Richard A. Iannuzzi. All students take nine required course credits in the first semester including Applied Ocean Hydrodynamics, Wave Propagation in the Ocean Environment, and Analytical Methods in Marine Physics. Towards the end of the first year, a Masters comprehensive exam is scheduled. A high pass includes admission to the Ph.D. program and the option to bypass the Masters degree. A pass is necessary to continue with thesis research for the Masters and then reconsideration for admission to the Ph.D. program upon completion.
Failure requires re-testing.
In fact, there are no formal course requirements except for obtaining 36 credits beyond the Masters level. All of these can be Ph.D. research credits, but usually students take an additional 12 to 18 credits of formal course work. Admission to Ph.D. candidacy is granted upon completion of a Ph.D. qualifying exam and the acceptance of a dissertation proposal. The formal courses offered by the Division are listed below. Depending on research interests and needs, students can also take courses from other Divisions and Departments throughout the University.