Master of Science in Geology

Admission Requirements

The applicant must meet the School of Graduate Studies’ current minimum general admission requirement as published in the graduate catalog.

  1. For admission to the Geology M.S. program, applicants should have earned an undergraduate degree in Geology from an accredited college or university or another relevant discipline. If an applying student has a Bachelor's degree in a non-science discipline or is otherwise uncertain that their accomplishments meet these requirements, they can demonstrate their competency and preparedness for graduate school in Geology through other means, such as demonstration of equivalent and relevant knowledge gained through field experience and/or industry employment.
  2. Applicants must have a cumulative grade point average of 2.75 or higher.
  3. Applicants are encouraged to submit their GRE score to support their application, especially if they do not have an undergraduate degree in Geology.
  4. Applicants must satisfy the School of Graduate Studies' English Language Proficiency requirements as published in the graduate catalog.
  5. For a Master of Science degree, students must have completed at least one semester of calculus while an undergraduate. Applicants are also generally expected to have completed at least one year of preparation in chemistry and one course in physics during their undergraduate preparation.

Students missing any of the above requirements may be admitted under provisional or qualified status, but all admission requirements at the undergraduate level must be completed, without graduate credit, within one year after beginning graduate work.

Initial decisions for admission and financial aid are made about March 1 for the fall semester and about September 1 for the spring semester.

Combined Admission

To encourage undergraduate Geology students to extend their studies to include a graduate degree, the College of Engineering and Mines has a Combined Program that permits students to earn both a Bachelor's (B.S.) and a Master's (M.S.) degree in Geology. This program allows students to designate two three-credit graduate courses to count for both degrees. The selected courses must have graduate course standing and be designated when a student requests admission to the program.

Students may be admitted to the Combined Degree Program if they have:

  1. Completed 95 credit hours towards the Bachelor's degree.
  2. Completed 30 credit hours of coursework and 8 credit hours of upper division coursework in the geological sciences, including the equivalents of physical geology and historical geology.
  3. Maintained an overall GPA of at least 3.0 in all geological sciences they took.
  4. Completed an application to the UND Graduate School and been accepted for admission.

Students in the Combined Degree Program will be admitted to the School of Graduate Studies upon completion the Bachelor's degree.

The time normally needed to complete the Combined Degree Program is 1 year, plus an additional summer after admission to the Graduate School.

Degree Requirements

Students seeking the Master of Science degree at the University of North Dakota must satisfy all general requirements set forth by the School of Graduate Studies, as well as the following particular requirements set forth by the Harold Hamm School of Geology and Geological Engineering:

  1. Students must complete a program of study that includes a minimum of 30 credit hours, including 4 to 6 credits specifically earned through taking GEOL 998 Thesis.
  2. At least 20 of the 30 credit hours must be earned from courses taken within the Harold Hamm School of Geology and Geological Engineering.
  3. At least 15 credit hours must be from classes at or above the 500-level.
  4. A maximum of 7 of the credit hours required for the degree may be transferred from another institution.
  5. Up to 12 credit hours of 300 and/or 400 level coursework in Geology may be taken for graduate credit.

The time normally needed to complete the requirements for the Master’s degree in Geology is about two years of full-time work. Students with graduate teaching assistantships may need more time.