Graduate Degree Requirements

The full set of requirements to earn an MA in Geography are:

  • Complete 32 hours of graduate coursework with average grades of B or better.
  • Complete a minimum of 22 hours of graduate credit in courses offered by the Department of Geography numbered 7000 or higher.
  • Complete Geography 8750 and 8760.
  • Complete 9 hours of coursework at the 8000-level (or above) in addition to Geography 8750 and 8760.
  • Meet with his or her graduate advisor at least once each semester to chart the progress toward graduation and to discuss any changes in graduation plans.
  • Complete 6 hours of seminar-structured coursework, in addition to Geography 8760. Geography classes numbered 8710, 7720, 8120, 8270 and 8840 are all applicable to the fulfillment of this requirement, as are seminar-structured courses taken in other departments. Any seminar coursework taken outside of the Geography department should complement the student's chosen course plan, and should be carefully selected in consultation with his or her graduate advisor.
  • Complete 6 hours of coursework in geographic methods in the mapping sciences, statistics, or qualitative methods, in addition to Geography 8750. This requirement can be satisfied by Geography 7710, 7830, 7840, 7860, 7940 and 8820; all 7000-level statistics courses; or Educational and Counseling Psychology 7610.
  • Be enrolled in a minimum of nine (9) hours of coursework or readings per semester to maintain full-time graduate student status, or obtain permission from both the graduate advisor and the Director of Graduate Studies to enroll as a part-time student.
  • Limit hours in Geog 8080, 8085, and 8090 listed on the M-1 form to a maximum of twelve (12). Non-thesis students may apply a maximum of six (6) credit hours in Geog 8080 to their degree requirements; thesis students must take a minimum of six (6) Geog 8090 research hours, with not more than nine (9) hours applied to degree requirements.
  • Complete either a Master's thesis or a substantial research project in lieu of a thesis to be discussed and defended during the Master's exam.
  • Satisfy all the requirements of the MU Graduate School pertaining to completion of an M.A. as published in the Graduate School Catalog current at the time of admission to the Graduate School.
  • Deliver an acceptable 20-40 minute oral presentation on the thesis or research project findings at a professional meeting or in the Geography department's colloquium series.

Full Graduate School requirements for degree completion may be found in the University of Missouri Graduate Catalog.