The Master of Geophysics program is designed for professional geophysicists who wish to broaden their geophysical background without the need for research on a specific sub-discipline.
Degree Requirements
The program requires the completion of a minimum of 33 credit hours of course work with a cumulative GPA of 3.00 or more at all times. The program is designed to ensure sufficient exposure to laboratory and computational tools. The distribution of credit hours is as follows:
| Degree Requirements | Credit Hours | |
|---|---|---|
| Geophysics Core Courses | 9 | |
| Geophysics Elective Courses | 9 | |
| Graduate Mathematics Course | 3 | |
| Free Elective Courses | 9 | |
| Geophysics Masters' Report | 3 | |
| Total Credit Hours | 33 | |
The following courses are required to be completed by all students enrolled in the Master of Geophysics program:
Core Courses
The following courses are required to be taken by students enrolled in the MS degree program in Geophysics:
| (A) Core Courses | ||
|---|---|---|
| Course | Code | Credit Hours |
| Reflection Seismology | GEOP 501 | 3 |
| Potential Theory Methods | GEOL 502 | 3 |
| Solid Earth Geophysics | GEOP 503 | 3 |
| Graduate Mathematics Course | MATH 5xx | 3 |
| Seminar | GEOP 599 | 0 |
| Geophysics Masters' Report | GEOP 600 | 3 |
| Geophysics Masters' Report | GEOP 600 | 3 |
Elective Courses in Geophysics
Students can choose from the graduate level elective courses offered during a particular semester.
| (B) Elective Courses | ||
|---|---|---|
| Course | Code | Credit Hours |
| Applied Environmental Geophysics | GEOP 504 | 3 |
| Advanced Computational Geophysics | GEOL 505 | 3 |
| Seismic Data Analysis | GEOP 510 | 3 |
| Geophysical Inversion | GEOP 515 | 3 |
| Three-Dimensional Seismic Interpretation | GEOP 540 | 3 |
| Reservoir Characterization | GEOP 550 | 3 |
| Independent Study | GEOP 606 | 3 |
| Special Topics | GEOP 590-594 | 3 |
Potential Free Elective Courses from Other Departments
For free electives, the students can select courses from this list or graduate level courses from other departments, after approval from their academic advisors. Specifically, the free elective courses can be taken from any academic department (including the Department of Geosciences) provided the courses are 500-level or higher and approved by the student’s academic advisor. Up to two graduate-level Geophysics elective courses can be substituted with 400-level undergraduate Geophysics courses only after advisor and department approvals. No credit will be given for any 400-level courses taken outside the department.
We draw particular attention to the following courses (Table 6.1.3) from cognate departments, dependent on the student’s background and interests:
| (C) Free Elective Courses | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Department | Course | Code | Credit Hours |
| Petroleum Engineering | Advanced Well Logging | PETE 524 | 3 |
| Advanced Reservoir Simulation I | PETE 549 | 3 | |
| Physics | Advanced Methods of Theoretical Physics | PHYS 571 | 3 |
| Mathematics* The students could consider the suggested Mathematics courses for the Math core course (MATH 5xx) and for free electives | Mathematical Methods for Engineers | MATH 513 | 3 |
| Numerical Analysis of Partial Differential Equations | MATH 572 | 3 | |
| Matrix Computations and Optimization Algorithms | MATH 573 | 3 | |
| Numerical Methods for Partial Differential Equations | MATH 574 | 3 | |
| Applied Regression and Experimental Design | MATH 560 | 3 | |
| Electrical Engineering | Applied Electromagnetic Theory | EE 531 | 3 |
| Digital Signal Processing I | EE 562 | 3 | |
| Civil Engineering | Finite Elements Methods | CE 517 | 3 |
| Continuum Mechanics | CE 518 | 3 | |
| Computer Engineering | Computer Architecture | COE 503 | 3 |
| Message Passing Multiprocessing Systems | COE 503 | 3 | |
| Neural Networks | COE 591 | 3 | |
| Information & Computer Science | Parallel Algorithms | ICS 556 | 3 |
| High Performance Computing | ICS 573 | 3 | |
| Advanced Artificial Intelligence | ICS 581 | 3 | |
| Mechanical Engineering | Nonlinear Finite Element Analysis | ME 556 | 3 |
| COURSE | TITLE | LT | LB | CR | COURSE | TITLE | LT | LB | CR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Year | |||||||||
| GEOP 501 | Reflection Seismology | 3 | 0 | 3 | GEOP 503 | Solid Earth Geophysics | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| GEOP 502 | Potential Theory Methods | 3 | 0 | 3 | GEOP xxx | Geophysics Elective II | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| GEOP xxx | Geophysics Elective I | 3 | 0 | 3 | XXX xxx | Free Elective II | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| XXX xxx | Free Elective I | 3 | 0 | 3 | GEOP 599 | Seminar | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | 0 | 12 | 10 | 0 | 9 | ||||
| Second Year | |||||||||
| MATH 5xx | Graduate Mathematics Course | 3 | 0 | 3 | GEOP xxx | Geophysics Elective IV | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| GEOP xxx | Geophysics Elective III | 3 | 0 | 3 | GEOP 600 | Geophysics Masters' Report | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| XXX xxx | Free Elective III | 3 | 0 | 3 | XXX xxx | Free Elective V | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| XXX xxx | Free Elective IV | 3 | 0 | 3 | |||||
| 12 | 0 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 9 | ||||
| Total Credit Hours: 42 | |||||||||
Requirements
The Master of Geophysics program is designed for professional geophysicists who wish to broaden their geophysical background without the need for research on a specific sub-discipline.
Degree Requirements
The program requires the completion of a minimum of 33 credit hours of course work with a cumulative GPA of 3.00 or more at all times. The program is designed to ensure sufficient exposure to laboratory and computational tools. The distribution of credit hours is as follows:
| Degree Requirements | Credit Hours | |
|---|---|---|
| Geophysics Core Courses | 9 | |
| Geophysics Elective Courses | 9 | |
| Graduate Mathematics Course | 3 | |
| Free Elective Courses | 9 | |
| Geophysics Masters' Report | 3 | |
| Total Credit Hours | 33 | |
The following courses are required to be completed by all students enrolled in the Master of Geophysics program:
Core Courses
The following courses are required to be taken by students enrolled in the MS degree program in Geophysics:
| (A) Core Courses | ||
|---|---|---|
| Course | Code | Credit Hours |
| Reflection Seismology | GEOP 501 | 3 |
| Potential Theory Methods | GEOL 502 | 3 |
| Solid Earth Geophysics | GEOP 503 | 3 |
| Graduate Mathematics Course | MATH 5xx | 3 |
| Seminar | GEOP 599 | 0 |
| Geophysics Masters' Report | GEOP 600 | 3 |
| Geophysics Masters' Report | GEOP 600 | 3 |
Elective Courses in Geophysics
Students can choose from the graduate level elective courses offered during a particular semester.
| (B) Elective Courses | ||
|---|---|---|
| Course | Code | Credit Hours |
| Applied Environmental Geophysics | GEOP 504 | 3 |
| Advanced Computational Geophysics | GEOL 505 | 3 |
| Seismic Data Analysis | GEOP 510 | 3 |
| Geophysical Inversion | GEOP 515 | 3 |
| Three-Dimensional Seismic Interpretation | GEOP 540 | 3 |
| Reservoir Characterization | GEOP 550 | 3 |
| Independent Study | GEOP 606 | 3 |
| Special Topics | GEOP 590-594 | 3 |
Potential Free Elective Courses from Other Departments
For free electives, the students can select courses from this list or graduate level courses from other departments, after approval from their academic advisors. Specifically, the free elective courses can be taken from any academic department (including the Department of Geosciences) provided the courses are 500-level or higher and approved by the student’s academic advisor. Up to two graduate-level Geophysics elective courses can be substituted with 400-level undergraduate Geophysics courses only after advisor and department approvals. No credit will be given for any 400-level courses taken outside the department.
We draw particular attention to the following courses (Table 6.1.3) from cognate departments, dependent on the student’s background and interests:
| (C) Free Elective Courses | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Department | Course | Code | Credit Hours |
| Petroleum Engineering | Advanced Well Logging | PETE 524 | 3 |
| Advanced Reservoir Simulation I | PETE 549 | 3 | |
| Physics | Advanced Methods of Theoretical Physics | PHYS 571 | 3 |
| Mathematics* The students could consider the suggested Mathematics courses for the Math core course (MATH 5xx) and for free electives | Mathematical Methods for Engineers | MATH 513 | 3 |
| Numerical Analysis of Partial Differential Equations | MATH 572 | 3 | |
| Matrix Computations and Optimization Algorithms | MATH 573 | 3 | |
| Numerical Methods for Partial Differential Equations | MATH 574 | 3 | |
| Applied Regression and Experimental Design | MATH 560 | 3 | |
| Electrical Engineering | Applied Electromagnetic Theory | EE 531 | 3 |
| Digital Signal Processing I | EE 562 | 3 | |
| Civil Engineering | Finite Elements Methods | CE 517 | 3 |
| Continuum Mechanics | CE 518 | 3 | |
| Computer Engineering | Computer Architecture | COE 503 | 3 |
| Message Passing Multiprocessing Systems | COE 503 | 3 | |
| Neural Networks | COE 591 | 3 | |
| Information & Computer Science | Parallel Algorithms | ICS 556 | 3 |
| High Performance Computing | ICS 573 | 3 | |
| Advanced Artificial Intelligence | ICS 581 | 3 | |
| Mechanical Engineering | Nonlinear Finite Element Analysis | ME 556 | 3 |
Curriculum (Degree Plan)
| COURSE | TITLE | LT | LB | CR | COURSE | TITLE | LT | LB | CR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Year | |||||||||
| GEOP 501 | Reflection Seismology | 3 | 0 | 3 | GEOP 503 | Solid Earth Geophysics | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| GEOP 502 | Potential Theory Methods | 3 | 0 | 3 | GEOP xxx | Geophysics Elective II | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| GEOP xxx | Geophysics Elective I | 3 | 0 | 3 | XXX xxx | Free Elective II | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| XXX xxx | Free Elective I | 3 | 0 | 3 | GEOP 599 | Seminar | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | 0 | 12 | 10 | 0 | 9 | ||||
| Second Year | |||||||||
| MATH 5xx | Graduate Mathematics Course | 3 | 0 | 3 | GEOP xxx | Geophysics Elective IV | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| GEOP xxx | Geophysics Elective III | 3 | 0 | 3 | GEOP 600 | Geophysics Masters' Report | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| XXX xxx | Free Elective III | 3 | 0 | 3 | XXX xxx | Free Elective V | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| XXX xxx | Free Elective IV | 3 | 0 | 3 | |||||
| 12 | 0 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 9 | ||||
| Total Credit Hours: 42 | |||||||||