Program Requirements
Complete 54 credits from at least 14 courses including three marine science core courses, one marine policy core course, two School for the Environment seminars, 21 to 22 credits of concentration electives, and 18 credits of dissertation research.
Concentration: Students must select a concentration in coastal systems science, integrated coastal management, living marine resources science and management, marine and atmospheric system modeling and analysis, marine biogeochemistry and environmental change, marine observation technologies, or oceans and human health.
Doctoral candidacy: Successful completion of a comprehensive written and oral qualifying examination by the end of the sixth semester. If the presentation and successful defense of the dissertation do not take place within five years of admission to candidacy, the candidate must repeat the comprehensive examination.
Dissertation: Compose and defend a dissertation based on original empirical research.
En Route Master’s Degree: Students may, with the approval of the program director, apply to receive an MS degree en route to the PhD. To qualify, students must complete all core course requirements and the written and oral examinations.
Minimum grade: No courses with grade below B can be applied to the program. Students who earn B- in two courses will be considered no longer in good standing and may be dismissed from the program. Students who receive a grade below C in any graduate course will be dismissed from the program.
Grading basis: Courses must be taken graded unless the course is only offered on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory basis.
GPA: A minimum GPA of 3.0 is required from all courses applied toward the program.
Residency: Excluding intercampus marine science courses taken at UMass campuses, graduate course credits earned at another institution, as a non-degree student, or in another department may only be applied to the program with approval from the dissertation committee and graduate program director.
Course level: No more than one course taken at UMass Boston at the 300/400-level may be applied toward the program with approval of the thesis/project advisor and graduate program director.
Statute of limitations: Eight years.
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