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» Geology and Geological Engineering Graduate Courses

Degree Requirements

The requirements for a M.S. or Ph.D. degree are nearly the same for degrees in Geology and in Geological Engineering, though the specific courses taken in fulfillment of each degree may vary. The primary difference is in the pre-requisite courses that must be taken either before entering the degree program, or during the first few semesters of enrollment in the program.

Detailed information on the general requirements for an advanced degree at the University of Mississippi may be found in the Graduate School Catalog.

Course requirements for a M.S. degree in Geology or Geological Engineering
  • 30 hours including 6 hours of thesis credit
  • At least 18 hours must be formal classroom courses
  • At least 12 hours must be at the 600 level or higher
  • Additional courses may be required by an individual's committee
Course requirements for a Ph.D. degree in Geology or Geological Engineering
  • 54 hours beyond the bachelor's degree, including 18 hours of dissertation credit
  • At least 30 hours, not including dissertation hours, must be completed at the University of Mississippi, and two consecutive semesters must be completed at the Oxford campus
  • At least 18 hours must be at the 600 level or higher
  • Additional courses may be required by an individual's committee
  • There is no foreign language requirement


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Graduation Milestones
Selection of committee and major advisor

All students must have a major advisor that will be the primary supervisor for the student's research. The major advisor must be a member of the Geology and Geological Engineering faculty. Each student must also have a committee made up of additional faculty members that will provide additional guidance and approval of the final thesis or dissertation. Requirements for M.S. and Ph.D. degrees differ as follows:
M.S. committee: 3 members of the Geology and Geological Engineering faculty.
Ph.D. committee: 3 members of the Geology and Geological Engineering faculty, and 1 from another discipline. Committee selections must be approved by the Chair of the department.

Prospectus
The Prospectus is a written and oral summary of the research planned and results of any preliminary work performed. The summary must include background information, a description of the field site (if applicable), methods to be employed, preliminary results, and a tentative timeline for completion. The title, date, and abstract for the prospectus must be posted at least 5 days prior to the presentation. There must be one intervening semester between the defense of the thesis or dissertation prospectus and the defense of the thesis or dissertation. Requires submission of an official form to the Graduate School (Ph.D. only).
Completion of course work

Subject to the guidelines of the Graduate School and approval by the student's committee.

Comprehensive exams (Ph.D. only)
Comprehensive exams are given near or after the completion of course work. Comprehensive exams consist of a written exam administered by the members of the student's committee, and an oral exam that may include questioning open to the general university community, and questioning limited to the student's committee. Deficiencies found in a comprehensive exam could lead to additional course work or assignments being required by the student's committee. Requires submission of an official form to the Graduate School.
Application to graduate
Contact the Graduate School for current deadlines and application forms.
Defense of thesis or dissertation

The final defense requires that a nearly completed final draft of the thesis or dissertation has been approved by the major advisor and submitted to the committee. The title, date and abstract must be posted at least 5 days before the defense. The format of the defense is determined by the major advisor and committee. Requires submission of an official form to the Graduate School.

Submission of signed thesis or dissertation to the Graduate School

Requires submission of an official form to the Graduate School.


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Geology and Geological Engineering Graduate Courses
GEOL 500
GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS. Geographic Information Systems are combinations of computer software, hardware, and database (maps). These systems are used to analyze and display geographical information necessary for government and industrial planning. Prerequisite: GEOL 305, or consent of instructor. (4 credit hours).
GEOL 505
HYDROGEOLOGY. Groundwater hydrology for geologists. Prerequisite: GEOL 221, 222, 303, 313, or consent of instructor. (4 credit hours).
GEOL 506

ADVANCED PETROLOGY. The genesis of each of the three major rock groups by use of general collections and detailed suites of rocks and by classroom lecture. Prerequisites: GEOL 221, 222. (4 credit hours).

GEOL 515

DIRECTED STUDIES. Individual investigation of an original problem either as a senior research problem or a graduate research problem for nonthesis credit. May be repeated for credit. (1-3 credit hours).

GEOL 530

GEOLOGY FIELD STUDIES. Field projects for graduate students. Prerequisite: GEOL 221, 222, 313, 303, or consent of instructor. (3 credit hours).

GEOL 550

OCEANOGRAPYAND MARINE GEOLOGY. Advanced study of the principles of ocean basin tectonics, seawater composition, waves, tides, currents, and marine and coastal marine sedimentation. Prerequisite: GEOL 314 or consent of instructor. (3 credit hours).

GEOL 591

SPECIAL TOPICS. Lecture or lecture-lab courses on specific topics and on a one-time basis. (1-3 credit hours).

GEOL 614

GEOMETRICS. Map analysis of spatial geological data as applied to petroleum, coal, ore and geotechnical exploration and evaluation. (Same as ENGR 614) Prerequisite: GE 413. (3 credit hours).

GEOL 615

GEOSTATISTICS. Operational aspects and interpretation of geological data using statistics and data analysis. Prerequisite: consent of instructor. (3 credit hours).

GEOL 643

ADVANCED GEOMORPHOLOGY. Surface processes associated with specific physiographic districts. Prerequisite: consent of instructor. (3 credit hours).

GEOL 647

SEDIMENTARY PETROLOGY. Advanced treatment of the principals and recent advances in sedimentary petrology with particular emphasis on textural and geochemical aspects of diagnosis. Prerequisite: GEOL 314 or consent of instructor. (4 credit hours).

GEOL 690

SCIENTIFIC WRITING SEMINAR. Exercises in scientific writing format and style, with particular emphasis on writing abstracts and manuscripts for publication in refereed archival journals. May be repeated once for credit. (1 credit hour).

GEOL 697

THESIS. (1-12 credit hours).

GE 503

ENVIRONMENTAL GEOCHEMISTRY. Chemical interaction between water and aquifer minerals, organic minerals, and contaminants. Prerequisite: CHEM 106. (3 credit hours).

GE 506

GEOMECHANICS FOR GEOLOGISTS. Application of geomechanics to geological problems. Prerequisite: consent of instructor. (3 credit hours).

GE 507

REGIONAL GEOLOGICAL ENGINEERING. Geological engineering problems associated with each area of the United States . (3 credit hours).
GE 510

REMOTE SENSING. Theory and principles of remote sensing technology; mission design and analysis of remotely sensed data, given cost and technological constraints, for geologic applications. Prerequisite: consent of instructor. (1 lecture, 4 lab hours) (3 credit hours).
GE 511

SPATIAL ANALYSIS. GIS analysis of the relationships of mapped features. Course will include application and integration of GIS, image processing, and mathematical modes. (3 credit hours).
GE 513

ECONOMIC GEOLOGY. Study of the formation and classification of ore deposits; exploration techniques; evaluation of reserves; and extraction techniques. Prerequisite: GEOL 303. (3 credit hours).
GE 518

QUANTITATIVE METHODS IN GEOLOGY AND GEOLOGICAL ENGINEERING. Quantitative methods in geolgogy and geological engineering. (3 credit hours).

GE 520

GEOLOGY AND GEOLOGICAL ENGINEERING COMPUTER APPLICATIONS. The use of computer programs for earth science applications. Prerequisites: GEOL 221, 222, 313, 315, or consent of instructor. (3 credit hours).

GE 535

ADVANCED ROCK MECHANICS. The application of mechanics to solving problems in rock engineering for both surface and underground conditions. Prerequisite: consent of instructor. (3 credit hours).

GE 561

DESIGN OF WASTE REPOSITORIES. Assessment of factors that govern site selection, site evaluation, and landfill design. Prerequisite: GE 460 or GE 560.

GE 577

GEOPHYSICS I. Gravity and magnetic theory and methods. (3 credit hours).
GE 591

SPECIAL TOPICS. Lecture or lecture/lab courses on specific topics and on a one-time basis. (1-3 credit hours).
ENGR 597

SPECIAL PROJECTS. Approved investigation of original problems under direction of a staff member. (May be repeated for credit). (1-3 credit hours).

ENGR 614
 GEOMETRICS. Map analysis of spatial geological data as applied to petroleum, coal, ore, and geotechnical exploration and evaluation. (Same as GEOL 614) Prerequisite: GE 413. (3 credit hours).
ENGR 616

ISOTOPE HYDROGEOLOGY. Applications of stable and radioactive isotopes forsolving environmental and low-temperature geologic problems. Problems that will beaddressed include measurement techniques and limitations, tracing the origin of water and contaminants in natural systems, applications for global climate change and paleoclimates, quantifying infiltration and groundwater travel rates, and age dating of water. Prerequisites: CHEM 105 and 106. (3 credit hours).

ENGR 620

ADVANCED REMOTE SENSING. Lecture and laboratory study of advanced topics in remote sensing, including classification and georeferencing. Prerequisite: GE 510. (3 credit hours).

ENGR 636

GROUNDWATER MECHANICS. This course focuses on the physics of subsurface flow and transport including: mass and momentum conservation, storage, compressibility, capillarity and Darcy's Law in porous media. Governing equations, critical assumptions and boundary and initial conditions for models of single and multiphase flow and transport in porous and fractured media are explored. Prerequisite: GE 450 or equivalent, or consent of instructor. (3 credit hours).

ENGR 637

GROUNDWATER MODELING. Analysis and synthesis of hydrology problems. Conceptual modeling process, parameter estimation, model validation, and model prediction. Mathematical models for steady and transient flow and transport. Applications to well hydraulics, water supply, regional flow, recharge and infiltration, subsidence, sea water intrusion, surface water/groundwater interaction, groundwater pollution, and geotechnical problems. Case studies. Prerequisite: ENGR 636. (3 credit hours).

ENGR 643
 ADVANCED GEOMORPHOLOGY. Surface processes associated with specificphysiographic districts. Prerequisite: consent of instructor. (3 credit hours).
ENGR 645

CONTAMINANT TRANSPORT. Conceptual and mathematical models for the transport of contaminants in natural systems. Primary attention given to contaminant transport in aquifers, with secondary attention given to transport in the unsaturated zone, in the atmosphere, and at the water atmosphere boundary. Prerequisite: GE 450 or CE 442. (3 credit hours).

ENGR 648

NUMERICAL MODELING IN GEOSCIENCE AND ENGINEERING. Numerical methods in geomechanics, including processes in groundwater, soil and rock mechanics. Solutions of ordinary and partial differential equations will be approximated, emphasizing finite-difference methods. Introduction to finite element methods and boundary element methods. Prerequisite: Math 353, GE 450 or CE 463, or equivalent. (3 credit hours).

ENGR 691
 SPECIAL TOPICS IN ENGINEERING SCIENCE. (May be repeated for credit). (1-3 credit hours).
ENGR 693

RESEARCH TOPICS IN ENGINEERING SCIENCE. Individual research in selected areas of interest. Prerequisite: consent of instructor. (May be repeated for credit). (1-3 credit hours).

ENGR 695

SEMINAR. Presentation of papers by faculty, visiting lecturers, and graduate students. Prerequisite: consent of instructor. (May be repeated for credit). (1 credit hour).

ENGR 697

THESIS. (1-12 credit hours).

ENGR 699

SPECIAL PROJECTS IN ENGINEERING SCIENCE. Individual design or research projects in selected areas of interest. Prerequisite: consent of instructor. (May be repeated for credit). (1-6 credit hours).

ENGR 749

SPECIAL TOPICS IN SOIL SCIENCE. (May be repeated for credit). (1-3 credit hours).

ENGR 797
 DISSERTATION. (1-18 credit hours).

        The courses listed are those recently offered. A complete list of courses may be found         in the Graduate Catalog.

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