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AGI conducted a survey to examine master's-degree programs in the geosciences.
Surveys were mailed to 392 departments (in 253 universities) identified (in the
Directory of Geoscience Departments and other sources) as offering master's degrees,
alone or in combination with other degrees. A total of 23 departments responded
that they offered no master's degree. The effective survey universe is, therefore,
369 departments. Responses were received for 122 programs in 115 departments
(in 106 universities). Some highlights reported by the responding departments:
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There were a total of 1,787 full-time faculty, with faculty size ranging
from 3 to 48 faculty members per program, for an average faculty size of
14.6 faculty per program.
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There were 726 master's graduates in 2002, and current year levels for degrees
showed an increase of nearly 11% over the previous year to 803, while the
projections for the following year showed an 11% decrease to 712. Similar
movement was reported for enrollments.
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Non-U.S. students comprised approximately 14% of current enrollment and women
were nearly half (47%). However, underrepresented minorities represented only
about 4% of current enrollees.
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Geoscience students spend longer than other physical-science students
from receipt of bachelor's degree to commencement of graduate study.
Slightly more than a third waited for more than five years from bachelor's
degree to beginning of graduate work (Earth & Space Science PhDs, Class of
2001, AGI & AGU). Thus, the survey found that nearly 13% of students had
returned to school five or more years after receiving their undergraduate degree.
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The major sources of student support were teaching assistantships (34.4%)
and research assistantships (29.1%), followed by personal resources (23.4%).
It should be noted that students can have more than one source of support.
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The majority (73.7%) of departments indicated they were research oriented,
requiring a thesis or research project. Another 18.6% said they were
business/industry oriented. While respondents could indicate only one answer,
it is likely that these two orientations are complementary and represent a
formal preparation of students with an employment credential. Only about 7%
consider their programs as preliminary to a PhD.
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As a measure of the multidisciplinarity of a program, slightly more than
one-quarter of the programs indicated that their curriculum included specific
non-geoscience courses.
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A majority of the programs responded that a thesis (58.8%), report (66.7%),
or research experience (83.1%) was required. Interestingly, while only 6.9%
of the respondents indicated that an off-campus internship was required, 71.8%
indicated that such an internship was optional.
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Not unexpectedly, geoscience master's students come primarily from undergraduate
geoscience programs (69.6%). More than a quarter come from other sciences,
including biology, engineering, ecology, chemistry, mathematics, and physics.
Only a few (4.4%) come from non-science backgrounds, such as geography,
economics, and business.
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The top recruitment method cited by geoscience departments was their website
(35.4%), followed by print advertising (20.8%), and on-campus recruitment (18.1%).
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Nearly all departments (87.3%) were interested in attracting more master's
students. That interest would suggest that there is a real or perceived
shortage of students, which affects departmental funding allocations from
the host university.
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Departments were asked to describe the source of their professional program's
funding. Of the 62 responding departments, 19 indicated totally internal
funding, while only 2 had totally external funding.
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Of the 97 geoscience departments who responded, over half (53%) reported the
average starting salaries for graduates of master's degree programs as between
$30,000 and $40,000.
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Further details from the survey are available from Christopher Keane,
Technology and Communications Director, the American Geological Institute
(cmk@agiweb.org) or 703-379-2480, ext. 219.
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