, and for downloadable forms: http://www.sfsu.edu/~gradstdy/).

Courses are scheduled to best accommodate students who begin studies in the Fall semester; however, students may also be admitted for the Spring semester.

NOTE: If applicants do not have an undergraduate degree in one of the geosciences, they will be required to take additional coursework that does not apply toward their graduate requirements.

All students should contact the graduate coordinator and potential faculty advisors prior to starting the program to establish a proposed plan of study.

B. Summary table of department and university requirements (additional details about these requirements are provided in separate sections below)

REQUIREMENT	WHEN TO DO	2007-08 DATES
Geol/Metr 700 (Graduate Seminar)	First semester of study	Fall
Geol/Metr 701 (Research Methods in Ap. Geosci.)	Second semester of study	Spring
Geol/Metr 702 (Quant. Methods in Ap. Geosci.)	Third semester of study	Fall
Geol/Metr 897 (Research, usually in 2 or 3-unit increments)	After G/M 701 (or concurrent if approved by faculty advisor)	Advisor and student arrange meetings
Graduate Approved Program (GAP) form	Submitted to Dept (D) & Grad Div (GD) prior to final semester	For Spr 08 grad.: to D—~Oct 2 to GD—~Nov 1
Proposal for Culminating Experience form	Submitted to Dept (D) & Grad Div (GD) prior to final semester	Same as for GAP
Geol/Metr 898 (MS thesis)	Last semester—includes oral defense & written thesis	Advisor/student arrange meetings
File application for graduation	Early in semester of graduation	Jan. grad: Sep 28; May grad: Feb 15
Written thesis and Report of Completion of Culminating Experience Requirement form	Submitted to Dept. and Graduate Division (bound copies required for library and Geosciences department)	Jan. grad: Dec 17 May grad: May 15

C. Specific information about Geol/Metr 701

· This course fulfills the First-level Written English Proficiency Requirement of the university (the second level is fulfilled by the written thesis).

· To successfully complete the course, students must earn an A or B grade. Students who do not successfully complete the course will be required to take additional English courses to improve their written skills.

· To successfully complete the course, students must:

1) write a thesis proposal that has been approved by the course instructor and the thesis committee

2) present the proposal orally to department faculty and students

· Cover sheet: the proposal must include a cover sheet with signatures of the course instructor and thesis committee members, thus demonstrating successful completion of the course requirements.

· An outcome of the course—student establishes thesis committee:

1) primary thesis advisor, who must be a faculty member in the Geosciences Department

2) two additional committee members, one of whom may be a faculty member from another SFSU department or from an external agency or company. Committee members should have expertise in areas that complement the student’s research topic.

D. Research Units (Geol/Metr 897)

· Students must complete 6 research units. Students enroll in these units through the department office. The section number for this course corresponds to the faculty member who is the primary thesis advisor.

· Research units are usually taken in 2- or 3-unit increments. To successfully complete these units, students must make satisfactory progress on their research, under supervision of their faculty advisor.

· Students may begin taking research units after their thesis proposal has been approved (successful completion of Geol/Metr 701), or concurrent with G/M 701, if approved by thesis advisor.

E. Graduate Approved Program (GAP) / Proposal for Culminating Experience

· Students must submit the GAP form (obtained from the Graduate Division) to the department and the Graduate Division in the semester preceding registration for the final 6 units of graduate work. The GAP must be approved by the primary faculty advisor and the graduate coordinator in the department, and subsequently by the Graduate Division. The GAP lists all courses to fulfill graduate program (30 units).

· See Course Schedule (and table above) for GAP filing deadline.

· Approval of the GAP form advances a student to candidacy for the master’s degree, and to fully classified status if the student was admitted as conditionally classified.

· To change the GAP (or to change a thesis committee member) a student must file a Petition for GAP Substitution or Exception form, including all required signatures, with the Graduate Division.

· Students must also file a Proposal for Culminating Experience Requirement that has been approved by program faculty. This form should be submitted after completing Geol/Metr 701 (can be submitted together with the GAP).

· Note that students must have a 3.0 (B) average on all GAP courses. Students who do not maintain a 3.0 GPA during their graduate studies will be placed on probation by the university.

F. Human and Animal Subjects Requirements

· Any research that involves human and/or animal subjects requires the approval of the Committee for the Protection of Human Subjects (CPHS) and/or the University Animal Care and Use Committee (UACUC). Approval must be obtained before any research begins that involves these subjects.

· Forms are available from the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs.

· No student is permitted to enroll in the culminating experience course until the research activity has been approved by CPHS or UACUC (if applicable)

· Note that most Geoscience research does not involve human or animal subjects, but if you conduct surveys, this is using human subjects.

G. Graduate thesis (Geol/Metr 898) and Oral thesis defense

· This course fulfills the Second-level Written English Proficiency Requirement and the Culminating Experience Requirement of the university.

· Students are not permitted to enroll in this culminating experience course until both the GAP and Proposal for Culminating Experience forms have been approved by the Graduate Division.

· Students must file in final format their approved thesis and Report of Completion of Culminating Experience Requirement form to the department and the Graduate Division (see Course Schedule for filing deadline; usually the last day of classes). The thesis must include a cover page that has been signed by all thesis committee members.

· IMPORTANT NOTE: Be certain to contact the Graduate Division for thesis format instructions (available online). Students are advised to take a preliminary draft of the thesis to the Graduate Division prior to the filing deadline, to make sure that all formatting requirements have been followed.

· As part of the Culminating Experience Requirement (Geol/Metr 898), students must present their thesis results to department faculty and students and answer questions about their research. The defense will be scheduled in consultation with the department chair, graduate coordinator, and thesis committee.

· Before scheduling the thesis defense, a student must have faculty advisor approval and must have submitted a complete draft of the written thesis to the thesis committee at least five weeks prior to the proposed defense date. Faculty advisor approval means that the faculty advisor feels that the thesis is near enough to completion and that the results and conclusions are well enough documented and supported to distribute a draft to other committee members for review.

· Students should allow at least two weeks between the date of their oral defense and the thesis filing deadline to allow time for final revisions based on the thesis committee’s final edits and suggestions, and to allow the faculty advisor time for a final read-through of the thesis.

· Because the committee must receive a draft five weeks prior to the thesis defense, and because the student should allow at least two weeks between their oral defense and the thesis filing deadline, students must have an advisor- approved draft to distribute to the committee no later than seven weeks before the thesis filing deadline.

· Note that, depending on a student’s writing skills, numerous iterations of the thesis draft may be required by the faculty advisor prior to scheduling the oral defense date. Students should therefore be certain to get initial drafts to their faculty advisor early in the semester of their graduation or during the previous semester (see schedule below).

· In addition to submitting a final thesis to the Graduate Division, students must also submit copies to the Geosciences Department and to the thesis committee members. The department requires a bound copy and will pay for the cost.

H. Applying for graduation

· Students must file an application to graduate during the semester they plan to graduate. See Course Schedule (and table above) for filing deadline (usually early in the semester).

· Students must file their thesis and a Report of Completion of Culminating Experience Requirement by the last day of instruction (see Course Schedule and table above for dates).

I. Meeting with the graduate thesis committee

· The student and faculty advisor are responsible for arranging meetings of the student’s thesis committee when needed to address problems that arise or to assess student progress toward research completion.

· Meetings of the thesis committee should be arranged at least once each semester, including the semester when a student’s proposal and oral defense are presented. A final committee meeting will occur after the oral defense.

Note that it is very difficult (probably impossible) to finish the written thesis during a single semester. Students are advised to complete as much of the thesis as possible prior to the final semester (semester a student intends to graduate). SEE SCHEDULE ON NEXT PAGE.

J. Schedule to assist student planning for graduation in the desired semester (Note that these are the LATEST dates that students can submit their materials to be eligible to graduate in a particular semester.) Final semester refers to the semester within which a student plans to graduate.

DEADLINES	ACTIVITY	F07 DATES	S08 DATES
Semester prior to final semester	(1) Submit GAP and Proposal for Culminating Experience form to dept. and Graduate Division; (2) submit thesis introduction, background, and methods sections to faculty advisor for review	Spring 07	Fall 07
Third week of final semester	Submit results sections and draft figures (plus rewritten introductory sections) to faculty advisor for review	Week of Sept 10	Week of Feb 11
Sixth week of final semester	Submit discussion/conclusions sections and rewritten previous sections to faculty advisor for review	Week of Oct 1	Week of Mar 3
Eighth week of final semester	(1) With approval of faculty advisor, submit complete draft of thesis to committee members for review; (2) with committee approval, schedule oral defense in consultation with dept. chair and Graduate coordinator	Week of Oct 15	Week of Mar 17
Thirteenth week of final semester (or earlier)	Present oral defense of thesis—need at least two weeks after defense for: (1) incorporating committee’s final comments; (2) final read-through by advisor; (3) formating thesis to meet Grad Division requirements	Week of Nov 26	Week of Apr 28
Fifteenth week of final semester	Submit written thesis with signed cover page and Report of Completion of Culminating Experience form to the Graduate Division	Week of Dec 10 (final thesis and report of completion due to Grad Division Dec. 17)	Week of May 12 (final thesis / report of completion due to Grad Division May 15)