Earth System Science (MS)

专业详情

The University’s requirements for M.S. degrees are outlined in the “Graduate Degrees” section of this bulletin.

Admission 

For admission to graduate work in the department, completion of the Aptitude Test (verbal, quantitative, and analytical writing assessment) of the Graduate Record Examination is optional. In keeping with University policy, applicants whose first language is not English must submit TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) scores from a test taken within the last 18 months. Individuals who have completed a B.S. or two-year M.S. program in the U.S. or other English-speaking country are not required to submit TOEFL scores.

Teaching Assistantship

As a program requirement, advanced degree candidates in ESS complete TA-appointed (25%) quarters at a minimum of:  2 for Ph.D. students and 1 for master’s students, to be completed over the course of study. In addition, additional TA quarters may be considered and/or required in consultation with the research advisor, depending on academic goals, funding availability, or the requirements of individual doctoral programs.

Advising

The department’s graduate coordinator, in coordination with the departmental faculty, appoints an academic advisor prior to registration with appropriate consideration of the student’s background, interests, and professional goals. In consultation with the advisor, the student plans a program of course work for the first year. The faculty advisor is charged with designing the curriculum in consultation with the student specific to the research topic.

Thesis

Each student must complete a thesis describing his or her research. Thesis research should begin during the first year of study at Stanford and should be completed before the end of the second year of residence. Early during the thesis research period, and after consultation with the student, the thesis advisor appoints a second reader for the thesis who must be approved by the graduate coordinator; the thesis advisor is the first reader. The two readers jointly determine whether the thesis is acceptable for the M.S. degree in the department.

Master of Science, Course Work Only Option for ESS Ph.D. Students

The course-work-only M.S. for ESS Ph.D. students requires 45 unduplicated units of which all 45 must be course work (non-research, non-independent study, non-thesis units). All required units must be in courses at the 100-level or above, 50 percent of those units must be in graduate-level courses (generally, at the 200-level or above). No units are awarded for course work completed elsewhere (i.e., not eligible to transfer-in units). All 45 units can be applied to the 135 unit requirement for the Ph.D. The remaining 90 units can consist of all research units