Applicable only to students admitted during the 2012-2013 academic year.

Geology

Admission

Program Name

Geology

Address

3683A Geology
Box 951567
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1567 

Phone

(888) 377-8252 

Email

holbrook@ess.ucla.edu  

Leading to the degree of

M.S., Ph.D. 

Admission Limited to

Fall, Winter, Spring 

Deadline to apply

January 15th 

GRE (General and/or Subject)

GRE: General

Subject test scores are optional and may be in any appropriate subject. 

Letters of Recommendation 

3 

Other Requirements

In addition to the University's minimum requirements and those listed above, all applicants are expected to submit a statement of purpose.

A bachelor's degree in geology, biology, chemistry, physics, or other science is required. Applicants must have outstanding records in the relevant basic sciences and mathematics.

Qualified students may proceed directly toward the Ph.D. degree without first obtaining an M.S. degree. 

Master's Degree

Advising

Students are assigned a faculty adviser who is chosen by the graduate adviser in consultation with the student just prior to the first quarter of enrollment. During the first quarter of residence, the faculty adviser selects two additional faculty members to complete the student's advising committee. At the beginning of every quarter, the student's program must be reviewed and approved by the faculty adviser before submission for official approval by the graduate adviser.

Departmental Reviews. The Graduate Student Affairs Committee annually reviews students' progress (generally in late May and early June). These reviews become part of students' departmental record and are transmitted to the students and their faculty advisers in writing. If students' scholarship or progress is insufficient, they are subject to dismissal. The normal minimum course load is 12 units per quarter.

Areas of Study

The program in geology offers study in geomorphology, glaciology, micropaleontology, mineral deposits, mineralogy, organic geochemistry, paleobiology, petrology, paleontology, sedimentology, stratigraphy, structural geology, tectonophysics, and other fields.

Foreign Language Requirement

None.

Course Requirements

Each course of study is worked out individually by the advising committee in consultation with the student. It may include appropriate courses offered by other departments. Unless students have already passed Earth and Space Sciences 61 and 111, they are required to take either 184G or the sequence 61, 111G in their first year of residence. Depending on students' performance in course 184G, they may subsequently be required to take all or part of the undergraduate sequence. Students are required to register in one of the following each quarter: Earth and Space Sciences 235A, 235B, 235C, or 295A, 295B, 295C.

Courses applied toward the 36-unit minimum requirement must be from the 100, 200, or 500 series in the physical or life sciences. At least 24 units must be graduate-level courses, of which at least four units must be a geology seminar (Earth and Space Sciences 251 through C260). Except for courses 597 and 598, courses graded on an S/U basis are not applicable toward the requirements. The advising committees may require additional courses in light of individual educational objectives and backgrounds.

Eight units of 500-series courses may be applied toward the total course requirement for the M.S. degree in Geology. Four units may be applied toward the minimum graduate course requirement.

Teaching Experience

Not required.

Field Experience

Not required.

Comprehensive Examination Plan

This plan is recommended for those continuing to the Ph.D. degree. The examination is administered by the student's three-member advising committee and one additional member who is appointed by the graduate adviser following consultation with the student. It consists of a six-hour written part and a subsequent oral part. The written part covers the student's major field of study, whereas the oral part may be more general in scope. If the examination is failed, the committee may, on the basis of the student's academic performance, recommend either termination of graduate study or further coursework followed by another examination. Reexamination is not normally permitted more than once.

Thesis Plan

Every master's degree thesis plan requires the completion of an approved thesis that demonstrates the student's ability to perform original, independent research.

This plan is normally required for students not continuing to the doctorate. The thesis committee consists of the three-member advising committee, whose chair is the supervisor of the thesis research. One member of the committee may be from another department. The thesis subject may be selected at once and the research undertaken concurrently with coursework. In any event, it should normally be selected within the first year of residence. The completed thesis must be approved by the thesis committee. If it is not, the committee may, on the basis of the student's academic performance, recommend either termination of graduate study or further coursework or research or both, leading to submission of a revised thesis. Revision and resubmission is not normally permitted more than once.

Time-to-Degree

From graduate admission to conferral of degree, normal progress is six quarters.

Doctoral Degree

Advising

Students are assigned a faculty adviser who is chosen by the graduate adviser in consultation with the student just prior to the first quarter of enrollment. During the first quarter of residence, the faculty adviser selects two additional faculty members to complete the student's advising committee. At the beginning of every quarter, the student's program must be reviewed and approved by the faculty adviser before submission for official approval by the graduate adviser.

Departmental Reviews. The Graduate Student Affairs Committee annually reviews students' progress (generally in late May and early June). These reviews become part of students' departmental record and are transmitted to the students and their faculty advisers in writing. If students' scholarship or progress is insufficient, they are subject to dismissal. The normal minimum course load is 12 units per quarter.

Major Fields or Subdisciplines

The program in geology offers study in geomorphology, glaciology, micropaleontology, mineral deposits, mineralogy, organic geochemistry, paleobiology, petrology, paleontology, sedimentology, stratigraphy, structural geology, tectonophysics, and other fields.

Foreign Language Requirement

None.

Course Requirements

Students are expected to complete at least the minimum number of courses which are required for the M.S. degree and must take a geology seminar each year. Each course of study is worked out individually by the advising committee in consultation with the student. It may include appropriate courses offered by other departments. Unless students have already passed Earth and Space Sciences 61 and 111, they are required to take either 184G or the sequence 61, 111G in their first year of residence. Depending on students' performance in course 184G, they may subsequently be required to take all or part of the undergraduate sequence. Students are required to register in one of the following courses each quarter: Earth and Space Sciences 235A, 235B, 235C, or 295A, 295B, 295C.

Teaching Experience

Not required.

Written and Oral Qualifying Examinations

Academic Senate regulations require all doctoral students to complete and pass University written and oral qualifying examinations prior to doctoral advancement to candidacy. Also, under Senate regulations the University oral qualifying examination is open only to the student and appointed members of the doctoral committee. In addition to University requirements, some graduate programs have other pre-candidacy examination requirements. What follows in this section is how students are required to fulfill all of these requirements for this doctoral program.

Written Qualifying Examination. This examination must be taken before the end of the first year of the doctoral program if the student has a master's degree; otherwise, it must be taken before the end of the second year of enrollment. It is administered by the advising committee augmented by a fourth member who is appointed by the graduate adviser in consultation with the student and serves as chair of the examining committee. It is given in either a question/answer format or a proposal/proposition format, which the student may select.

The question/answer format consists of a two-part examination. The first part is written and can cover any aspect of geology in which the student has had training. The second part is oral, is taken no later than a week after the first part, and can cover subjects from the written part and the field of the proposed dissertation, although it is not limited to these topics.

The proposal/proposition format consists of an oral examination based on three written research proposals or scientific propositions in any combination, which must be submitted to the examining committee at least 10 days before the examination. One of the essays must specify the intended dissertation research. The examination is concerned with the originality and soundness of the proposals and propositions, their scientific significance, and the quality of their elucidation and defense, although it is not limited to these topics.

University Oral Qualifying Examination. After passing the written qualifying examination, the student must consult a faculty adviser and the graduate adviser regarding nomination of the doctoral committee and arrange a time for the examination. At least a week beforehand, the student must provide each member of the doctoral committee with a written prospectus of the proposed dissertation research. The subject matter covered in the examination includes, but is not limited to, the proposed research. Repetition of a failed examination is at the option of the doctoral committee.

Advancement to Candidacy

Students are advanced to candidacy and awarded the Candidate in Philosophy (C.Phil.) degree upon successful completion of the written and oral qualifying examinations.

Doctoral Dissertation

Every doctoral degree program requires the completion of an approved dissertation that demonstrates the student's ability to perform original, independent research and constitutes a distinct contribution to knowledge in the principal field of study.

Final Oral Examination (Defense of the Dissertation)

Not required for all students in the program. The decision as to whether a defense is required is made by the doctoral committee.

Time-to-Degree

A. The written qualifying examination is normally taken during or prior to the sixth quarter of graduate work, unless the student already has a master's degree, in which case it must be taken by the end of the third quarter.

B. The oral qualifying examination should be taken as soon as possible after successful completion of the written qualifying examination and no later than the end of the 11th quarter.

C. The dissertation should be completed and the final oral examination (defense of dissertation) taken by the 12th to 15th quarter.

Termination of Graduate Study and Appeal of Termination

University Policy

A student who fails to meet the above requirements may be recommended for termination of graduate study. A graduate student may be disqualified from continuing in the graduate program for a variety of reasons. The most common is failure to maintain the minimum cumulative grade point average (3.00) required by the Academic Senate to remain in good standing (some programs require a higher grade point average). Other examples include failure of examinations, lack of timely progress toward the degree and poor performance in core courses. Probationary students (those with cumulative grade point averages below 3.00) are subject to immediate dismissal upon the recommendation of their department. University guidelines governing termination of graduate students, including the appeal procedure, are outlined in Standards and Procedures for Graduate Study at UCLA.

Special Departmental or Program Policy

In addition to the standard reasons outlined above, a student may be recommended for termination who fails to meet requirements regarding course scheduling and deadlines for completion of examinations or the degree as agreed upon between the student and the Graduate Affairs Committee or the student's advising committee. A student may appeal a recommendation for termination through a letter to the graduate adviser or the departmental chair.

PAGE 1 -- Geochemistry
PAGE 3 -- Geophysics & Space Physics