Oceanography & Coastal Sciences, M.S.

(SOCS)

The departmental-level academic course plan for each student will be developed in consultation with and approved by the student’s graduate advisory committee. The committee will include the student’s major advisor and at least two additional members of the graduate faculty such that the LSU Graduate School’s requirements for graduate committees are satisfied.

The degree is a thesis degree. Twenty-four hours of coursework at the graduate level must be earned including a maximum of six hours of credit for the thesis research project for a grand total of 30 credit hours. The curricular requirements include:

• At least 12 of the 24 hours of course work must be at the 7000 level or above
• A primary area consisting of a minimum of 12 hours of earned credit in a specified field of study
• A minimum core requirement of 9 credit hours, with grades of “B” or higher, in three of the four core areas of biological, chemical, geological and physical oceanography. A student receiving a “C” may be allowed to repeat the course only once, or be dropped from the graduate degree program.
• A 36-hour non-thesis option is also available

The 36-hour professional option (non-thesis) curricular requirements include:

• Students on this track are required to earn 36 hours past the bachelor’s degree
• A minimum of 18 hours in courses numbered at or above 7000
• 6 hours of departmental core courses or approved substitutions
• 9 hours of advanced course work in DOCS specialized area
• 9 hours in a minor field outside the Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences
• At least 3 semester hours of advanced field or literature research based on internship or a team project (e.g. OCS 8900 , OCS 8901 ) which demonstrates the student’s ability to synthesize data and demonstrates acceptable writing skills.
• 9 hours of electives (within or outside of the department)
• A student must pass a final exam, both oral and written, to be given by the Student’s Advisory Committee
• During the last semester, professional students must deliver an oral public presentation of a written research report from the internship or team project; one copy must be turned into the DOCS office prior to graduation.

The student (thesis or professional) must pass a final exam consisting of a comprehensive oral exam and an optional written exam.