EXEMPTION FROM REQUIRED CORE COURSES

General

Students may petition for exemption from any of the required core courses (MS501L, MS502, MS504, MS505) if they have already completed similar studies elsewhere. Because examinations and final grades in these courses form the basis for the comprehensive examination requirements, grades from other schools must be B or higher. However, to fulfill the comprehensive examination requirement, the student may be required to pass the final examination in MS501 and/or MS502, or pass a comprehensive examination. Unlike the other core courses, exemption from modules of MS501 (physical, chemical, geological and biological oceanography) requires the student to successfully pass an examination for each pertinent module.

How Do I Know If A Course Might Be Equivalent to A Particular Core Course?

Core course materials can be reviewed using the web-based CourseInfo© program. You can access CourseInfo© from this link. As an incoming student, please use the interim user name, imgrad and the temporary password, new2002. (Both the user name and password are case sensitive.) You can review materials for MS501, MS501L, MS502 (Spring Course) or MS504/505. Note that MS505 contains most of the material now in the revised core course, MS504. After reviewing the materials, you will need to decide if a course currently on your transcripts was equivalent to a core course or MS501 module. If so, you may apply for exemption as described below.

Core Courses MS501L, MS502, MS504, MS505

The petition for exemption must be sent to the Academic Status and Degrees Committee c/o the Graduate Registrar, Watermen's Hall 233. With the exception of MS501L, the petition must include documentation of course work elsewhere that is to supplant the core course(s) and a statement from each School of Marine Science faculty teaching a course for which exemption is sought. MS501L requires demonstration of equivalent field and/or laboratory experience. The faculty member's statement must indicate that he/she has reviewed the student's previous studies and is satisfied that those studies are sufficient to permit exemption from the core requirement. Because of the unique character of these courses, the exempted student may want to audit or take some or all of the courses.

Core Course MS501 Modules

Incoming students who have had comparable coursework in one or more of the four sub-disciplines of this course (biological, chemical, geological and physical oceanography) may take a Bypass Examination to place out of the respective module which covers that subject in the course. If all modules are by-passed, then the student will be exempted from the course in its entirety. Should one or more module be required, the student will need to complete the interdisciplinary portion of the course in addition to the required module(s). This will be accomplished by attending lectures and passing examination sections pertaining to the required modules and interdisciplinary sections.

Prior to taking the Bypass Examination, the student can review course materials for MS501 using the web-based CourseInfo© software. Typically, the Bypass Examination is a comprehensive examination designed to test the overall knowledge of the student, and the student's ability to write clearly and synthesize information. As this course is designed to be an interdisciplinary synthesis course (6 credit hours) and to serve as a de facto comprehensive exam, the Bypass Examination for each subject module can be expected to be a rigorous examination of the student's knowledge of the area.

A Bypass Examination is a written one and is administered by the instructor of that module. It will be given in August approximately one week prior to the start of the class. The student is required to contact the Dean of Graduate Studies Office to request the examination by August 14th. Results will be available before the beginning of the class to allow students to prepare his or her final class schedule.

• Exemption Form for MS501
• Exemption Form for All Other Core Courses