M.S. in Geography

Graduate Committee

The MS graduate committee consists of at least three members of the graduate faculty, including your Advisor. At least one (the graduate school representative or “outside” member) must be from a department outside of Geography. Formal approval of all student advisory committees is made by the Graduate Dean. 

Prospectus Presentation – Master of Science

Students will make a formal prospectus presentation to their committee. The goal of this presentation is to communicate and justify research questions and proposed methods so as to allow the graduate committee to provide feedback while research is still at an early stage.

Curriculum for the M.S. in Geography

Candidates for the MS in Geography must satisfy the general requirements of the Graduate School. Courses should be selected to complement the student’s fields of interest and enhance his/her conceptual and research skills. The Advisor should be consulted in the selection of courses. The “Program of Study” form is to be completed by the student with the assistance of his/her Advisor and Graduate Committee by the end of the third semester of residency at UNR. This form requires the signature approval of each committee member, the Department’s Graduate Director and the Graduate Dean. Two degree plans are available: Plan A (31 credits) includes a thesis on original research; Plan B (36 credits) replaces the thesis with a non-thesis option. Since two credits (GEOG 796) is S/U, no more than 1 other credit with an S/U grade can be used toward the degree.

Plan A (Thesis), 31 total required credits

Of the 31 credits, at least 18 need to be at the 700-level (nine of your credits will be GEOG 700 and GEOG 797, as spelled out above) and at least 22 of your graduate credits need to be at the University of Nevada, reno (this means that no more than 9 credits can be transferred in).

Plan B (non-thesis), 36 total required credits

Of the 36 credits, at least 18 need to be at the 700-level (including the required courses GEOG 700 and GEOG 796, for a total of five credits), and at least 27 need to be at UNR (this means that no more than 9 credits can be transferred in).

Each graduate course must be completed with a grade of C or better for the credit to be acceptable toward the degree. Additionally, students in the program must maintain a 3.0 (B) or better cumulative grade point average in all graduate credits attempted at the University.

Students have up to six (6) years to complete all requirements for their degree (including transfer credits). A template for obtaining the master’s degree in two (2) years is provided in this booklet under the heading “Roadmap to Completion.” Be advised that the clock begins with the first course you apply toward the degree, i.e., any courses you transfer in. If credits are from another institution, the “Graduate Credit Transfer Evaluation Request” must be filed. 

Thesis

Each student who opts to complete a thesis will need to enroll for a minimum of six hours of thesis credits. These credit hours are given a satisfactory or unsatisfactory (S/U) grade and should generally be taken over the course of two or more semesters. Graduate students should meet with their advisor prior to registering for thesis credits and gain a clear understanding of what is required to receive a passing (S) grade. In general, inadequate or lack of progress on a thesis will result in a non-passing (U) grade. Thesis credits may NOT be taken during the summer semester, except under special circumstances.

The thesis topic and the methodology are chosen by the student in consultation with the advisor and graduate committee. Students should work closely with their advisors and graduate committee members on their thesis research and the documentation of the thesis. For those involved in research dealing with human subjects, the University requires the completion of formal on-line training prior to obtaining the necessary authorization (details are available on the UNR Office of Human Research Protection Web site, http://www.unr.edu/ohrp/). Similarly, for those students involved in research dealing with animals, an Animal Use and Care Permit is required.

Students will present and defend their thesis to their Advisor and Graduate Committee. Typically, the first portion of a thesis defense is a formal presentation of about an hour, including questions and answers, and this is open to the public. After the presentation and the question/answer period, the defense is closed to the public, and the Advisor and the Graduate Committee members will have an opportunity to ask what are typically more detailed questions about the student’s project.

When a thesis is successfully defended, the “Notice of Completion” must be filled out and turned into the Department’s Graduate Director. The “Notice of Completion” form must be submitted to the Graduate School by mid-December for Fall semester graduation, and by mid- May for Spring semester graduation (check the Graduate School website for exact dates).

The approved thesis must be sent to the Graduate School. Deadlines for thesis submission are the same as those for the “Notice of Completion.” It is recommended that each student makes an appointment at the Graduate School to check the necessary format and style before handing in a final thesis. Further information about thesis preparation can be found on the Graduate School website.

Non-thesis option

The non-thesis option requires graduate students to complete a larger number of coursework credits, and allows fewer credits for the professional paper. Consequently, the expectations are distinct.

Students are required to prepare a professional paper, after first identifying a target journal and audience; the professional paper will be presented to a public audience and the treatment defended before the student's Graduate Committee. The exact approach taken in the non-thesis option has some latitude: It can be a paper manuscript suitable for publication in a specified journal. It can be a review essay, analyzing an existing body of literature or an approach to a problem in sufficient depth to demonstrate mastery of that material. The professional paper can be an explication of a map that the student prepares, or a set of maps or GIS layers, or analysis of remotely-sensed material. Or, for teachers, it would not be inappropriate to offer a course module, amounting to five or six classroom lesson plans all turning about a common theme. Command of the material demonstrating adequate mastery must be demonstrated in the written and oral work, and in the defense, itself.