M.S. Degree Requirements

The M.S. program in Planetary Sciences consists of 30 credit hours in graduate courses (15 units of PTYS courses and 2 to 4 units of PTYS 910 thesis credit).

A minimum of 30 hours of graduate credit hours with a GPA of 3.0 or higher.  The 30 credit hours must include two to four units of PTYS 910 thesis credit and at least 15 credit hours in PTYS courses.

The 15 PTYS credit hours must include one each from of the following groups: PTYS505A, PTYS505B, PTYS517, PTYS553 o PTYS510A, PTYS510B, PTYS512, PTYS554

Students must maintain a GPA of 3.0 or better in the PTYS courses to be considered in good academic standing. Failure to maintain this standing results in dismissal from the M.S. program.

The M.S. committee consists of three or more members, and is chaired by the student’s M.S. thesis advisor. Other members of the committee can be from the PTYS/LPL faculty, other University of Arizona departments, or scientists from outside institutions, if approved by the GAAC and the University of Arizona Graduate College as a special member. The student and their academic advisor recommend members of the M.S. committee. These recommendations are reviewed by the GAAC and must be approved by the PTYS department head.

Students transferring from the Ph.D. program must file the Request for Change of Program with Graduate Student Academic Services (UArizona Graduate College), then file the Master’s Plan of Study form using the GradPath system.

In order for the university to award the M.S. en route to a continuing Ph.D. student, a Request for Change of Program must be filed with Graduate Student Academic Services (GSAS, UA Graduate College). Instructions for this process are here. Please contact the department’s graduate academic advisor for assistance.

All M.S. students must pass a M.S. Defense Examination. This examination consists of two parts: (1) a public presentation during which the candidate describes the results of their research and responds satisfactorily to questions from the audience, and (2) a closed examination, where the members of the M.S. Committee question the student to determine if the thesis satisfies the faculty’s standards for intellectual and scholarly achievement. The entire proceedings may not exceed three hours. Members of the committee must be present for the entire examination. 

University of Arizona requirements for the M.S. Final Oral Defense Examination are available from the Graduate College.

All other M.S. Degree Requirements must be completed prior to scheduling the M.S. (Oral) Thesis Defense Examination.

Student must complete the Master’s Plan of Study and Master’s Completion of Degree Requirements (GradPath) before the defense examination.

Copies of the thesis must be distributed to the M.S. Committee 4 weeks prior to the M.S. Oral Defense Examination.

The duration of the public presentation is at the discretion of the M.S. Committee, but generally lasts 30 to 45 minutes.

The M.S. Committee may accept the thesis as is, accept the thesis subject to modifications, or reject the thesis. In this last case, the student is dismissed from the program. A second exam may be permitted, in accordance with Graduate College regulations, if the Committee agrees that this is appropriate.

Acceptance or rejection of the thesis is decided by majority vote of the committee.

Upon successful completion of the examination, the student’s academic advisor/committee chair will submit the Master’s Completion of Degree Requirements (GradPath) form.

The student must submit the final thesis to the Graduate College and provide one copy to the LPL library.

Thesis must describe results from an original investigation. The results must of high enough quality to merit publication in the peer-reviewed literature.

Reprints (copies of either published papers or manuscripts submitted for publication) may be included as appendices in theses or dissertations, with the permission of the student’s committee. Because the thesis or dissertation must represent an integrated body of original scholarly work, the portions of the reprint that are relevant must be summarized within the body of the thesis or dissertation. Also, of the student is not the sole author of the work, the student’s contribution to the work must be explained. Further details regarding formatting and submission of theses and dissertations is available online from the Graduate College. Note that written permission must be obtained for the use of any copyrighted material.

Reprints of published papers or preprints of manuscripts submitted for publication may be included as chapters in theses or dissertations if the student is the first or sole author and if the student's committee consents. Because the thesis or dissertation must represent an integrated body of original scholarly work, the relevance of the work to the thesis must be explained in the Introduction or elsewhere within the thesis. Reprints or preprints of papers on which the student is an author, but not the first author, may only be included as appendices, although the work that the student contributed may be included within the body of the thesis or dissertation. Written permission must be obtained for the use of any copyrighted material.

Thesis must conform to the rules outlined on the Graduate College web site.

The thesis must be provided to the department’s graduate academic advisor as an electronic file that; thesis will be archived in the LPL library.

There is no Teaching Assistant requirement for the terminal M.S. degree.

There is no Graduate Student Colloquium requirement for the terminal M.S. degree.

There is no minor requirement for the terminal M.S. degree. 

There is no Oral Comprehensive Exam, other than the thesis defense, required for the terminal M.S.