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University of Arizona

Department of Planetary Sciences / LPL

Graduate Program

Welcome For New Students Academic Requirements Overview Major Classes Minor Classes Journal Club Oral Qualifying Exam Teaching Assistantship Field Trips LPL Grad Forms Dissertation Masters Program Guidance Advisors Committees Practicalities Lab Resources Around Campus Housing Food Computers Libraries Money Scholarships & Fellowships Health Insurance Grad Student Life Overview Doing Research Thesis Topics Papers Conferences Networking Grad Jobs

Overview of Academic Requirements

The Department of Planetary Science offers both a Master's and a Ph.D. program. The Department teaches several undergraduate-level classes and offers an undergraduate minor, but there is no undergraduate major.

The academic requirements for the PhD are as follows:

• 36 credit units in the major field (this includes the PtyS Core)
• 12 credit units in a minor field
• 3 Journal Club presentations
• Oral Qualifying Exam
• 2 semesters of teaching service in the Department (unless waived)
• 18 units of dissertation (PTYS 920)
• Final Oral Exam (PhD Dissertation Defense)

Also, field trips are an important part of the curriculum.

Master's Program Requirements are somewhat reduced.

Mathematical proficiency is expected of all students by the time they have completed the requirements for the Ph.D.; this is usually fulfilled by passing the core classes. Students are expected to maintain an overall 3.0 grade point average to remain in good standing. A full-time graduate load is 9 units. Those students on Graduate College Fellowships are expected to be enrolled full time. The course load for teaching and research assistants need only be 6 units, however, if you have outstanding student loans that you are deferring as a full-time student, you must be registered for 9 units before the University will sign off on your deferment request. Call the Graduate College at 621-3471 if you have questions about how many units you need.

At least 50% of the non-dissertation units classes must be graded in the A,B,C,D,E system (which is what is normally used for lecture-based classes). This means that up to 24 units of independent research and field trip type classes (S,P,C,D,E grading) may be applied toward graduation. You can take more than this, but the credits will not be applied to this category. Many PtyS classes are cross-listed with other departments; you may register for a class like this under either department heading, therefore applying it toward either your major or minor requirements.

During the course of fulfilling your academic requirements, you're going to need to fill out some forms from time to time. We have all of the LPL forms online, and the Graduate College's forms can be found at their web page.