Professional Master's Degree in Geoscience (MGeo)
closed to new applicants as of 2017
For 5 years the MGeo program in the Department of Earth Sciences (DES) at the University of Hawaii at Manoa (UHM) was offered to provide a master's degree with training and practical experience in applied geoscience. The MGeo was for individuals, including working professionals, who have completed a bachelor's degree in the natural sciences, math, or engineering. The MGeo was intended to prepare students to pursue a career in a variety of fields such as geological, geotechnical, and environmental consulting, hydrology, natural hazard mitigation, climate change adaption, natural resource exploration, renewable energy development, and more. See the AGI website for more information about geoscience and geoscience careers.
The time to degree was planned to be shorter than a traditional MS because MGeo students do a professional work project over a period of a few months rather than thesis research.
Distinguishing Features
- Emphasis on coursework in applied geoscience, and a work project (as a volunteer, intern, or employee of a company or agency), rather than a research thesis
- The MGeo is for students and working professionals with a variety of backgrounds in science and engineering.
- Admittance into the program is not limited to availability of research funds, but is based solely on one's academic standing. Information about tuition, fees, and other costs is provided by the Office of Graduate Education (OGE) and the UHM tuition schedule.
- Some non-Hawaii residents may be eligible for in-state tuition. The MGeo is a participating degree of the Western Regional Graduate Program (WGRP) through the Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education (WICHE). You are eligible for the in-state tuition rate if you are a resident of a state listed on the UHM-WICHE page. See also WGRP for more information.
- Opportunity to choose among a wide list of graduate courses, as well as advanced undergraduate courses [e.g., Hawaiian Geology (GG402), Introduction to Statistics and Data Analysis (GG413), Coastal Geology (GG420), Marine Geology (GG423), Environmental Geochemistry (GG425), Geophysical Methods (GG450), Hydrogeology (GG 455), Engineering Geology (GG454), Geological Remote Sensing (GG460), Geospatial Information (GG461), Statistical Analysis for Business Decision (BUS 310), Environmental Impact Assessment (GEOG 412), Fundamentals of Soil Science (TPSS 304)]
Course Requirements
- 30 credit hours total: 24 credit hours of course work plus 6 credit hours of GG750 MGeo Professional Project (see below). Of the 24 coursework credit hours, 12 or more must be at the graduate-level (600-798, excluding GG750, GG700, and GG699), and the remaining can include upper-level (300-499) undergraduate courses (see list above). at least 18 of these 24 credit hours of courses must be taken for a letter grade.
- As part of the 12 credits mentioned above, GG740 MGeo Seminar must be taken annually. In addition, 3 credits of a writing intensive course must be taken (see below).
- note: the OGE recognizes the MGeo program an "MS-Plan B" program, and the above requirements are consistent with those of MS-Plan B. See the OGE website for additional nformation.
Writing Course Requirement: At least 3 credit hours must be taken in either an undergraduate course that is designated as “writing intensive” (WI-focus) or an alternate course with an equivalent writing experience (in which case a memo indicating so is provided by the instructor and kept in the student's file).
MGeo Professional Work Project: MGeo students do a professional work project instead of a thesis. Students conduct the work as a volunteer, intern, or employee of a local company or agency. In so doing, the student earns the 6 credits of GG 750 MGeo Professional Project. Students present their results in (a) a written report or technical paper, as well as (b) a talk given either at UHM or at the sponsoring organization. Projects are advised by the primary Earth Sciences faculty advisor, a representative of the sponsoring organization, and another Earth Sciences graduate faculty member.
Information for Current or Prospective Students
- Graduate Student & Post-doc Opportunities
- Undergrad Survival Guide
- Graduate Survival Guide
- Department Laptop Policy
- SLOs