Graduate students at SIO face, and must deal with, conflicting demands on their time for classes, reading and research. The following represents a guide for students in geophysics, with the aim of helping them to to understand what is expected.
First-year students are expected to focus on taking courses, though not to the complete exclusion of starting some research. The Departmental Examination, held at the end of the first year, tests primarily the student's knowledge of material taught in that year (see below). Second-year students are expected to attend some courses, and it may be necessary for students to wait until the third year to take certain courses, which are taught in alternate years. However, it is expected that students will, after the first year, focus on research. The next "milestone" after the Departmental Exam is the Qualifying Exam, which is intended as an initial evaluation of the student's PhD (thesis) project; the next (and final) point of formal examination is the thesis defense. To give some idea of how severe these hurdles are, we note that of the students admitted during the 11 years 1982-1992, 75% graduated with a Ph.D.; the remainder either obtained an MSc. (11%) or withdrew completely from the program (14%).
The university graduate office has set a "normative" time for graduation of PhD students in each department. For SIO, the maximum time to qualify is four years, to defend is six years: after this a student cannot remain registered (and hence supported). While exceptions can be made, these are by no means routine. Given these limits, it has been found to be advisable for students to have a clear idea of their area of specialization and of who their advisors will be by the start of the second year, and aim to take the qualifying examination before the end of the third year.
It is expected that most students will usually take three or four classroom courses each quarter of the first year-though, as noted above, this will not cover all the courses, some of which should be taken in the second year. Because of this course load, students are advised not to go on long cruises or field trips (more than one week) during the school quarters of the first year.
While there are no formal course requirements, the curricular group does divide courses into "core courses" and "electives". Core courses provide background for the Departmental Exam; in practice, passing this would be extremely difficult without taking these courses. In addition to the basic graduate topics in geophysics, these core courses include some classes in mathematical methods. A student is not obliged to take a core course that covers material in which he or she already feels well versed, but should verify this with the instructor and perhaps sit in to make sure. The elective courses are more specialized and material from them will generally not be included in the Departmental Exam.
Some students find that it advisable to take, or at least audit, some "background" courses in physics or math on the upper campus; for advice on this consult the Curricular Group Advisor. Others may need to take ERTH103 (the undergraduate geophysics course) which is taught in the Fall quarter. In the past some first year students have acted as tutors for this course.
The other activity of first-year students is to select a research advisor. We attempt to match incoming students with advisors with similar research interests, but a change in advisor during or at the end of the first year is common. Ideally, the first year should be a time of intensive exploration of research options and, with this in mind, the faculty and their advanced students will offer a weekly informal series of seminars on current research in geophysics. It is also important that the student undertake at least a small research project with his or her first-year advisor, to get the flavor of research in general and of that specific area in particular.
Nearly all geophysics students are supported by the research grants of researchers and faculty, with the person providing the support being counted as the advisor. This can sometimes lead to awkwardness in changing advisors; students who feel that they are in this situation should consult the Curricular Advisor for Geophysics, or in some cases the Chair of the SIO Department.
The Departmental Examination aims to test the students' general preparation in geophysics and associated areas (e.g. geology, math, computer programming). A foundation for this exam will be laid by the core courses. To expose the students to the research literature, and to develop their critical faculties, part of the examination will be based upon their knowledge of a number of assigned journal articles. The present form of the examination consists of both written and oral sessions given by a panel selected by the curricular group. The written exam is in June after the end of the first year of classes and the oral exam in September, the exact times being arranged by the examination committee in consultation with the students. The oral exam will also discuss the student's research so far.
For this year (2006-2007) the committee for the departmental will be chaired by Yuri Fialko.
It is necessary to pass this exam to continue in the program. The usual recommendation in the event of a poor performance is that the student is asked either to complete a Masters thesis (which may, if of sufficient quality, lead to readmission to the PhD program), or to take sufficient course units for a Masters and then be examined by a Masters committee.
The first step towards this examination is for the student, with the help of his or her advisor, to select a thesis committee consisting of five faculty or researchers. The rules of composition are arcane (and available from the SIO Department) but the general idea is to find committee members who are knowledgeable and interested in the area of the student's intended research. The committee serves to examine the student both at the Qualifying Exam and at the final thesis defense. They should be viewed as additional advisors to whom the student may turn if necessary during the course of his or her research. The Qualifying Exam is an exploration of the research project, its feasibility, originality and appropriateness. The student is asked to write a concise report describing his or her proposed project and to give an oral presentation covering the progress made so far and the planned work program.
Students meet with their thesis committees (or at least a large subset thereof) at least once a year after the qualifying exam for an evaluation of progress. Students should be aware that there is a formal requirement that the final version of the thesis be provided to the committee at least 4 weeks before the date of the defense; the actual requirement must be discussed with all members of the committee.
For questions of an academic nature (i.e. about course work, research projects) you should feel free to ask your advisor or the "Graduate Advisor" of the curricular group (currently Dave Sandwell). All incoming students should meet with either their advisor or the Graduate Advisor before signing up for classes. Questions of a more practical nature to do with housing, registration, etc. should be addressed to the Scripps Graduate Office.
Return to the Geophysics Curricular Group Page