Program Overview

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University of Montana Catalog

The University of Montana offers a wide range of undergraduate and graduate programs through its various colleges and schools.

Colleges and Schools

• College of the Arts and Media
• College of Business
• Phyllis J. Washington College of Education
• W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation
• College of Health
• College of Humanities and Sciences
• College of Science
• Missoula College
• Interdisciplinary Majors, Minors, and Certificates
• Alexander Blewett III School of Law
• Franke Global Leadership Initiative
• Davidson Honors College
• Maureen and Mike Mansfield Center

Graduate School Programs and Policies

The Graduate School at the University of Montana offers various programs and policies for graduate students.

Graduate School Policies

Graduate School policies and standards can be found on the Graduate School Policies page.

General Graduate Program Requirements

The minimum GPA for any graduate program is 3.0. Individual programs may require more than a 3.0 to remain in good standing. The minimum grade for a course to be accepted toward any master's or doctoral requirement is C. The minimum grade for a course to be accepted toward a certificate program is B-. Individual programs may require higher grades for specific courses.

Doctor of Philosophy - Geosciences

A minimum of 60 graduate-level credits is required for the Ph.D. in Geosciences. The committee will often require additional coursework beyond the minimum of 60 credits.

Required Coursework

• At least half (i.e., 20) of the coursework credits must be at the 500 or 600 level
• At least 14 of the 40 formal course credits must be Geosciences courses
• No more than 6 credits of Research (GEO 590) may be applied
• A minimum of 6 graduate credits of coursework must be taken outside of the Geosciences Department in cognate science areas
• Transfer credits from a Master of Science degree may be used to satisfy any of the above formal coursework requirements with committee approval. Thesis credits cannot be transferred.

Course List

Course List Code	Title	Hours
Complete all of the following:
40 credits of graduate-level coursework chosen in consultation with your advisor.	40
GEO 699	Dissertation Research	20
Total Hours	60

Ph.D. Committees

A Ph.D. committee must have at least five qualifying members. The committee must include the major advisor, at least one more faculty member from Geosciences, and at least one member of the UM faculty from outside the Department of Geosciences.

Comprehensive Exam and Dissertation Proposal

By the end of the fourth semester of study, the student will complete written and oral comprehensive examinations covering the major discipline. Successful completion of the comprehensive examinations is required for a student to be advanced to candidacy in the doctoral program.

Dissertation

Completion of the degree requires submission and defense of a doctoral dissertation. This document may consist of two or more papers submitted or ready for submission to peer-reviewed scientific publications or of a single long document containing original scientific research.

Dissertation Defense

The oral defense of the dissertation may be scheduled only after the research committee has approved the draft dissertation. A copy of the accepted and corrected committee draft of the dissertation must be placed in the department office at least one week before the defense for inspection by any university faculty member.

Program Time Limit

All requirements for the degree must be completed within seven years of commencing graduate coursework at the University of Montana.

Application for Graduation

At least one semester before the Ph.D. degree is to be awarded, the student must submit three copies of the Application for Graduation form to the Graduate School and pay a graduation fee.

Intellectual Property Rights

The preservation and publication of samples and data collected during thesis research is of the highest priority. Therefore, raw data and samples generated as part of research projects supported by faculty grants and/or support from the Department of Geosciences will reside in the Department. The student must develop a plan for the archiving and transferring of data and samples with his/her advisor prior to finishing research and writing the dissertation.