Freshwater and Marine Sciences Graduate Program Handbook-Master's Degree Requirements

• Program Basics and Timeline 
• Student Responsibilities:
• Continuing to Ph.D.
• Checklist for Thesis/Defense/Graduation

Program Basics and Timeline 

Some students enter the program and stop after earning a master’s (M.S.) degree. Others will first earn a M.S. degree and then enter the Ph.D. program. In each case the steps to earning the M.S. are identical.

During the first year, students need to identify two faculty members who will form the student’s advisory committee along with their advisor. In some cases, there may be a compelling reason to include a fourth committee member. Identification of committee members is a joint decision with the major advisor, and following Graduate School guidelines, at least two of the committee members must be UW–Madison graduate faculty or former UW–Madison graduate faculty up to one year after resignation or retirement. For FMS, committee members should be from at least two distinct disciplines. It is the student’s responsibility to ask these faculty members if they are willing to serve on the student’s committee, and once the committee is formed, to schedule an initial committee meeting. Students are expected to hold this initial committee meeting by early in the second semester to discuss and make recommendations regarding class choices, research plans, professional development, and career goals.

MS students must prepare a research proposal in the first year, and later, a thesis presenting the results of this research. The format and length of the proposal should be established in discussion with the faculty advisor. In some cases, the proposal may correspond to a relevant external fellowship or grant application. The student must present and defend the thesis research to the advisory committee. The defense is a pass/fail activity. If the defense is unsuccessful, the student may make one additional attempt at the defense. If the defense is successful, it is nonetheless common for the committee to request revisions and editorial changes to the thesis prior to final approval of the thesis. We encourage Master’s students to complete and defend their thesis in two years, and the thesis must be completed within three years. Exceptions to this three-year limit are possible only in unusual cases and must be approved by all committee members and the FMS chair. No student may exceed five years in the M.S. program. The specific details of the research project and thesis are critiqued and approved by the student’s committee and thesis research must be presented to the advisory committee and defended. As part of proposal and defense meetings the advisory committee completes the rubric available here.

In addition to completing a research project, MS students must take courses and seminars to fulfill required class and research credits established by the Graduate School. To earn a master’s degree, students must complete 30 credits. Fifteen of those 30 credits must come from courses designed for graduate students. The FMS program does not require specific classes, but instead courses are approved by the student’s advisor or advisory committee and depend on the student’s research area, interests, and professional goals. Many FMS students take ATM OCN/ BOTANY/CIV ENGR/ENVIR ST/GEOSCI/ZOOLOGY 911 Limnology and Marine Science Seminar and ATM OCN/ ENVIR ST/GEOSCI/ZOOLOGY 750 Problems in Oceanography. Students must be enrolled in 8-15 credits/semester to maintain full-time student status (for more details, see https://grad.wisc.edu/documents/enrollment- requirements/). In keeping with the diverse areas of research and training for students in FMS, we expect that students will consult with advisors and committee in developing a curriculum that provides both breadth and depth, preferably across multiple departments. MS students are also strongly encouraged to present their thesis research at an oral departmental seminar or the Limnology and Marine Sciences seminar prior to their defense.

Student Responsibilities:

It is the responsibility of the graduate student to make sure that all requirements, time targets, and time limits are met. Scheduling committee meetings can be challenging, and we strongly encourage students to schedule these meetings well in advance of their occurrence. In rare cases, it may not be possible to identify a meeting time that includes all committee members. In these cases, a committee member can participate by video, or the student can meet separately with the committee member. The advisor must approve this latter arrangement. Students who experience persistent problems in setting up meetings should seek assistance from the departmental Graduate Student Coordinator or the Director of Graduate Studies.

FMS students must maintain an average record of B or better in all work taken as a Graduate Student (grades of P and S are for this purpose considered to be satisfactory at the B level; grades of Incomplete are considered for this purpose to be unsatisfactory if they are not removed during the following semester). For other requirements, such as residence and credit load, Graduate School rules apply.

A student may be placed on probation or suspended from the Graduate School for low grades or for failing to resolve incompletes in a timely fashion. <grad.wisc.edu/acadpolicy/#probation>. In special cases the Graduate School permits students who do not meet these minimum standards to continue on probation upon recommendation and support of their advisor.

Continuing to Ph.D.

Should a student wish to pursue a Ph.D. after earning a M.S., they should discuss this option with the advisor. Admission to the Ph.D. program is contingent upon being accepted by an individual faculty advisor.

Checklist for Thesis/Defense/Graduation

A warrant is the program’s recommendation that a student be granted a Master’s degree and is the Graduate School’s notification that a student has met both the Graduate School and the program requirements. Warrants must be requested by students at least 3 weeks prior to the defense meeting via this FMS web page. The Graduate Student Coordinator will notify the student to pick up the warrant in B154 Birge Hall when it is available. The warrant must be returned to the Graduate School with faculty signatures upon completion of the degree requirements.

FMS requires Master’s students to deposit their thesis in Memorial Library. Information about formatting and depositing your thesis, along with Graduate School deadlines/time limits (including graduation deadlines) can be found here: <https://grad.wisc.edu/current-students/Master’s-guide/ >.

Thesis and project guidelines and requirements are provided by the advisory committee and samples can be requested from the committee or found in the UW-Madison Library Catalog https://www.library.wisc.edu/find/dissertations/.