• Home
• News
• About Us
  • Directory
  • Contact Us
  • Site Map
  • Institute Partners
• Graduate Program
  • Degree Requirements
  • Available Courses
  • Study Areas
• Research
  • Projects
  • Facilities
  • Contributions to Science
  • Expeditions
  • Software
  • Churchill Exploration Fund
  • Hal Borns Symposium
  • Annual Field Trip
  • Climate Policy
  • Publications
• Science Initiatives
  • Maine Climate Research
  • What is Climate Change

1. Time Regulations: Graduate course work and thesis research, preparation, and completion will normally take no more than two academic years of resident study.
2. Events: All students are required to participate annually in the Fall Field Trip and the Agassiz Symposium.
3. Courses: All students must take the following two courses:
   
   * ERS 542, fall semester, "Quaternary Environment/Climatic Change"
   * INT 500, fall semester, "Climate, Culture and the Biosphere: Peopling of South America"
   
   Course credit hours must total at least 30 hours, which will consist of at least 24 hours of course work and at least 6 hours of thesis work. Thesis work may not exceed 15 hours.
   A minimum of 12 hours of course work (exclusive of thesis) must be at the graduate level (500 or above) unless petitioned. Other courses are listed on the Grad Courses Page.
4. Committee: The thesis committee must consist of at least three graduate faculty members, at least two of which are faculty members at the University of Maine. The graduate committee chair must be a faculty member in the Institute.Committee approval is needed for the program of study (degree plan), thesis topic and research plan, and thesis.
5. Degree Plan: The student must submit and have committee approval of the complete course of study by the end of their second semester in residence. Courses to choose from can be found on the Grad Courses Page.
6. Thesis Topic: The student must submit and have committee approval of the thesis topic and research plan by the end of their second semester in residence. A research plan (thesis proposal) is not required by the Graduate School but is required by the student's thesis committee.
7. Thesis Preparation: A publication entitled "Guidelines for Thesis Preparation" is available at the Graduate School. Every student should be familiar with this publication. The Graduate School must have a final draft of the thesis no later than 24 hours prior to the final oral examination. It is the student's responsibility to be aware of Graduate School policy regarding thesis format and presentation, and exam (defense) scheduling. All exams need to be scheduled with the student's committee and with the Graduate School. Forms for these events are available at the Graduate School. The scheduling of a summer thesis defense is discouraged.

In addition, the Graduate School's staff is available to assist graduate students in both academic and personal matters. The staff can offer advice concerning admission, registration, degree requirements, thesis and dissertation format, procedures for changing programs, availability of fellowships and scholarships, and catalogs and brochures of other universities. Students are encouraged to contact this office concerning any questions for which additional information is needed.

Admissions contact: