Applicable only to students admitted during the 2010-2011 academic year.

Geography

College of Letters and Science

Graduate Degrees

The Department of Geography offers the Master of Arts (M.A.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees in Geography.

Admission

Program Name

Geography

Address

1255 Bunche Hall
Box 951524
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1524 

Phone

(310) 825-1071 

Email

gradapps@geog.ucla.edu  

Leading to the degree of

M.A., Ph.D.

The Geography department normally admits only applicants whose objective is the Ph.D., although students may be awarded the M.A. en route to the Ph.D.  

Admission Limited to

Fall, Winter, Spring 

Deadline to apply

December 15th 

GRE (General and/or Subject), TWE

GRE: General (optional for international applicants) 

Letters of Recommendation 

3, academic or professional 

Other Requirements

In addition to the University’s minimum requirements and those listed above, all applicants are expected to submit a statement of purpose.

Applicants are normally expected to have a bachelor’s degree in geography or in a related field. A minimum 3.3 grade-point average is required (attention is given to junior and senior years in the major). Candidates are also required to have a high GRE score (optional for international students), and strong letters evaluating past academic and/or professional performance and indicating potential for high achievement in graduate studies. Exceptions to these guidelines may be considered for students whose records show other indications of unusual promise.

Ph.D.: In addition to requirements listed above, applicants are usually required to hold a master’s degree with at least a 3.5 grade-point average, and must submit evidence of substantive research in the form of a published paper, thesis chapter, or equivalent documentation. Exceptions to these guidelines may be considered for students whose records show other indications of unusual promise.

Applicants must provide clear evidence of ability to conduct substantive research and to articulate ideas clearly in writing.

The department requires specific agreement from a faculty member to act as initial adviser before admission is recommended. Applicants are encouraged to contact potential faculty advisers before submitting the application. 

Master’s Degree

Advising

Prior to the end of the first quarter in the M.A. program, students must find a faculty mentor who serves as interim adviser. The interim adviser assists in the design of the student’s program. By the end of the first year, the student forms a guidance committee chaired by a faculty adviser. The guidance committee consists of two or three departmental faculty members who are appropriate to supervise the student’s proposed course of study. At a time agreed upon by the student and the guidance committee, an official master’s thesis committee is appointed. This three-person committee, at least two of whom must be faculty from the department, is responsible for the student’s course of study thereafter and for supervising the preparation of the M.A. thesis.

Every Spring Quarter the departmental faculty holds a review of all its graduate students. The purpose of the Spring Review is twofold: first, to provide the faculty with an opportunity to assess progress toward the degree for every student; and second, to provide every student with that assessment. The student’s committee chair has the primary responsibility to set forth the necessary information for the assessment. Other members of the student’s committee, instructors in courses the student has taken, and other faculty may contribute to the appraisal. After discussion, the faculty votes whether the student’s progress has been Satisfactory, With Reservations, or Unsatisfactory. The committee chair and the graduate adviser inform the student by letter of appraisal. In extreme cases, the results of this review may determine whether or not the student is permitted to proceed toward the degree.

Areas of Study

Students commonly specialize in one or more areas of geographical knowledge such as: geomorphology, climatology, biogeography, geographic representation, economic, political, social, cultural, historical, population, and urban geography. At the M.A. level students emphasize at least one specialized area. However, because geographical knowledge and its associated research questions frequently transcend disciplinary and subdisciplinary boundaries, students, in consultation with faculty, are expected to refine and deepen their research interests further, within, across, and beyond research and teaching areas.

Foreign Language Requirement

None.

Course Requirements

Students must complete at least six courses, in addition to the three required graduate core courses, for a minimum of 36 units required for the degree; of this minimum, seven courses (28) units must be graduate level. One 500-series course may be applied toward the minimum course requirement for the M.A. degree but not toward the minimum graduate course requirement. The core courses must be completed within two years and with a grade of B or better in each. Quarterly course enrollment plans should be approved by the student’s committee chair.

Individual Study Courses. The following rules pertain to individual study courses (Geography 199, 596, 597, 598, 599):

(1) Before enrolling in one of these courses, students must consult with the responsible faculty member and work out a program of study and consultation.
(2) All 500-series courses must be taken for S/U grading only.
(3) Students may enroll in Geography 597, 598, or 599 as often as required.

Teaching Courses. Geography 375 and 495 may not be applied toward course requirements for the M.A. degree.

Teaching Experience

Consult the department.

Field Experience

Not required.

Comprehensive Examination Plan

None.

Thesis Plan

Every master’s degree thesis plan requires the completion of an approved thesis that demonstrates the student’s ability to perform original, independent research.

Students must present a thesis, based in whole or in part on original investigation. Selection of a thesis topic, creation of a research design, and conduct of the investigation proceed under the supervision of the student’s M.A. committee. The thesis proposal includes the exact nature of the problem to be researched, an outline of the subject matter, the proposed methods of research, the degree of originality involved, and the anticipated time of completion of the study. The entire thesis project must be carried out in close consultation with all members of the thesis committee. The 50-page (20,000 words) text limit, exclusive of appendices and bibliography, is required rather than advised. In exceptional circumstances the limit may be waived with the agreement of the Graduate Adviser.

To ensure progress, students are required to finalize a title for their thesis by the first day of the third quarter following admission to the program (normally Spring Quarter). The thesis proposal must have the agreement of the student’s committee by the end of the eighth week of the same quarter, and be reported at Spring Review. Failure to meet this deadline results in a "reservations" report and the establishment of a second deadline; failure to meet this deadline may result in a recommendation for termination of graduate status. A first draft of the thesis is required by the end of the fifth week of the fifth quarter following admissions to the program (normally Winter Quarter) and be reported to the Graduate Committee. Students are encouraged to file the completed thesis as soon as possible thereafter.

Time-to-Degree

The M.A. degree must be completed within five calendar years of admission to the program.

Doctoral Degree

Advising

In the first quarter of residence and in consultation with the graduate adviser, students must form a guidance committee chaired by their interim adviser. This guidance committee consists of three members of the departmental faculty. As their work develops, students are permitted to change interim advisers or other committee members, as long as the faculty selected to serve are appropriate to the student’s objectives and plans and all involved are kept properly informed. The guidance committee sets, administers, and assesses the written qualifying examination. Upon successful completion of this examination, the student constitutes an official doctoral committee. The doctoral committee consists of three departmental faculty and one from another department. This committee oversees the formulation of the dissertation proposal, conducts the oral qualifying examination, supervises the dissertation research and writing, and when required, conducts the final oral examination (defense of the dissertation).

Every Spring Quarter, the departmental faculty holds a review of all its graduate students. The purpose of the Spring Review is twofold: first, to provide the faculty with an opportunity to assess progress toward the degree for every student; and second, to provide every student with that assessment. The student’s interim adviser or committee chair has the primary responsibility to set forth the necessary information for the assessment. Other members of the student’s committee, instructors in courses the student has taken, and other faculty may contribute to the appraisal. After discussion, the faculty votes whether the student’s progress has been Satisfactory, With Reservations, or Unsatisfactory. The interim adviser or committee chair and the graduate adviser inform the student by letter of appraisal. In extreme cases, the results of this review may determine whether or not the student is permitted to proceed toward the degree.

Under rare circumstances, students may proceed directly toward the Ph.D. degree without taking a master’s degree. Students must have completed one year in the M.A. program, have three department faculty members review their dossiers and unanimously recommend such a course of action, and pass a four-hour qualifying examination set and evaluated by three faculty members competent in their area of specialization. The pass must be unanimous and receive the approval of at least two thirds of the voting faculty in a formal meeting.

Major Fields or Subdisciplines

Students commonly specialize in one or more areas of geographical knowledge such as: geomorphology, climatology, biogeography, geographic representation, economic, political, social, cultural, historical, population, and urban geography. The written qualifying examinations for the Ph.D. degree include one examination each in three of these fields selected by the student in consultation with an adviser. However, because geographical knowledge and its associated research questions frequently transcend disciplinary and subdisciplinary boundaries, students are expected to refine and deepen their research interests further, in consultation with faculty, within, across, and beyond research and teaching areas.

Foreign Language Requirement

None.

Course Requirements

Students must successfully complete, within two years and with a grade of B or better in each, the required graduate core courses if these were not already completed at the M.A. level. At least three graduate geography courses, in addition to completed M.A. coursework (excluding core courses, and Geography 375, 495, and courses in the 500 series) are required, as are three upper division or graduate courses in one or two fields (outside of geography) allied to the student’s major research area or subdisciplinary specialization, subject to approval of the guidance committee. The allied field requirement must be met before taking the oral qualifying examination. Quarterly course enrollment plans should be approved by the student’s adviser.

Individual Study Courses. The following rules pertain to individual study courses (Geography 199, 596, 597, 598, 599):

(1) Before enrolling in one of these courses, students must consult with the responsible faculty member and work out a program of study and consultation.
(2) All 500-series courses must be taken for S/U grading only.
(3) Students may enroll in Geography 597, 598, or 599 as often as required.

Teaching Courses. Geography 375 and 495 may not be applied toward course requirements for the Ph.D. degree.

Teaching Experience

Consult the department.

Written and Oral Qualifying Examinations

Academic Senate regulations require all doctoral students to complete and pass University written and oral qualifying examinations prior to doctoral advancement to candidacy. Also, under Senate regulations the University oral qualifying examination is open only to the student and appointed members of the doctoral committee. In addition to University requirements, some graduate programs have other pre-candidacy examination requirements. What follows in this section is how students are required to fulfill all of these requirements for this doctoral program.

The written qualifying examination, consisting of four written papers and administered by the guidance committee, must be taken no later than the sixth quarter of the Ph.D. program (exceptions may be made in the case of students who enter from disciplines outside of geography). The goal of the written examinations is to ensure that students develop a command of literature in three parts of the discipline as well as to ensure adequate preparation for the research area of the dissertation. Three papers pertain to three substantive fields of geographical inquiry in which the student is specializing and one paper involves a field or research problem. The examination may be taken over a period of no more than two weeks. In case of failure, the student may make one more attempt, but no sooner than three months nor longer than one year after the first examination.

Preparation of the dissertation proposal follows successful completion of the written qualifying examination. The dissertation proposal must specify: the research question, describing in some detail the problem to be studied, its scientific background, and outline of the subject matter; the proposed methods of research; the degree of originality involved; and a timetable for completion of the degree. The dissertation proposal is written in consultation with the official doctoral committee and should be no more than 30 double-spaced pages. Once the proposal is accepted, significant changes in project title must be approved by the committee. Committee members should receive the dissertation proposal at least one month before the oral qualifying examination.

The University Oral Qualifying Examination is conducted by the appointed doctoral committee and focuses on the dissertation proposal. The maximum length of time permitted between written and oral examinations is six months. Oral examinations will normally be scheduled no later than the end of the quarter following completion of the written examinations. After successfully completing the oral qualifying examination, the student is eligible for advancement to candidacy. In instances of failure, the oral qualifying examination may be repeated once. Students have one year to repeat the examination.

Advancement to Candidacy

Students are advanced to candidacy and awarded the Candidate in Philosophy (C.Phil.) degree upon successful completion of the written and oral qualifying examinations.

Doctoral Dissertation

Every doctoral degree program requires the completion of an approved dissertation that demonstrates the student’s ability to perform original, independent research and constitutes a distinct contribution to knowledge in the principal field of study.

Final Oral Examination

Not required for all students in the program. The decision as to whether a defense is required is made by the doctoral committee.

Time-to-Degree

Students are expected to complete the Ph.D. degree within four years. Seven calendar years is the maximum time permitted for completion of the degree. Failure to show timely progress toward the degree may result in a departmental recommendation for termination from the graduate program.

Termination of Graduate Study and Appeal of Termination

University Policy

A student who fails to meet the above requirements may be recommended for termination of graduate study. A graduate student may be disqualified from continuing in the graduate program for a variety of reasons. The most common is failure to maintain the minimum cumulative grade point average (3.00) required by the Academic Senate to remain in good standing (some programs require a higher grade point average). Other examples include failure of examinations, lack of timely progress toward the degree and poor performance in core courses. Probationary students (those with cumulative grade point averages below 3.00) are subject to immediate dismissal upon the recommendation of their department. University guidelines governing termination of graduate students, including the appeal procedure, are outlined in Standards and Procedures for Graduate Study at UCLA.

Special Departmental or Program Policy

The decision to recommend termination is made by a vote of the faculty in a formal meeting. Appeal of termination is made to the faculty in a formal meeting.