CPG

MS Geophysics Program

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 RequirementsCredit Hours
Geophysics Core Courses9
Geophysics Elective Courses9
Graduate Mathematics Course3
Free Elective Courses9
Geophysics Masters' Report3
Total Credit Hours33

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
CourseCodeCredit Hours
Reflection SeismologyGEOP 5013
Potential Theory MethodsGEOL 5023
Solid Earth GeophysicsGEOP 5033
Graduate Mathematics CourseMATH 5xx3
SeminarGEOP 5990
Geophysics Masters' ReportGEOP 6003
Geophysics Masters' ReportGEOP 6003

Elective Courses in Geophysics

Students can choose from the graduate level elective courses offered during a particular semester.

(B) Elective Courses
CourseCodeCredit Hours
Applied Environmental GeophysicsGEOP 5043
Advanced Computational GeophysicsGEOL 5053
Seismic Data AnalysisGEOP 5103
Geophysical Inversion GEOP 5153
Three-Dimensional Seismic InterpretationGEOP 5403
Reservoir CharacterizationGEOP 5503
Independent StudyGEOP 6063
Special TopicsGEOP 590-5943

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
DepartmentCourseCodeCredit Hours
Petroleum EngineeringAdvanced Well LoggingPETE 5243
Advanced Reservoir Simulation IPETE 5493
PhysicsAdvanced Methods of Theoretical PhysicsPHYS 5713
Mathematics*
The students could consider the suggested Mathematics courses for the Math core course (MATH 5xx) and for free electives
Mathematical Methods for EngineersMATH 5133
Numerical Analysis of Partial Differential EquationsMATH 5723
Matrix Computations and Optimization AlgorithmsMATH 5733
Numerical Methods for Partial Differential EquationsMATH 5743
Applied Regression and Experimental DesignMATH 5603
Electrical EngineeringApplied Electromagnetic TheoryEE 5313
Digital Signal Processing IEE 5623
Civil EngineeringFinite Elements MethodsCE 5173
Continuum MechanicsCE 5183
Computer EngineeringComputer ArchitectureCOE 5033
Message Passing Multiprocessing SystemsCOE 5033
Neural NetworksCOE 5913
Information & Computer ScienceParallel AlgorithmsICS 5563
High Performance ComputingICS 5733
Advanced Artificial IntelligenceICS 5813
Mechanical EngineeringNonlinear Finite Element AnalysisME 5563
COURSETITLELTLBCRCOURSETITLELTLBCR
First Year
GEOP 501Reflection Seismology303GEOP 503Solid Earth Geophysics303
GEOP 502Potential Theory Methods303GEOP xxxGeophysics Elective II303
GEOP xxxGeophysics Elective I303XXX xxxFree Elective II303
XXX xxxFree Elective I303GEOP 599Seminar100
120121009
Second Year
MATH 5xxGraduate Mathematics Course303GEOP xxxGeophysics Elective IV303
GEOP xxxGeophysics Elective III303GEOP 600Geophysics Masters' Report003
XXX xxxFree Elective III303XXX xxxFree Elective V303
XXX xxxFree Elective IV303
12012609
Total Credit Hours: 42

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 RequirementsCredit Hours
Geophysics Core Courses9
Geophysics Elective Courses9
Graduate Mathematics Course3
Free Elective Courses9
Geophysics Masters' Report3
Total Credit Hours33

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
CourseCodeCredit Hours
Reflection SeismologyGEOP 5013
Potential Theory MethodsGEOL 5023
Solid Earth GeophysicsGEOP 5033
Graduate Mathematics CourseMATH 5xx3
SeminarGEOP 5990
Geophysics Masters' ReportGEOP 6003
Geophysics Masters' ReportGEOP 6003

Elective Courses in Geophysics

Students can choose from the graduate level elective courses offered during a particular semester.

(B) Elective Courses
CourseCodeCredit Hours
Applied Environmental GeophysicsGEOP 5043
Advanced Computational GeophysicsGEOL 5053
Seismic Data AnalysisGEOP 5103
Geophysical Inversion GEOP 5153
Three-Dimensional Seismic InterpretationGEOP 5403
Reservoir CharacterizationGEOP 5503
Independent StudyGEOP 6063
Special TopicsGEOP 590-5943

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
DepartmentCourseCodeCredit Hours
Petroleum EngineeringAdvanced Well LoggingPETE 5243
Advanced Reservoir Simulation IPETE 5493
PhysicsAdvanced Methods of Theoretical PhysicsPHYS 5713
Mathematics*
The students could consider the suggested Mathematics courses for the Math core course (MATH 5xx) and for free electives
Mathematical Methods for EngineersMATH 5133
Numerical Analysis of Partial Differential EquationsMATH 5723
Matrix Computations and Optimization AlgorithmsMATH 5733
Numerical Methods for Partial Differential EquationsMATH 5743
Applied Regression and Experimental DesignMATH 5603
Electrical EngineeringApplied Electromagnetic TheoryEE 5313
Digital Signal Processing IEE 5623
Civil EngineeringFinite Elements MethodsCE 5173
Continuum MechanicsCE 5183
Computer EngineeringComputer ArchitectureCOE 5033
Message Passing Multiprocessing SystemsCOE 5033
Neural NetworksCOE 5913
Information & Computer ScienceParallel AlgorithmsICS 5563
High Performance ComputingICS 5733
Advanced Artificial IntelligenceICS 5813
Mechanical EngineeringNonlinear Finite Element AnalysisME 5563
COURSETITLELTLBCRCOURSETITLELTLBCR
First Year
GEOP 501Reflection Seismology303GEOP 503Solid Earth Geophysics303
GEOP 502Potential Theory Methods303GEOP xxxGeophysics Elective II303
GEOP xxxGeophysics Elective I303XXX xxxFree Elective II303
XXX xxxFree Elective I303GEOP 599Seminar100
120121009
Second Year
MATH 5xxGraduate Mathematics Course303GEOP xxxGeophysics Elective IV303
GEOP xxxGeophysics Elective III303GEOP 600Geophysics Masters' Report003
XXX xxxFree Elective III303XXX xxxFree Elective V303
XXX xxxFree Elective IV303
12012609
Total Credit Hours: 42
X