Master's Degree

While only students seeking a doctoral degree are admitted to the Graduate School of Geography, two types of M.A. degrees are available: pre-doctoral and non-doctoral.

Pre-Doctoral M.A.
An M.A. degree can be awarded to doctoral candidates after the following requirements: completion of residency; completion of required course work; completion of doctoral exam; approval of the dissertation proposal.

Non-Doctoral M.A.
Normally no later than at the end of the first semester of the second year of residence, after a review process, students may opt or may be advised to shift to a terminal M.A. degree, under which circumstances they will be expected to drop one or two courses in order to write a thesis. This thesis is a research paper or short article (15-30 pages), demonstrating an ability to define a problem, as well as serving as evidence of research competence.

After approval by a committee consisting of the major advisor and two other faculty of the student's choosing, three copies of the final draft with a letter by the major advisor noting committee approval will be delivered to the Geography office. The Director will then announce to the faculty that the draft is available for examination. Faculty comments will be reviewed by the major advisor and any changes approved by the advisor. The thesis is accepted by the advisor and the committee. Following acceptance, two bound copies of the final draft are delivered to the departmental office and the ribbon copy to the Format Advisor. Students completing the non-doctoral M.A. must re-apply should they subsequently wish to enter the Ph.D. program.