Geology Graduate Student Handbook(2019-2020)

The Geology Graduate Committee

Contents

1 Introduction 3

2 The Thesis-Track MS Degree in Geology 32.1 Thesis-Track MS Schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42.2 Thesis-Track MS Committee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

2.2.1 Thesis-Track MS Major Professor . . . . . . . . . . . . 62.2.2 Thesis-Track MS Committee Members . . . . . . . . . 82.2.3 Thesis-Track MS Committee Approval . . . . . . . . . 8

2.3 Thesis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92.3.1 MS Thesis Defense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102.3.2 MS Thesis Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

3 Professional Science Master’s Degree (PSM) in Geology 11

4 4+1 MS degree 12

5 PhD Starting after an MS Degree 135.1 PhD Schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145.2 Doctoral Dissertation Committee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

5.2.1 PhD Major Professor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175.2.2 PhD Committee Members . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195.2.3 Role of the Doctoral Dissertation Committee . . . . . 195.2.4 PhD Committee Approval . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

5.3 Doctoral Comprehensive Exam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215.4 Dissertation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

5.4.1 Doctoral Dissertation Defense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245.4.2 Doctoral Dissertation Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

1

6 PhD Degree Starting Directly from a BS degree 26

7 Tuition, Fees, and Expenses 27

8 Financial Support 288.1 Teaching Assistantship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288.2 Research Assistantship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298.3 Fellowship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308.4 Grant Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318.5 OPS support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328.6 Student Loans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

9 Travel 329.1 Traveling with Other Students . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339.2 Volunteers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359.3 Research Travel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359.4 Use of Vehicles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

9.4.1 Who Can Operate a Vehicle? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379.4.2 Before Travel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379.4.3 Renting a Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 389.4.4 Accidents and insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

10 Students from outside the U.S. 39

11 Getting Along 4011.1 Working with Students . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4011.2 Working with Staff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4011.3 Working with Faculty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4111.4 Using Facilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4111.5 Your Web-Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4211.6 Paper Authorship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4211.7 Plagiarism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4311.8 Title IX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4411.9 Students with Disabilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4411.10Mental Health . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4411.11Conflict Resolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4411.12A Checklist for Roles and Responsibilities . . . . . . . . . . . 45

11.12.1 Academic Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4511.12.2 Communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4611.12.3 Interpersonal and Professional Conduct . . . . . . . . 47

2

11.12.4 Funding Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4811.12.5 Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4811.12.6 Laboratory Etiquette and Computer Use . . . . . . . 4911.12.7 Publications and Intellectual Property . . . . . . . . . 4911.12.8 Professional Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

12 Who’s Who? 50

1 Introduction

The purpose of this handbook is to provide USF Geology graduate studentswith information that is useful to navigate your graduate work in our de-partment. General guidelines for graduate students may be found withinthe USF Tampa Graduate Catalog:

http://www.grad.usf.edu/policies Sect8 full.phpConsult the graduate catalog frequently in order to get the latest in-

formation on thesis and dissertation formats, deadlines, and related infor-mation. This handbook summarizes pertinent information related to yourschedule, thesis or dissertation, T.A., R.A., as well as your roles and respon-sibilities as you pursue your geology graduate degree.

2 The Thesis-Track MS Degree in Geology

The USF Geology program requires a candidate for the thesis-track MS De-gree to complete at least 30 graduate credit hours. These 30 graduate credithours you are required to complete for the degree are subdivided into 24 hours ofstructured coursework, of which at least ten (10) must be at the 6000 level, andat least six (6) hours in thesis research (GLY 6971). The curriculum for a Ge-ology graduate student varies depending on the area of research interest.Specific course work for the degree is determined via consultation betweenyou, your major professor and your graduate student advisory committee.

All degree candidates are required to maintain satisfactory academicprogress at all times. Satisfactory academic progress in this program is de-fined as progress in course and thesis work. Evidence of academic progressincludes timely completion of all Geology program requirements such asselecting a major professor, forming a graduate student advisory commit-tee, completion of any prerequisites or deficiencies, timely progress towardcompletion of the thesis, maintaining a satisfactory GPA (at least a 3.0), de-fending a thesis proposal, and making a public presentation. The thesis

3

defense is evaluated based on a scoring rubric completed by each graduatestudent advisory committee member. See the following sections for moredetails.

2.1 Thesis-Track MS Schedule

This schedule assumes a full-time commitment. Graduate students en-rolled without financial support (without T.A. or R.A.) are free to pursuetheir studies at their own rate, keeping within guidelines for degree com-pletion specified by the university. Paid graduate assistants (G.A.s) arerequired to adhere to the following schedule, or will risk loss of fundingfrom the department (T.A.) or major professor (R.A.). Please read the en-tire schedule early in your graduate program so you can plot your coursethrough graduate school most efficiently.

• First Semester: Complete at least nine hours of course work. Thiscourse work should consist of three structured graduate courses inGeology (GLY prefix, 6000 level). Ideally, you will identify a topic foryour graduate thesis research and select a major professor to adviseyou about which structured courses to enroll in and which additionalwork you should undertake related to your thesis research to ensuretimely graduation. The sooner you select a thesis research topic themore likely you are to graduate in a timely manner. Nevertheless, besure to consider your thesis options carefully during this time period.It is appropriate to ask questions about your thesis research of a num-ber of geology faculty members to help you identify a research topicand a major professor most suited to your research interests. Keep inmind that it is often efficient to select a thesis topic that closely alignswith the science your major professor is involved in at the moment,because she/he will likely be in a position to offer timely advice.

• Second Semester: Complete at least nine hours of course work. Ide-ally this course work will consist of three structured graduate coursesin Geology (GLY prefix, 6000 level). Students should strive to attain18 hours of completed structured course credit by the end of theirfirst year in the MS graduate program. If you have not already iden-tified a major professor, you are required to do so by the end of yoursecond semester of full-time enrollment. Your major professor willadvise you about which structured courses to enroll in and whichadditional work you should undertake related to your thesis work

4

to ensure timely graduation. If you have not already done so, dur-ing your second semester you will formulate a plan for your thesiswork, schedule field activities related to your thesis, laboratory work,and/or literature survey. Typically your major professor will ask youto provide a detailed and annotated outline of your proposed thesiswork. You should work with your major professor during this sec-ond semester to identify sources of funding for your project work,and apply to these funding sources if application is required. Thismay involve writing a proposal, or similar prospectus for your re-search. Often students begin work on their theses during their secondterm. For example, your second semester is a good time to write theBackground section of your thesis and to provide this write-up to youradvisor for her/his review.

• Third Semester: Complete remaining structured course work to ob-tain a minimum of 24 structured course hours, and take thesis re-search credit to reach full-time status. Your third semester is the timeto concentrate on completing your thesis project work. Your goal isto complete data collection and related activities by the end of yourthird semester, so you can concentrate on writing your thesis at thebeginning of your fourth semester. If you have not already done so,select two other School of Geosciences faculty members to serve onyour committee, obtain their consent to serve on your committee andcomplete the paperwork required by the department to form yourcommittee officially.

• Fourth Semester: Typically you are required to apply for graduationearly in this term. An official notice will be provided via email fromthe department, but it is your responsibility to apply for graduation.Typically, your completed thesis will be due for format check at thelibrary by the middle of the term. An official notice will be providedvia email from the department, but it is your responsibility to de-posit your thesis with the library prior to their deadline. This meansyou will have to defend your thesis at least two weeks prior to thedeadline for deposit to have sufficient time to make any revisions re-quested by your committee. This means that you should have a com-pleted draft of your thesis to your committee no later than five weeksfrom the beginning of your fourth semester. Therefore, your researchon your thesis topic should be essentially complete at the beginningof your fourth semester to give yourself sufficient time to write and

5

revise, which is inevitably part of the process. Typically your majorprofessor will request that you provide her/him with a draft of yourthesis before it is circulated to other members of the committee. Usu-ally you take thesis credits during your fourth semester.

Note that typically Thesis-Track MS students are not enrolled in thesummer term between their first and second years. Regular graduate coursesare not offered by the department during the summer term. Usually, geol-ogy faculty do not have summer appointments, and so will not be availableto advise you during the summer term. Nevertheless, many students workon their thesis research during this period. It is often an ideal time period toconduct your field work, complete laboratory work and the like. You havethe option of enrolling in thesis credit courses during the summer term, ifan arrangement to do so can be reached with your major professor or withthe Department.

2.2 Thesis-Track MS Committee

The committee will consist of either:

• Your major professor and at least two other members from the Schoolof Geosciences faculty, or

• Two co-major professors and at least one other committee memberfrom the School of Geosciences faculty

Committee members should have expertise in the geological research areaof the thesis research. Your major professor or one of your co-major profes-sors must be faculty affiliated with the geology degree program. All of yourcommittee members must meet the requirements specified by the gradu-ate school. They must be graduate or affiliate graduate faculty, as definedby the University and have the background and expertise that contributesmeaningfully to your thesis research (see the Who’s Who section!). For ex-ample, if you are pursuing MS research in sedimentology, your committeeshould have expertise in this research topic. The Department is unlikelyto approve your committee if the Department Chair finds your committeedoes not have expertise in your selected research topic!

2.2.1 Thesis-Track MS Major Professor

When admitted into the Thesis-Track MS Degree in Geology you are admit-ted into a degree program. It is your responsibility to identify a major pro-

6

fessor, who will be your primary academic contact while in the degree pro-gram. You and your major professor will plan your thesis research which,when completed, will satisfy the Geology MS degree requirements.

The major professor serves as your advisor and mentor. You should se-lect your major professor no later than the end of your second semester ofenrollment in the graduate program. When you select your major profes-sor you must receive that person’s agreement to serve as major professor.The selection of your major professor must be approved and appointed bythe School of Geosciences as soon as possible, but no later than the endof your second term of enrollment. According to Graduate School rules,students must have a major professor in order to maintain satisfactory aca-demic progress.

When you request that a member of the faculty work with you as majorprofessor it is appropriate to discuss the scope and schedule for your thesiswork. For example, determine if your major professor intends to be resi-dent during critical stages of your thesis research. Is she/he planning togo on sabbatical? Are there other factors which make advising you prob-lematic? Is your major professor interested in advising you on the researchtopic you have selected? Does your major professor have grants or othersources of funding to support field or lab research? Addressing these con-siderations early will allow you to keep to your schedule.

In some cases you may elect to have two co-major professors. This isparticularly warranted if you are working closely with both faculty mem-bers on an interdisciplinary topic. Selecting co-major professors has someadvantages because both faculty members are involved in guiding your re-search. A disadvantage is that this approach requires more coordination,which is not always easy to achieve. Both co-major professors must be satis-fied with the scope and direction of your thesis research, which potentiallycreates additional work for you.

If a major professor cannot be identified or in the event a major pro-fessor is unable or unwilling to continue serving on the student’s commit-tee, the student is responsible for finding another major professor amongthe Geology faculty. Students who are unable to find a replacement majorprofessor should confer with the Graduate Director for available options(which may include converting to a non-thesis track). If no other optionsexist, you may be requested to voluntarily withdraw from the major or maybe honorably withdrawn in good academic standing.

You may find that you want to change major professors after you havealready selected one and obtained her/his consent to serve as your ma-jor professor. You may change major professors at any time. Neverthe-

7

less, please be aware that changing major professors generally involves asignificant change in research topic and will likely delay your graduation.Care is required about the change because you may have worked jointlyon research that is rooted in your major professor’s ideas, creating poten-tial intellectual property issues. You should discuss such potential issueswith both your former and new major professor, preferably in a joint meet-ing. The decision to change major professors may have economic impact aswell because of the likely disruption in your academic progress. If you are aT.A., additional terms of support may not be provided by the department.If you are an R.A. working on your former major professor’s grant, theyare unlikely to offer you this support after you change academic direction.It is best to identify a major professor you plan to work with early in yourgraduate program and to stick with that mentor in order to complete yourMS degree in a timely manner.

2.2.2 Thesis-Track MS Committee Members

Your MS committee includes two additional committee members, unlessyou have co-major professors in which case one additional committee mem-ber is required. These committee members should be from the School ofGeosciences with academic specialties that augment your thesis research.Your committee members may contribute to your research, will read yourthesis and offer their corrections and comments, and will participate inyour defense.

It is your responsibility, usually working with your major professor, toselect other committee members.

2.2.3 Thesis-Track MS Committee Approval

Once you have formed your committee, you must complete the Supervi-sory Committee Form and submit the form to your Committee Membersfor original signatures. Check with the School of Geosciences office Stafffor instructions and forms. They will talk you through this process! It isimportant to complete this paperwork because you cannot apply for grad-uation without this approved form on file.

Changes to your committee must be submitted on a Change of Com-mittee Form. Original signatures of faculty being added to the Committee,along with the approval signature of the (Co-) Major Professor(s), mustbe on the form. Faculty who are removed from your Committee are notrequired to sign the form, provided that the (Co-) Major Professor(s) has

8

signed. In such instances the signature of the (Co-)Major Professor(s) indi-cate(s) approval of the change, as well as acknowledgment and approval ofthe change by the removed member. All Graduate School guidelines mustbe followed when you apply to change your committee. The best approachis to carefully select your committee at the outset and avoid delays associ-ated with a change in committee membership.

2.3 Thesis

Your MS thesis represents your original contribution to geological science.Typically you will frame your research as a question, which can be ad-dressed by the collection of new data, the compilation of existing data,writing of new computer code, or using research tools in a new and in-novative manner. While you work closely on your thesis research withyour major professor and other committee members, the thesis representsyour work. This means that others cannot contribute substantially to thedata gathering, compilation, or writing of your thesis research. It is yourproject!

Often you will find yourself working on thesis research as part of ateam, possibly consisting of your major professor, other committee mem-bers, other graduate students, or others in the boarder academic and pro-fessional communities. Such teamwork is an essential part of scientific re-search. Be sure to delineate, with the help of your major professor, thespecific research topic(s) that comprise your thesis.

It may be that you are advised to prepare your research as a manuscriptfor publication prior to completing your thesis. There are two possibleways to include this writing in your thesis. First, if you are the first authoron this paper and you can verify that you were primarily responsible forthe writing (with acknowledgment of your co-authors on the paper), youmay include this paper as part of your thesis. Second, if you were not pri-marily responsible for the writing but can clearly delineate your substantialcontribution to the paper, then you can include the paper as supplementarymaterial to the text of your thesis. The rule of thumb is that if you wroteit, you should include it in the text of your thesis, even if it is already pub-lished in a peer-reviewed journal or similar venue. Just be aware that youmay be asked to explain (defend) any material you include in your thesisat your defense, including supplementary material.

9

2.3.1 MS Thesis Defense

You must hold a public defense of your MS thesis. It is up to you to workwith your committee to determine your defense date well in advance. Youmust place a hard-copy of your thesis in the department office at least oneweek prior to your defense. This allows others interested in your work toreview your findings prior to your defense.

It is best if you reach agreement with your major professor and otherson your committee that you are ready to defend your thesis research priorto scheduling your defense date. Give your committee the opportunity toraise concerns about your research prior to the defense. Give yourself timeto address their concerns.

You will present your findings to the public at your defense, usuallyin the form of an oral presentation. The presentation is 30-40 minutes induration, and will include an overview of your research question, back-ground, approach, results, discussion and conclusions. Work with yourmajor professor to develop your presentation. All members of your com-mittee must attend your presentation, either in person or electronically. Youand your major professor must be present in person, except in unusual cir-cumstances.

After your presentation the public will ask you questions concerningyour research topic, including both questions about your presentation andabout your written thesis. This period is followed by questions from yourcommittee. Your committee may ask questions about your presentation,your written thesis, and general questions about your research topic. Thisstage of your thesis defense constitutes a comprehensive examination. Theentire question period generally is less than one hour in duration, and theentire defense should be less than two hours in duration. The thesis defenseis evaluated based on a scoring rubric completed by each graduate studentadvisory committee member.

The committee will determine if you pass your defense, pass provision-ally based on completion of additional tasks or revision of writing, or failyour defense. In the event that revisions are requested, the committee willprovide you with a timeline for making these revisions. Revisions must becompleted before your thesis is deposited, meaning that the timeline mustcomply with Graduate School deadlines. In the event of failure, you areprovided the opportunity to re-do your defense at a later date, generallyafter additional research is completed.

10

2.3.2 MS Thesis Format

The format of your thesis is specified by the Graduate School, not by theSchool of Geosciences. Look to their documentation, available on the webat:

www.usf.edu/graduate-studies/students/and keep track of specific changes in format, deadlines and the like.

3 Professional Science Master’s Degree (PSM) in Ge-ology

The Professional Science Master’s Degree program is a non-thesis M.S. de-gree in Geology. The program is designed to offer graduate students a ”realworld” professional experience, especially working with a geoscience com-pany or working in applied research that is relevant to the professionalcommunity. Geologists are hired to solve problems and this degree pro-gram is designed to prepare you for a successful career doing just that!

This graduate program requires 24 hours of structured coursework. Twospecific courses are required for all PSM students:

• Introduction to Professional Geology (3 credits), and,

• Professional Internship Research Project (3 credits).

A total of 30 credit hours is required for the degree. A list of approvedcourses is available on the USF Geology web-site or from the Department.

In additional to structured coursework, PSM students complete a projectcalled the Professional Internship Research project. The project is designedto solve a specific problem, often working with a member of the profes-sional geology community in the area. The projects usually involve ap-plied geology, geophysics, geochemistry, hydrogeology, or geocomputing.Students often work as interns, with the goal of developing valuable andmarketable experience.

These Professional Internship Research projects are supervised by a mem-ber of the geology graduate faculty or by a Professional Geologist (PG). AllPSM projects must be approved by the Internship Coordinator. See the”Who’s Who section for a list of graduate faculty and the contact informa-tion for the Internship Coordinator.

Usually you will work with the Internship Coordinator during yourfirst term to identify a project topic. You will put together an internshipcommittee for your project. Your internship committee consists of:

11

• A major professor. This may be the Internship Coordinator or a mem-ber of the faculty designated by the Internship Coordinator

• A supervising PG you are working with, or a member of the SGSfaculty you are working with on the project

• At least one other member of the SGS faculty.

During your fourth term you will submit an Internship Project Reportapproved by your major professor and the supervising PG if one is a mem-ber of your committee. The format of this report can vary. For example itmight be a written report, a web-page, or similar project.

Once the Internship Project Report is approved, you can schedule apublic presentation of your report, coordinating this presentation schedulewith the Internship Coordinator. An oral examination follows your publicpresentation. This is a comprehensive exit exam that is based on course-work and the internship project. The internship committee determines theformat of the exam. Normally, it is an oral examination following yourpresentation of the results of the internship project to the internship com-mittee.

All degree candidates are required to maintain satisfactory academicprogress at all times. Satisfactory academic progress in this program is de-fined as progress in coursework, maintaining at least a 3.0 GPA. Evidence ofacademic progress includes timely completion of all program requirementssuch as the completion of any prerequisites or deficiencies, timely progresstoward completion of the program, maintaining a satisfactory GPA, andmaking progress on developing and completing an Internship Project.

4 4+1 MS degree

Qualified students can begin taking graduate courses and applying theircredit toward the MS degree as undergraduates. This 4 years + 1 year pro-gram leads to BS and MS degrees in Geology. Students must apply and beadmitted to the graduate program by their third year as an undergraduate.Generally, students should plan to complete follow the MS schedule dur-ing their fourth and fifth years. This can be taken as a thesis or non-thesisoption.

12

5 PhD Starting after an MS Degree

A minimum of 60 credit hours are required for students pursuing a PhDdegree following their successful completion of an MS degree. The PhDprogram in Geology requires a minimum of 15 credit hours of graduate(6000 level) structured course work following the Master’s or equivalent.Most structured courses are one semester long and have three credit hours.Course requirements beyond this are required at the discretion of yourcommittee. All doctoral students must maintain good standing in the Grad-uate School (overall GPA = 3.0) and maintain satisfactory academic progresstoward their degree.

Any student who receives a C in a structured course will be placedon academic probation. This probation can be terminated by achievinggrades of B or higher in structured courses the subsequent semester of full-time enrollment. Note that you may not have the opportunity to take thesame course a second time due to scheduling. If a second grade of C is re-ceived, the student is terminated from the doctoral program. Only coursesin which the student receives at least a B may be counted toward the 15-hour, structured course requirement. There is also a requirement that PhDstudents have at least two semesters of full-time residence at some pointduring the Ph.D. program. While meeting the residency requirements, can-didates must be full-time students in good academic standing.

Successful completion of comprehensive exams, consisting of writtenand oral portions, is required for all doctoral students. Exams, includingrepeats if necessary, need to be completed by the end of the fourth semesterfor students starting a PhD after an MS. Aim to complete these written andorals by the third semester at latest, so another semester is available to re-peat exams if necessary. This format allows those who want to take oralsimmediately after written exams to do so. Doctoral students who achievecandidacy by successful completion of their exams and who are supportedon teaching or research assistantships receive a pay raise starting the fol-lowing term. Anyone not successfully completing exams by the deadline(end of the fourth semester for students with entering the PhD programwith an MS) will be dismissed from the program.

After admission to candidacy, all doctoral students will make at leastone formal presentation of their research prior to graduation. Any appro-priate venue is acceptable, e.g., Geology colloquium, oral or poster sessionsat a scientific meeting of at least regional scope. The dissertation defense isevaluated based on a scoring rubric, which you can obtain in advance fromyour major professor or from the department office.

13

5.1 PhD Schedule

This schedule assumes a full-time commitment. Graduate students en-rolled without financial support (without T.A. or R.A.) are free to pursuetheir studies at their own rate, as long as exams are completed by the endof the fourth semester of enrollment and keeping within other guidelinesfor degree completion specified by the university. G.A.s are required toadhere to the following schedule, or will risk loss of funding from the de-partment. Please read the entire schedule early in your graduate programso you can plot your course through graduate school most efficiently.

• First Semester: Complete at least nine hours of course work. Thiscourse work should consist of three structured graduate courses inGeology (GLY prefix, 6000 level). Ideally, you will identify a topicfor your graduate dissertation research and select a major professorto advise you about which structured courses to take and which ad-ditional work you should undertake related to your dissertation re-search to ensure timely graduation. The sooner you select a disser-tation research topic, the more likely you are to graduate in a timelymanner. Nevertheless, be sure to consider your dissertation optionscarefully during this time period. It is appropriate to ask questionsabout your dissertation research of a number of geology faculty mem-bers to help you identify a research topic and a major professor. Keepin mind that it is often efficient to select a dissertation topic that closelyaligns with the science your major professor is involved in at the mo-ment, because she/he will likely be in a position to offer timely ad-vice.

• Second Semester: Complete at least nine hours of course work. Ide-ally this course work will consist of two structured graduate coursesin Geology (GLY prefix, 6000 level). Students should strive to attain15 hours of completed structured course credit by the end of theirfirst year in the PhD graduate program. If you have not already iden-tified a major professor, you are required to do so by the end of yoursecond semester of full-time enrollment. Your major professor willadvise you about which structured courses to enroll in and which ad-ditional work you should undertake related to your dissertation workto ensure timely graduation. If you have not already done so, duringyour second semester you will formulate a plan for your dissertationwork, schedule field activities, laboratory work, and literature survey.Typically your major professor will ask you to provide a detailed and

14

annotated outline of your proposed research. You should work withyour major professor during this second semester to identify sourcesof funding for your project work, and apply to these funding sourcesif application is required. This may involve writing a proposal, orsimilar prospectus for your research. Often students begin work ontheir dissertations during their second term. For example, your sec-ond semester is a good time to write the Background section of yourdissertation and to provide this write-up to your advisor for her/hisreview.

• Third Semester: Complete remaining structured course work to ob-tain a minimum of 15 structured course hours, and take dissertationresearch credit to reach full-time status. Early in this term you shouldprepare your dissertation proposal. This is a written document thatsummarizes your research questions, approach and plan. The disser-tation proposal is written in the style of a NSF proposal and shouldbe approximately 8 pages in length, not including references and an-cillary material. You will present your dissertation proposal to yourcommittee in advance of the comprehensive exam. The comprehen-sive exam should be taken in your third semester. You are responsiblefor scheduling your comprehensive exam, which consists of oral andwritten portions, as discussed in the following.

• Fourth Semester: Comprehensive exams must be successfully com-pleted by the end of the fourth semester. Retake exams as needed inthis term, fulfill any obligations associated with conditional passingof your exams, and continue your research! Usually you take disser-tation credits during your fourth semester.

Note that typically PhD students are not enrolled in the summer termsduring their graduate work. Regular graduate courses are not offered bythe department during the summer term. Usually, geology faculty do nothave summer appointments, and so will not be available to advise youduring the summer term. Nevertheless, many students work on their re-search during this period. It is often an ideal time period to conduct yourfield work, complete laboratory work and the like. You have the option ofenrolling in dissertation credit courses during the summer term, if an ar-rangement to do so can be reached with your major professor or with theDepartment.

• Semesters 5–7: If you have stayed on schedule, this is a great timeto focus on your dissertation research! Typically you work closely

15

with your major professor to establish a schedule for your research,including field work, laboratory work, and related activities. Often,research during this period focuses on publication of peer-reviewedjournal articles. You can schedule as many meetings with your com-mittee during this period as you wish. During the semester beforegraduation, meet with your full committee for a pre-defense, or datadefense. The goal of this presentation and review is to determine ifyou have conducted sufficient data collection/analyses/preliminarydata interpretation to reasonably expect to defend your dissertationduring the following term. The outcome of this optional meeting isto set reasonable expectations for your remaining schedule, and toremove potential ambiguity related to scope and outcomes.

• Eighth Semester: Typically you are required to apply for graduationearly in this term. An official notice will be provided via email fromthe department, but it is your responsibility to apply for graduation.Typically, your completed dissertation will be due for format check atthe library by the middle of the term. An official notice will be pro-vided via email from the department, but it is your responsibility todeposit your dissertation with the library prior to their deadline. Thismeans you will have to defend your dissertation at least two weeksprior to the deadline for deposit to have sufficient time to make anyrevisions requested by your committee. You should have a completeddraft of your dissertation to your committee no later than five weeksfrom the beginning of your eighth semester. Typically your majorprofessor will request that you provide her/him with a draft of yourdissertation before it is circulated to other members of the commit-tee. Note that your dissertation must be on display in the departmentoffice two weeks prior to your defense date. Usually you take disser-tation credits during your eighth semester. Regardless, the GraduateCollege requires that you take at least two dissertation credits duringyour final term.

5.2 Doctoral Dissertation Committee

Your Doctoral Dissertation Committee will consist of at least four members.

• Your major professor must have expertise in the research topic(s) ofyour proposed dissertation

• At least two additional members from the School of Geosciences must

16

have research interests that align with your dissertation

• At least one external member, from outside the School of Geosciences,and preferably outside the university, but with research interests thatalign with your dissertation

Faculty holding joint or adjunct appointments in the School of Geosciencescannot be external members on your committee.

Alternatively, your committee may consist of two co-major professors.In this case there must be at least two other members of your committee, in-cluding one external member of your committee. Generally, external mem-bers of the committee cannot serve as (co-)major professor(s).

Committee members should be from the geological research area inwhich the degree is sought. Your major professor or one of your co-majorprofessors must be faculty affiliated with the geology degree program. Allof your committee members must meet the requirements specified by thegraduate school. They must be graduate or affiliate graduate faculty, asdefined by the USF, having the background and expertise that contributesmeaningfully to your dissertation research. See the ”Who’s Who” sectionfor a list of graduate faculty members in geology. For example, if you arepursuing doctoral research in sedimentology, your committee should haveexpertise in this research topic. The Department is unlikely to approve yourcommittee if the Department Chair finds your committee does not have ex-pertise in your research topic!

Note that committee members, especially external committee members,may not be physically present at your comprehensive exam or at your de-fense. In these cases it is acceptable for committee members to attend elec-tronically (by Skype, telephone, or similar device). Major professors arerequired to attend these events in person.

5.2.1 PhD Major Professor

When admitted into the Doctoral Degree in Geology you are admitted intoa degree program. It is your responsibility to identify a major professor,who will be your primary academic contact while in the degree program.You and your major professor will plan your research which, when com-pleted, will satisfy the Geology PhD degree requirements.

The major professor serves as your advisor and mentor. You should se-lect your major professor no later than the end of your second semester ofenrollment in the graduate program. When you select your major profes-sor you must receive that person’s agreement to serve as major professor.

17

The selection of your major professor must be approved and appointed bythe School of Geosciences as soon as possible, but no later than the endof your second term of enrollment. According to Graduate School rules,students must have a major professor in order to maintain satisfactory aca-demic progress.

When you request that a member of the faculty work with you as majorprofessor it is appropriate to discuss the scope and schedule for your dis-sertation work. For example, determine if your major professor intends tobe resident during critical stages of your research. Is she/he planning togo on sabbatical? Are there other factors which make advising you prob-lematic? Is your major professor interested in advising you on the researchtopic you have selected? Does your major professor have grants or othersources of funding to support field or lab research? Addressing these con-siderations early will allow you to keep to your schedule.

Your major professor needs to be qualified to advise you. The Collegeof Graduate Studies lays out the following guidelines for major professorsof doctoral research:

• Be from the student’s home academic area

• Be graduate faculty, as defined by the University, from the student’sacademic area

• Be engaged in current and sustained scholarly, creative, or researchactivities and have met departmental (or equivalent) requirements

• Be active in scholarly pursuits as evidenced by at least one refereedpublication in the last three years.

• Have been approved by the student’s Department Chair (or equiva-lent) to serve as a Major Professor or Co-Major Professor.

In some cases you may elect to have two co-major professors. This is par-ticularly warranted if you are working closely with both faculty memberson an interdisciplinary topic. Selecting co-major professors rather than asingle major professor has some advantages because both faculty membersare involved in guiding your research. If one of your co-major professorsgoes on sabbatical, for example, you still have a mentor on campus. A dis-advantage is that this approach requires more coordination, which is notalways easy to achieve and both co-major professors must be satisfied withthe scope and direction of your dissertation research, which potentially cre-ates additional work for you.

18

If a major professor cannot be identified or in the event a major pro-fessor is unable or unwilling to continue serving on your committee, youare responsible for finding another major professor among the Geology fac-ulty. Students who are unable to find a replacement major professor shouldconfer with the Graduate Director for available options. If no other optionsexist, you may be requested to voluntarily withdraw from the major or maybe honorably withdrawn in good academic standing.

You may find that you want to change major professors after you havealready selected one and obtained her/his consent to serve as your majorprofessor. You may change major professors at any time. Nevertheless,please be aware that changing major professors generally involves a signif-icant change in research topic and will likely delay your graduation. Careis required about the change because you may have worked jointly on re-search that is rooted in your major professor’s ideas, creating potential in-tellectual property issues. You should discuss such potential issues withboth your former and new major professor, preferably in a joint meeting.The decision to change major professors may have economic impact on youas well because of the likely disruption in your academic progress. If youare a T.A., additional terms of support may not be provided by the depart-ment. If you are an R.A. working on your former major professor’s grant,they are unlikely to offer you this support after you change academic direc-tion. It is best to identify a major professor you plan to work with early inyour graduate program and to stick with that mentor in order to completeyour PhD degree in a timely manner.

5.2.2 PhD Committee Members

Your PhD committee includes at least three additional committee mem-bers, unless you have co-major professors, in which case at least two ad-ditional committee members are required. Your committee members maycontribute to your research, will read your dissertation and offer their cor-rections and comments, and will participate in your defense.

It is your responsibility, usually working with your major professor, toselect other committee members.

5.2.3 Role of the Doctoral Dissertation Committee

Your committee has all of the following roles:

• approve your course of study

19

• compose and grade your written comprehensive qualifying exam

• administer and grade your oral comprehensive qualifying exam

• approve your research plan, presented in written and oral form

• supervise your research

• read and approve your dissertation, and

• conduct your dissertation defense.

In order to fulfill these roles, your committee needs to be apprised ofyour progress throughout your degree program. Provide your commit-tee members with regular updates of your progress, for example once persemester. Schedule meetings with your committee at major milestones inyour progress, or whenever you think it is necessary. These meetings canhelp you avoid delays. For example, if you have hit a snag in your researchyour committee will help you work through the problem or help you strikeout in a new direction.

5.2.4 PhD Committee Approval

Once you have formed your committee you must complete the Supervi-sory Committee Form and submit the form to your Committee Membersfor original signatures. Check with the School of Geosciences office stafffor instructions and forms. They will talk you through this process! It isimportant to complete this paperwork because you cannot apply for grad-uation without this approved form on file.

Changes to your committee must be submitted on a Change of Com-mittee Form. Original signatures of faculty being added to the Committee,along with the approval signature of the (Co-) Major Professor(s), mustbe on the form. Faculty who are removed from your Committee are notrequired to sign the form, provided that the (Co-) Major Professor(s) hassigned. In such instances the signature of the (Co-)Major Professor(s) indi-cate(s) approval of the change, as well as acknowledgment and approval ofthe change by the removed member. All Graduate School guidelines mustbe followed when you apply to change your committee. The best approachis to carefully select your committee at the outset and avoid delays associ-ated with change in committee.

20

5.3 Doctoral Comprehensive Exam

The purpose of the comprehensive qualifying exam is to determine if youhave the background and ability to complete your doctoral dissertation ingeology. It is a test. This exam must be successfully completed no laterthan the end of your 4th semester to attain candidacy (6th semester forthose who enter the PhD program directly from the BS degree). Studentswho fail to complete comprehensive exams by the end of the 4th semester(6th semester for those who enter the PhD program directly from the BSdegree) will be dismissed from the program. The nature and content of thequalifying exam is at the discretion of the PhD advisory committee. Thetest consists of several parts:

• You will present your research plan in written form, as a proposal,and in an oral presentation

• Your committee members will provide written questions about gen-eral geology, research in your field of study, and cutting-edge sciencerelated to your specific research question(s). Generally, these ques-tions will be answered in a 4-5 day period, with one exam per dayper committee member.

• Your committee will conduct an oral exam related to your researchplan and possibly your responses to written questions.

Once you pass your comprehensive qualifying exam, you are admittedto candidacy by the College of Graduate Studies.

Your research plan is your chance to prepare a road-map for your re-search following successful completion of the comprehensive qualifyingexamination. Prepare this research plan working closely with your majorprofessor. Usually the plan is succinct and written in the style of an NSFproposal. Consult with your major professor if you are unsure how to writea research proposal; she/he has examples.

In outline, a typical dissertation proposal consists of the following fivesections:

• The Project Summary (One page maximum): The project summarymust include: (i) an overview of the project; (ii) a statement on theintellectual merit of the proposed research; and (iii) a statement onthe broader impacts of the proposed research.

21

• Project description (Twelve page maximum): The Project Descriptionmust include (i) a clear statement of the work to be undertaken; (ii)a literature review and theoretical framework placing the proposedresearch in context; (iii) methods or description of the experimentand procedures; (iv) expected outcomes. Illustrations (figures, tables,graphs, maps etc.) should be included in the twelve page limit. Briefcaptions should be added to each illustration.

• References (No page limit): Full citations of all references cited in thetext must be included.

• Funding Support (One page maximum): A statement regarding sup-port available and needed to successfully complete the research.

• Research Plan and Timeline: This should include milestones of whenassigned tasks will be completed and submitted to the major profes-sor and advisory committee.

Use letter size paper, Times New Roman (11 pt) typeface, single 1.5 linespacing, one inch margins and use page numbers. Your dissertation pro-posal should be prepared in Microsoft Word, Latex, or equivalent. Submitthis document first to your major professor for editing and discussions, andthen when you agree distribute the document to the rest of your committee.

Your committee will ask written questions as part of your comprehen-sive exam. The nature of these questions is up to your committee. Usuallythey are long-form questions, requiring several pages to answer, about top-ics related to your dissertation or concern knowledge required to addressthese research questions. You may be asked to solve specific problems orinterpret a data set relevant to your field of study. It is up to individual com-mittee members to decide if the written portion of the exam is timed, openor closed book, and which specific questions are asked. You can preparefor this exam by discussing your research topic(s) with committee mem-bers, by verifying the general scope of their questions in advance, and byrequesting study materials and literature references of them.

Verify the format of your oral exam in advance with your major profes-sor. Generally you will be asked to present your research plan in a shortoral presentation using slides or other media. Your committee will evalu-ate this presentation in terms of your command of the subject matter, yourstyle of presentation, and your ability to answer questions about your re-search topic(s). Following this phase, committee members will ask ques-tions individually about your written exam responses and about your re-

22

search topic(s). The entire oral exam should last approximately two hoursor less.

At the discretion of your advisory committee, your proposal can be de-fended as part of the oral exams or up to 60 days after your comprehensivequalifying exam, but not including the summer semester. The format of theproposal defense is at the discretion of the advisory committee.

Your performance on the comprehensive qualifying exam is evaluatedusing a scoring rubric completed by each member of your committee. Threeoutcomes are possible. You may pass. You may pass provisionally, whichmeans that your committee will ask you to complete additional work, suchas take a structured course, before you are admitted to candidacy. In theevent you fail the exam, the committee will give you the opportunity toretake the exam within a specified time period.

If remedial action is required, then it must be successfully completed bythe end of your 4th semester. If you fail the exam a second time, or electnot to retake the exam before the end of your 4th semester, then you mustwithdraw from the degree program. For example, if you fail your examand wish to reconstitute your committee in a different area of study, thenwithdraw from the program and seek re-admission. Discuss this with yourmajor professor, and the chair of the graduate committee. The best plan isto decide on your concentration early, realistically assess your pathway tosuccess, and stick with your schedule!

5.4 Dissertation

Your doctoral dissertation represents your original contribution to geolog-ical science. Typically you will frame your research as a question, whichcan be addressed by the collection of new data, the compilation of existingdata, writing of new computer code, or using research tools in a new andinnovative manner. While you work closely on your research with yourmajor professor and other committee members, your dissertation is yourwork. This means that others cannot contribute substantially to the datagathering, compilation, or writing of your dissertation. It is your project!

Often you will find yourself working on research as part of a team, pos-sibly consisting of your major professor, other committee members, othergraduate students, or others in the boarder academic and professional com-munities. Such teamwork is an essential part of scientific research. Be sureto delineate, with the help of your major professor, the specific researchtopic(s) that comprise your dissertation.

You may be advised to prepare your research as several manuscripts

23

for publication prior to completing your dissertation. There are two pos-sible ways to include this writing in your dissertation. First, if you arethe first author on a paper and you can verify that you were primarilyresponsible for the writing (with acknowledgment of your co-authors onthe paper), you may include this paper as part of your dissertation. Sec-ond, if you were not primarily responsible for the writing but can clearlydelineate your substantial contribution to the paper, then you can includethe paper as supplementary material to the text of your dissertation. Therule of thumb is that if you wrote it, you should include it in the text ofyour dissertation, even if it is already published in a peer-reviewed journalor similar venue. Note, however, that you are responsible for, and may beasked to explain, any content in your dissertation including supplementarymaterial.

You may wonder, how many papers are required to publish as part ofyour dissertation? There is no fixed rule about the number of publicationsresulting from your dissertation research. Typically, major professors ad-vise students to author at least three papers. The reason for this is that threepapers represent substantial effort, that will make you competitive in seek-ing employment after graduation, for example as a post-doctoral fellow orresearch scientist. These papers may be published, submitted for publica-tion, or substantially prepared for submission. There is no requirement thatpapers be accepted or printed prior to your defense, although there are ad-vantages to having part of your dissertation accepted by a peer-reviewedjournal before you defend your work to your committee.

It is also acceptable to write chapters that you later intend to dissemi-nate in some form.

5.4.1 Doctoral Dissertation Defense

You must hold a public defense of your dissertation. It is up to you towork with your committee to determine your defense date well in advance.You must allow three weeks for the advisory committee to review yourdissertation. If your committee sees no major problems, you can proceedto the oral defense.

An external chair is required for this part of the examination as deter-mined by the graduate school. The external chair officiates your exam.Work with your major professor to identify an appropriate external chair.Schedule your defense date with the Office Manager because it must beadvertised. You must place a hard-copy of your dissertation in the depart-ment office at least two weeks prior to your defense. This allows others

24

interested in your work to review your findings prior to your defense.It is best if you reach agreement with your major professor and others

on your committee that you are ready to defend your dissertation priorto scheduling your defense date. Give your committee the opportunity toraise concerns about your research prior to the defense. Give yourself timeto address their concerns.

You will present your findings to the public at your defense, usuallyin the form of an oral presentation. The presentation is 30-40 minutes induration, and will include an overview of your research question(s), back-ground, approach, results, discussion and conclusions. Work with yourmajor professor to develop your presentation. Often the presentation canonly include part of your dissertation. All members of your committeemust attend your presentation, either in person or electronically. You andyour major professor must be present in person, except in unusual circum-stances.

After your presentation the public will ask you questions concerningyour research topic(s), including both questions about your presentationand about your written dissertation. This period is followed by questionsfrom your committee. Your committee may ask questions about your pre-sentation, your written dissertation, and general questions about your re-search topic(s). The entire question period generally is less than one hour induration, and the entire defense should be less than two hours in duration.

The dissertation defense is evaluated based on a scoring rubric com-pleted by each graduate student advisory committee member. The com-mittee will determine if you pass your defense, pass provisionally basedon completion of additional tasks or revision of writing, or fail your de-fense. In the event that revisions are requested, the committee will pro-vide you with a timeline for making these revisions. Revisions must becompleted before your dissertation is deposited, meaning that the timelinemust comply with Graduate School deadlines. In the event of failure, youare provided the opportunity to re-do the defense at a later date.

Upon successful defense of your dissertation, the examining committeerecommends to the University that you be awarded the Ph.D. degree.

5.4.2 Doctoral Dissertation Format

The format of your dissertation is specified by the Graduate School, not bythe School of Geosciences. Look to their documentation, available on theweb at:

http://www.grad.usf.edu/ETD-res-main.php

25

for complete information about requirements, procedures, and dead-lines.

6 PhD Degree Starting Directly from a BS degree

It is possible to enroll in the doctoral program in Geology directly from theB.S. degree without first obtaining an MS degree. Students who take thisroute generally also complete an MS thesis, but are guaranteed a place inthe PhD program assuming they maintain academic standing. A minimumof 90 credit hours are required for students pursuing a PhD degree from aBS degree, without first earning an MS degree. This includes any graduatecredits earned prior to admission to the doctoral program. Compared tothe requirements starting from a MS degree as described in the above sec-tion, 30 additional credit hours are required for students starting from a BSdegree.

If you enter the doctoral program with a Bachelor’s degree, your Mas-ter’s degree defense should be completed by no later than the end of your4th semester. You must complete 24 structured credit hours by the time ofyour MS defense.

The PhD program in Geology requires a minimum of 15 semester hoursof graduate (6000 level) structured course work following the Master’s orequivalent. For students starting with a BS degree, the 15 credit hours are inaddition to the graduate structured hours recommended for the MS degreeequivalent during the first two years. Course requirements beyond this areat the discretion of the student’s committee.

All doctoral students must maintain good standing in the GraduateSchool (overall GPA = 3.0) and maintain satisfactory academic progresstoward the degree. Any student who receives a C in a structured coursewill be placed on academic probation. This probation can be terminated byachieving grades of B or higher in the subsequent semester of full-time en-rollment. If a second grade of C is received, the student is terminated fromthe doctoral program. Only courses in which the student receives at leasta B may be counted toward the 15-hour, structured course requirement.There is also a requirement that PhD students have at least two semestersof full-time residence. While meeting the residency requirements, candi-dates must be full-time students in good academic standing.

The schedule for completing the doctoral degree directly from the BSgenerally tracks the schedules outlined previously for the MS and PhDdegrees. One difference is that you are required to successfully complete

26

your comprehensive qualifying exams no later than the end of your 6thsemester in order to remain enrolled in the PhD program. It is strongly rec-ommended that you schedule your comprehensive exams during your 5thsemester, so that time is available to retake the exams if needed, or to com-plete remedial work requested by your committee, before the end of your6th semester of enrollment. Students entering the PhD program without anMS must successfully complete their comprehensive exams by the end oftheir 6th semester, or they will be dismissed from the program.

It is anticipated that the doctoral degree program will be completed ina total of five, rather than six years (MS + PhD). To facilitate completionof the Master’s and PhD in eight to ten semesters, your Master’s thesis isexpected to be linked to one or more chapters in the PhD dissertation. TheMaster’s thesis is expected to be a stand-alone work, generally on a topicchosen by the advisor. Thus the linkage could be to an expanded or refinedversion of work on a closely related topic. Possible examples of linkageare: the Master’s thesis could consist of an extensive literature search anda small amount of new original data. The PhD dissertation could referback to the Master’s thesis for background material, but would test newhypotheses using the data, or show initiative by delving into a new area ordeveloping new methods.

All other features of this program are as outlined for the doctoral pro-gram following an MS, as outlined above.

7 Tuition, Fees, and Expenses

Graduate school is expensive! USF currently estimates that the annual costof graduate school for Florida residents is $21500 and for Out-of-state res-idents is $39000. These cost estimates include the cost of full-time tuition,fees associated with enrolling in the university, housing, meals, books, andother expenses (such as health-care, field trip expenses and the like). Thesecost estimates do not include the cost of owning a car, which is necessaryin Tampa if you live more than a few miles from campus, car insurance orparking fees.

A breakdown in estimated expenses from the university’s perspectiveis available at:

http://www.usf.edu/financial-aid/cost-of-attendance/1718-coa-off-campus-not-with-parents.aspx

So, you need to plan your graduate school expenses carefully from theoutset, line up your available resources, and make a careful assessment of

27

your ability to sustain your graduate work within your financial means.Often students receive some sort of financial support in order to pursue

a degree program in Geology, as described in the following section. It isvery important to realize that this financial support will not cover yourfull university fees or expenses. Some types of financial support carries thestipulation that you are not allowed to have additional employment. If youare a foreign student, your visa may stipulate that you may not have otheremployment while attending graduate school.

8 Financial Support

Graduate students in geology degree programs sometimes have financialsupport. This support might be in the form of T.A.s, R.A.s or Fellowships.Your work may also be supported by a grant that provides support to youother than an R.A.

8.1 Teaching Assistantship

The department provides some graduate students with a teaching assis-tantship (T.A.). The T.A. is a contract between you and the School of Geo-sciences for you to perform work (teach) in exchange for a waiver of tuitionand a small stipend to partially offset your living expenses while you arepursuing graduate studies.

Typically the School will fund eight regular semesters for PhD studentsfrom the time of enrollment if they are entering the program with a relevantMaster’s degree, and ten semesters if they enter the program with a Bache-lor’s degree. Students receive a maximum of six years of funding includingother sources (for example, research assistantships).

If you receive a T.A. you are employed by the State of Florida and youare responsible for fulfilling your work assignment, which is assigned bythe Chair of the School of Geosciences. For a ”full-time” T.A., the assign-ment is to work up to 20 hours per week in some teaching capacity, asassigned by the department chair. The teaching may involve running yourown section of an undergraduate course, administering the lab in a courseworking for a faculty member, or grading for a faculty member as part oftheir course. Occasionally other duties that are related to teaching effort areassigned.

Your letter of offer from the department specifies if you will receivea T.A. and for how many terms or years you can expect to receive T.A.

28

support. Generally, MS students who are offered a T.A. are offered twoyears of support. Doctoral students who are offered a T.A. are offered 4-5years of support. Additional support is not likely, and is only offered bythe department in exceptional circumstances.

It is important to realize that your T.A. is funded by the Department,rather than by your major professor. Your T.A. duties are completely sepa-rate from work you conduct as part of your research. Also, the departmentsets the rate of pay associated with your T.A. stipend. In general, MS stu-dents are all paid the same rate, and doctoral students are all paid the samerate.

Your employment as a T.A. depends on good academic progress towardyour graduate degree. If you are not making good academic progress, forexample if your GPA falls below 3.0, the department may revoke your T.A.This does not mean you are expelled from the graduate program, but yourtuition is no longer covered and you no longer receive a stipend associatedwith the T.A. Similarly, if you fail to perform the duties of your T.A., forexample if you fail to teach assigned classes or complete assigned work,your T.A. may be revoked by the department chair.

Usually, T.A. support requires full time enrollment in graduate school.

8.2 Research Assistantship

Individual faculty members may provide research assistantships (R.A.s). AR.A. is paid for using externally funded grants. These grants are awardedto individual faculty members by grant agencies, such as the National Sci-ence Foundation or NASA.

As with a T.A., if you receive a R.A. support you are employed by theState of Florida and you are responsible for fulfilling your work assign-ment, which is assigned by the faculty member who is principle investi-gator of the grant. For a ”full-time” R.A., the work assignment is to workup to 20 hours per week in some research capacity, as assigned by the fac-ulty member and specified in the research contract. The R.A. may involveconducting lab or field work, compiling data, writing papers, and relatedresearch activity. This research activity may fall within the scope of yourthesis or dissertation work, or it may be completely separate. You need tofind out from your research advisor if R.A. work is intended to fall withinthe scope of your thesis/dissertation work or not.

Your letter of offer from the department specifies if you will receive aR.A. and for how many terms you can expect to receive R.A. support. Gen-erally, you can expect to receive R.A. support for the duration of the grant

29

and its available funds for graduate student support. You can ask yourmajor professor what the duration of support is likely to be. If this lengthof funding does not coincide with the expected duration of your graduateprogram, you need to discuss subsequent funding with your major profes-sor and possibly with the department chair. Generally, accommodation ismade so that students who have had R.A. support receive T.A. support atthe end of external grant funding.

The amount of your R.A. stipend and whether or not it covers tuitionwaiver or other fees is determined by the faculty member, following guid-ance provided by the granting agency and the budget specified in the grant.The amount of R.A. funding available and the rate of pay varies.

Your employment as an R.A. depends on good academic progress to-ward your graduate degree. If you are not making good academic progress,for example if your GPA falls below 3.0, you may lose your R.A. support.This does not mean you are expelled from the graduate program, but yourtuition is no longer covered and you no longer receive a stipend associatedwith the R.A. Similarly, if you fail to perform the duties of your R.A., forexample if you fail to complete assigned work, your R.A. may be revokedby the faculty member who is principle investigator in charge of the grant.

Often the R.A. support is an agreement between you and your majoradvisor to work on a specific project that aligns with the research goalsof your thesis or dissertation. If you decide to change research directionsin your graduate research, or change major professors, you may lose yourR.A. support. It is quite important to discuss your R.A. support with yourmajor professor prior to making dramatic changes in your graduate pro-gram.

Usually, R.A. support requires full time enrollment in graduate school.

8.3 Fellowship

Fellowships are funding provided by third parties that may off set all orpart of your tuition and fees, fund research and/or provide a stipend. Fel-lowships vary widely in terms of the types of support they provide and theduration of support.

Some fellowships are offered to students without any application. Forexample, University Fellowships are offered to graduate students on a semesterbasis. The Department may be involved in selecting specific graduate stu-dent recipients of such fellowships, or the fellowship might be award basedon some specific criterion, such as GPA.

Students apply for some Fellowships that are awarded competitively

30

based on their application. For example, the USF Geology Alumni Societyoffers the Richard A Davis Fellowship annually. This Fellowship involves awritten application and letter of support from a geology faculty member. Itis only awarded to one doctoral and on MS student annually and it is onlyawarded to students who apply for it.

Many Fellowships are paid directly to your student account. This meansthat if there is a balance on your account, such as an unpaid fee, the fellow-ship money will be used to reduce this balance.

Some multi-year fellowships are available. For example the USF Presi-dential Fellowship can be applied for prior to acceptance as a graduate stu-dent in the geology doctoral program. This fellowship is awarded based ona competitive science proposal, and covers tuition, fees, and a stipend forup to five years. NASA offers a competitive Space Grant Fellowship that isalso awarded competitively for up to two years.

Your multi-year fellowship often depends on good academic progresstoward your graduate degree. If you are not making good academic progress,for example if your GPA falls below 3.0, you may lose your fellowship. Forsome fellowships, if you fail to conduct the research outlined in your orig-inal proposal you may lose the fellowship. Usually agencies that awardfellowships require regular progress reports and updates. Often your ma-jor professor is required to provide a progress report as well, so it is a greatidea to keep your major professor appraised of your progress!

Some Fellowships require that you maintain full time enrollment inyour graduate studies.

8.4 Grant Support

You can seek grant support for your research. This funding is available tosupport field work, laboratory analyses, travel to professional conferencesand similar activities. It is a great idea to seek support for your research byapplying for grants.

Grants are available from the Geological Society of America, Sigma Xi,the American Geophysical Union, Society of Exploration Geophysics andsimilar disciplinary organizations. The US National Science Foundation of-fers a dissertation improvement grant to early-program doctoral students.There are variable deadlines for applications for grants awarded by differ-ent agencies or societies. Usually you are required to submit a short pro-posal to obtain external grant funding for your research. Work with yourmajor professor to develop this proposal! The sooner you develop yourthesis or dissertation project, the more likely you are to be successful in

31

obtaining such external grant support.Some faculty members have external grants, funded by federal agencies

or similar organizations. Your research may be supported, in part, by theirgrants. Consult with your major professor about their grant situation. Theymay seek your assistance in developing new proposals for external fundswhich, if successful, could support your research project.

Usually grant support does not require full time enrollment.

8.5 OPS support

You may have the opportunity to work as an OPS (Other Personnel Ser-vices) employee. OPS employees are part time and earn an hourly wage.The scope and pay rate for OPS employment varies depending on the posi-tion. Faculty occasionally hire OPS employees on grants. The departmentoccasionally hires OPS employees to work on some specific task.

OPS employment does not require full or part time enrollment in courses.

8.6 Student Loans

As a graduate student, you likely qualify for student loans, either fromthe federal government or from private lenders. More information aboutstudent loans for USF students:

http://www.usf.edu/financial-aid/loans/

9 Travel

Travel is an essential part of the academic experience for geology graduatestudents. All international travel is coordinated through USF World. SeeUSF world information about international travel at:

http://www.usf.edu/world/resources/travel-services.aspxLet them know your plans for international travel as soon as you know

them!Before any travel may occur, a travel authorization form (TAR) must

be completed. This form should be completed anytime you are travelingon USF-related business, including all travel related to research and schol-arship. Tell department office Staff about your travel plans and they willhelp you complete a TAR. Completion of a TAR is all you need to do formany types of travel, such as travel to a conference, meeting, or to a lab atanother university. Note that you should complete a TAR whether you will

32

be reimbursed for travel or not. The TAR lets the university know that youare traveling on university business.

Please give special consideration to your activities involving:

• Travel with other graduate students and undergraduates

• Volunteers

• Research Travel (Field work)

• Use of vehicles

• It is highly recommended that any belongings you are traveling withare kept in your possession or properly secured.

9.1 Traveling with Other Students

If you are traveling as part of a class you are enrolled in, all you need todo is complete a TAR. By traveling with students enrolled in a class youteach, as a T.A., you accept responsibility for creating a reasonably safeand structured experience, beyond what is expected in a normal classroomenvironment. Before traveling with students make sure that you or thefaculty member organizing the trip:

• Inform the SGS Chair, Office Manager, and/or Lab Manager of theoff-campus activity. This should be done in writing (e.g., via email)and should provide details about the purpose of the trip, the tripitinerary, faculty contact number(s) while traveling, and names of thestudent participants. This is done so the Chair and office staff areaware of the travel, know the itinerary, and can contact you if neces-sary.

• Have each student complete a Waiver of Liability form (the Lab Man-ager has these!). Make sure your Office Manager, Lab Manager orChair receive these forms before travel occurs.

• Request contact information (mobile phone number) for each studenttraveling. Note that students are not required to provide this infor-mation, but it is especially useful to have if students become sepa-rated from the group during travel, or other circumstances of thistype arise.

33

• Provide each student participant on the trip with information regard-ing the travel. This information should include: faculty and T.A.contact information (your email address and mobile phone number),your travel information (e.g., if traveling on separate flights), descrip-tion of the purpose of the trip, the trip schedule and itinerary, infor-mation about appropriate conduct during the trip, information aboutappropriate individual preparations (e.g., are boots, sunscreen, anda hat required?), list of other supplies students may need, and othertrip details as appropriate.

• Encourage students to complete a Contact Plan. (a list of people whoshould be contacted in case of emergency, as well as additional infor-mation that they may wish to provide). Bring a copy of each contactplan with you, and leave copies with the Department Chair and Of-fice Manager or Lab Manager.

• Students must make sure they have adequate medical insurance cov-erage. It is CAS policy that students who do not have adequate med-ical insurance coverage may not participate in university-related off-campus activities.

• It is department policy that transportation should be arranged for stu-dents to travel to and participate in all off-campus activities. Studentsare discouraged from driving their own vehicles to off-campus activ-ities, but may elect to do so. Students should be informed, however,that USF liability does not cover them, as the driver or as passengers,in the event of an accident. See Use of Vehicle.

• Note that if your travel with students involves field work or travel toremote locations, your preparations should involve activities listedunder Research Travel.

• In the event that a student falls ill or has an accident while traveling:(a) Seek appropriate medical attention for the student immediately(b) Contact the Department Chair and inform her/him of the situ-ation (c) when the emergency has passed, work with the student tocomplete a report of Accident, Injury, or Illness , and submit this formto the Department Chair.

34

9.2 Volunteers

Volunteers might be your partner or friend who accompanies you on fieldwork. In the event you may be traveling with a volunteer, please ensurethat the Application for Volunteer Services Form is completed and sub-mitted to the Department Office Manager or Lab Manager prior to travelarrangements being made. If this form is approved, the Appointment ofVolunteer Form will be completed by the department and forwarded to theOffice of Human Resources for approval.

The university’s liability policy covers damages caused by the negligentactions of university employees, agents and volunteers while in the courseand scope of university business. A volunteer is any person who is ap-pointed/approved by the Department and the Office of Human Resourcesto perform voluntary services for the benefit of the university with no mon-etary or material compensation. As an appointed volunteer, this person iseligible for liability coverage when performing services while acting withinthe scope of designated services.

9.3 Research Travel

Field work is defined as research and educational activities that take placeoutside of the traditional classroom or lab setting. Conducting field work isan exciting and crucial aspect of the academic experience of many geologygraduate students. Precautions must be taken to ensure a safe and produc-tive experience. Important details about USF policies and recommendedprocedures for Field Research are found in the USF Field Safety Manual.

At a minimum, before you go:

• Prepare a USF field research plan. The Lab Manager has this form. Ifa boat will be used, please prepare a Float Plan. The Lab Manager oryour advisor has a Float Plan. Research plans should be provided toyour Chair and Office/Lab Manager before the research travel occurs.If you are planning multiple research visits to a particular site, or setof sites, work with your Chair and Office/Lab Manager to develop asingle Field Research Plan to cover the entire activity.

• Obtain training. At least one member of the research team shouldhave up-to-date CPR and First Aid certification. Additional trainingis required for Boat operation and SCUBA diving. For details, see theUSF Field Safety Manual

35

• Obtain or write a standard field operating procedure for the specificfield activities you plan to undertake. Complete a Contact Plan foreach member of your team. Bring a copy of the contact plan with youand leave a copy with your Department Chair and Office Manager.

• Verify that insurance coverage is adequate. For information regard-ing coverage options for scientific or other equipment, contact USFDivision of Health and Safety at 813-974-4036.

• Obtain necessary permits, including USF approvals for activities in-volving boating and diving. Be sure permits are obtained for workingon Federal or State lands, as necessary.

• Obtain or verify vaccinations, as required, for you and for other re-search participants.

• It is up to the research team to assemble appropriate safety provi-sions, such as steel-toed boots, sunscreen, water, insect repellent, andrelated materials necessary for a safe field experience in your spe-cific field area. You should verify that adequate safety provisions areavailable and used by each team member.

• Know the location of the closest hospital to your field area.

• Note that these procedures apply to GAs, RAs, and others travelingon research (generally anyone who would complete a TAR). If stu-dents are participating in your research travel as part of a class (in-cluding a research experience or special topics class), please makesure you have followed additional procedures for traveling with stu-dents.

In the event that you or a member of your team falls ill or has an acci-dent while traveling:

• Seek appropriate medical attention immediately

• When possible, contact the Department Chair and inform her/him ofthe situation

• You may be asked to provide additional information if the accidentor injury involves a workers compensation claim. Contact the Of-fice/Lab Manager to obtain information about how to proceed withWorkman’s Compensation claims.

36

9.4 Use of Vehicles

If you use a vehicle as part of your travel (a USF vehicle, personal vehicleor rental), it is essential that you make sure the vehicle is safe to operateand that only eligible people operate the vehicle.

Always operate a vehicle with extreme caution. When driving a vehicleon university business, you represent the university. Please be extra patientand be a defensive driver! You are not allowed to be in a vehicle on USFbusiness without wearing a seat-belt. Be sure to check, verbally, that allothers in the vehicle are wearing their seat-belts each time you start thevehicle. If you find that others are not operating a vehicle in a safe manner,please talk to them immediately and voice your concerns. Do not hesitateto report unsafe driving to the Department Chair, Office or Lab Manager,as unsafe driving jeopardizes everyone’s ability to conduct field work.

9.4.1 Who Can Operate a Vehicle?

Faculty, TAs, RAs, volunteers, and others traveling on research (generallyanyone who would complete a TAR) with a valid US driver’s license andwith their own valid auto insurance are allowed to operate vehicles. Thosetraveling without a TAR (e.g., students in a course) are not allowed to oper-ate State or rental vehicles as part of a trip activity, regardless of the statusof their driver’s license and insurance, except in an emergency.

9.4.2 Before Travel

Before you travel by vehicle:

• Leave a copy of your drivers license and your auto insurance infor-mation with your Chair or Office/Lab Manager

• If operating a USF vehicle outside of the State of Florida, be sure tohave a copy of the USF Auto Liability Insurance Certificate in theVehicle.

• If using a land vehicle, complete a vehicle checklist

• If using a marine vehicle, complete a boat checklist

37

9.4.3 Renting a Vehicle

Graduate students are encouraged to use State vehicles for off-campus ac-tivities if practical. If a vehicle is rented, USF employees are required torent from Enterprise unless a cost savings results from using a differentvendor. Our Enterprise contract reference number is (L422257, PIN: USF).This number should be provided at the time of reservation and pick-up.USF allows reimbursement for the rental of sub-compact or compact classcars. An exception to this rule is allowed when the automobile is sharedwith other travelers on USF business or when transporting materials orequipment, resulting in a cost savings to the University.

When renting a vehicle on USF-related travel in the US and Canada,decline additional insurance coverage from the rental company. The uni-versity has a State term contract with Enterprise for State employees onofficial State business which provides primary coverage for liability, compand collision. If you must rent from a different company, accept CDW (Col-lision Damage Waiver) insurance. In practice, avoid questionable coveragesituations by using either university vehicles or Enterprise rental vehiclesfor travel related to university activities.

9.4.4 Accidents and insurance

In the event that you or a member of your team has a vehicular accidentwhile traveling:

• Seek appropriate medical attention immediately

• Report the accident to the police (911)

• When possible, contact the Department Chair and inform her/him ofthe situation

• You may be asked to provide additional information if the accidentor injury involves a workers compensation claim. Contact the Of-fice/Lab Manager to obtain information about how to proceed withWorkman’s Compensation claims.

The State provides the university with Automobile Liability insurance thatcovers property damage and/or bodily injury of others caused by the negli-gence or wrong doing of a university employee, officer or volunteer whileoperating a university-owned or non-owned (personal) vehicle, while inthe course and scope of university business. The rule of thumb is that if

38

the operator of a personal or State vehicle is performing an activity and/ordriving the vehicle in furtherance of the university’s business, then cover-age should apply. An example in which State coverage would apply wouldbe a graduate student who is involved in an at-fault accident while operat-ing a vehicle to a research site in which research is being performed for thebenefit of the university. On the other hand, if the operator of a personalor State vehicle is performing an activity and/or driving the vehicle in fur-therance of his or her own personal benefit, i.e., driving a USF vehicle toan off-campus location to complete the requirements of a class in which thegraduate student is enrolled, then USF liability coverage may not apply.

The coverage arises from the status of the driver of the vehicle, and notthe ownership of the vehicle. Therefore, any employee, officer or volunteermay be eligible for liability coverage while using the car for business. Theuniversity vehicle itself is not covered for liability. The state policy alsodoes not cover physical damage (comprehensive and collision) on the ve-hicle that the employee is operating, so if the employee is at fault for theaccident and damage is caused to either the university or personal vehicle,then the state will not pay for the property damage to the vehicle, and thedepartment and/or employee would be responsible for repair costs to thevehicle.

If you are operating your personal vehicle on university business, Stateinsurance does not cover damage to your vehicle. This may be covered byyour personal insurance carrier. Keep in mind that your personal auto in-surance company may exclude liability, comp and collision coverage whileusing the personal vehicle for business purposes, so you may not have cov-erage through your own personal insurance. Check with your insurancecarrier to confirm your current coverage or to obtain supplementary insur-ance for business activities through your insurance carrier if you plan touse your personal vehicle on university-related business.

Insurance coverage is afforded to The University of South Florida underthe State Risk Management Trust Fund, which has the authority to admin-ister coverage under the provisions of the Florida Statutes. Therefore, theState of Florida will make the final determination as to whether coveragewill apply in the event of an accident.

10 Students from outside the U.S.

Information for international students applying to the geology graduateprogram can be found at:

39

http://www.usf.edu/admissions/international/admission-information/graduate/index.aspxEven if you are already admitted and attending, this web-page contains

some important information about your academic status.A great deal of information is available for current international gradu-

ate students at:http://global.usf.edu/is/including advice regarding immigration compliance, visa status main-

tenance and acculturation issues.

11 Getting Along

As a graduate student you are part of a community of scholars, united inour enthusiasm for understanding the Earth and its geology! It is criticallyimportant that we all treat each member of our community with respect.

Geology graduate students are expected to adhere to the USF code ofconduct: http://regulationspolicies.usf.edu/regulations/pdfs/regulation-usf6.0021.pdf

11.1 Working with Students

You will interact with other students (graduate and undergraduate) in theroles of colleague, mentor, teacher, and more. The department is dedicatedto teaching professionalism at every level. Please treat students with re-spect.

If you work as a T.A. in the department it is particularly important tostrive to provide undergraduates enrolled in your courses, or in a courseyou are participating in, with the best learning outcomes possible. This in-cludes being clear about your expectations, and listening to student’s con-cerns.

11.2 Working with Staff

Geosciences Staff are here to help the department function at every level.They are professionals dedicated to higher education. You will often in-teract with Staff by e-mail and in person. Please be responsive to theirrequests, which often are made to smooth your pathway through graduateschool. They cannot help you if you ignore their requests!

Although it is entirely reasonable to ask Staff questions when you havethem, please also work to research questions yourself! Be informed.

40

11.3 Working with Faculty

Members of the geology faculty are dedicated to Earth Science and educa-tion. They split their time among teaching courses at the undergraduateand graduate levels, conducting research, advising graduate students onresearch, and providing service to the university and their discipline.

Graduate school is a fantastic time to learn disciplinary expertise fromfaculty members, learn from them about the research process, and aboutteaching. Generally, it is up to you, your major professor and committee todetermine how you interact. Often students are asked to keep their majorprofessor and/or committee apprised of progress by e-mail or by conven-ing meetings. Please remember that it is your responsibility to update yourcommittee on your progress, and to alert them to any problems or barriersto your success. Ultimately, your major professor and your committee haveevaluative roles, so it is a great idea to work with them in a professional andcollaborative manner!

Not all faculty members have the same roles and responsibilities. Tenure-track and tenured faculty teach and conduct research in the department.Often these faculty members are involved in writing proposals and direct-ing research. Tenure and tenure-track faculty can always advise graduatestudents. Research faculty are permanent faculty members in the depart-ment who have substantial research responsibilities, but generally lower orno teaching commitment. Usually research faculty are involved in super-vision of graduate students. Instructors are permanent faculty memberswho have solely teaching responsibilities. Instructors are not involved inresearch necessarily, and generally do not advise graduate students. Ad-junct and visiting faculty are temporary members of the faculty, usuallyassigned to fulfill specific teaching requirements. Generally, adjunct andvisiting faculty do not advise graduate students.

11.4 Using Facilities

As a graduate student you will have access to office space, department re-sources, university resources, such as advanced computing facilities, andlaboratory and field instrumentation. Unfortunately these resources arelimited and some are irreplaceable! It is everyone’s responsibility to carefor them and to extend their practical life. Some instrumentation, if im-properly used, is potentially dangerous.

Please receive proper training on any equipment or instrumentationyou use. Usually, your major professor can guide you on what instruments

41

you might need, how you obtain access, and who you should coordinatewith to receive appropriate training before you start. Mainly, if you havequestions or concerns, voice them!

11.5 Your Web-Page

The department maintains a list of graduate students on the departmentweb-page. This list includes your USF e-mail address, your field of study,and the name of your major professor. USF considers this all to be publicinformation. Eventually, if you write a thesis or dissertation as part of yourgraduate program then the library will place this document on-line in asearchable format.

As an enrolled graduate student, USF provides you with computer re-sources to maintain your own web-page. As a professional, it is a goodidea to maintain a professional web-page! Your web-page can include yourC.V., a description of your research, and links to papers or other materialsrelated to your research. It is not a good idea to put personal informationon your USF web-page. The university monitors student web-pages andwill take down any page that does not meet their guidelines.

11.6 Paper Authorship

Many geology graduate students author scientific papers. Almost always,these papers are collaborative efforts involving you, colleagues at USF andat other universities.

As a general guideline, you are first author on a paper if all of the fol-lowing are true:

• The idea of the study was substantially yours

• You conducted the bulk of the study, including making most of theanalyses and/or collecting most of the data

• You wrote most of the paper, and

• You submitted the paper to the journal and sheparded the paper throughthe review and editorial processes.

That is a pretty high bar. Sometimes, in agreement with co-authors, youmay be first author on a paper if you fulfilled some, or the majority of theseactivities. Sometimes your major professor has the idea for the study andwrites or revises much of the manuscript. In such cases they are sometimes

42

made corresponding author on the paper, which can be different from thefirst author. If others contributed more than you did to these activities, thenit is not reasonable to assume you will be first author on the paper.

When you are first author, it is primarily your responsibility to deter-mine who co-authors are. In Geology, co-authorship usually includes ev-eryone who:

• Had the idea for the study

• Collected data used in the paper that has not appeared elsewhere inpublished form.

• Analyzed data presented in the paper, including writing of computercode to analyze the data.

• Contributed an illustration, figure or photograph to the paper

• Wrote parts of the paper, including supplementary material

• Provided access to specific sites or scientific support, particularly whenyou collaborate with local scientists in a difficult area to access or in adeveloping nation, or

• Obtained funding for the study.

Since many studies are collaborative, it is not unusual to have ten or moreauthors on a single paper. Authorship order should generally reflect thelevel of contribution, with second author contributing more than third au-thor and so on. Sometimes this is impossible to determine and authorshipcan be determined by another mechanism, such as alphabetically after thefirst few authors.

It is best to discuss authorship and author order early in the process ofwriting a paper. Ask your major professor for advice about the authorshiplist. Often it is best to ask your collaborators if they feel their contributionwarrants authorship and include them if they wish to be included. As alead member of the science team, it reflects well on you to be inclusive.Similarly, if you made contributions to a paper, then professionally youwill want the recognition of co-authorship!

11.7 Plagiarism

General guidelines and regulations regarding plagiarism, as they apply toall members of the USF community, are found at:

http://www.grad.usf.edu/plagiarism.php

43

11.8 Title IX

Title IX refers to sexual misconduct and sexual harassment. The universityTitle IX policy is found at:

http://regulationspolicies.usf.edu/policies-and-procedures/pdfs/policy-0-004.pdf

11.9 Students with Disabilities

Special accommodations are made for all students with disabilities. Moreinformation about USF resources for students with disabilities:

http://www.usf.edu/student-affairs/student-disabilities-services/about-us/index.aspx

11.10 Mental Health

USF provides support for graduate students with mental health concerns.See:

http://www.usf.edu/student-affairs/student-outreach-support/socat/

11.11 Conflict Resolution

Graduate school can be an intense experience. It is not unusual for conflictsto arise. For example, you might have conflicts with your major professoror committee about the level and nature of work you need to accomplishprior to graduation. You may feel you are asked to work too hard, or youmay feel cut-out of a specific activity that you want to participate in. Suchconflict is actually common in academia and in many professional contexts!

If possible, voice your concerns directly to the people involved whenyou experience conflict of this nature. Often things are resolved quicklyand successfully by discussing problems or concerns with your scienceteam, including with your major professor and/or committee members.One role of your committee members is to be a sounding board if you, forexample, have a conflict about assignments or work load from your majorprofessor.

Others can help you resolve conflicts as well. The graduate director canbe consulted on issues related to work load and assigned duties, particu-larly for comparison with department norms. The department chair makesassignments related to T.A.s in the department and can be consulted onlevel of workload associated with T.A. duties, or on other related topics.

44

11.12 A Checklist for Roles and Responsibilities

There is a lot to getting along in graduate school! A checklist for your rolesand responsibilities, as well as those of your major professor and commit-tee members, summarizes some of these roles and responsibilities. Obvi-ously every aspect of your graduate student experience cannot be reducedto a checklist, but it does provide a pretty good guide of how to get alongin graduate school, especially with your major professor and committeemembers.

11.12.1 Academic Development

It is the graduate students responsibility to:

• Develop the necessary skills and learning approaches suitable for anadvanced degree;

• Exhibit independent judgment, academic rigor, and intellectual hon-esty;

• Complete research, course work and/or thesis/dissertation withinthe period that is typical for specific degree program;

• Give due consideration to workload and exercise care in the perfor-mance of the work assigned;

• Submit material in a timely manner so as to receive an adequate as-sessment;

• Make timely progress towards completion of degree and spend therequired number of hours carrying out research activities;

• Be available to complete the work assigned and reduce any time de-voted to paid activities unrelated to their studies;

• Determine with the assistance of major professor and committee mem-bers, a yearly renewed or revised collaboration/study plan (or morefrequently if the need arises).

It is the major professor and committee members’ responsibility to:

• Ensure that the student’s thesis/dissertation is suitably aligned withthe number of credits awarded and that the project is manageablewith respect to the educational program objectives and the time allo-cated for the completion of the program;

45

• Ensure that students project has an appropriate hypothesis/questionand achievable goals;

• Assist the student in developing their research interests and help thestudent modify the program when unforeseeable problems arise;

• Provide supervision in a way which leaves the student with room forautonomy (especially for doctoral students);

• Provide timely feedback to thesis/dissertation drafts and writingssubmitted by the student in accordance with an agreed upon sched-ule;

• Be open, honest and fair with the student when academic perfor-mance is not meeting expectations;

• Provide appropriate mentorship and guidance;

• Establish with each student a renewed or revised collaboration/studyplan each semester (or more frequently if the need arises).

11.12.2 Communication

It is the student’s responsibility to:

• Meet regularly/weekly/monthly (as determined) with major profes-sor and committee members to report on research progress and tomeet deadlines, in compliance with established program terms;

• Provide major professor and committee members with a written re-port to allow time for review and comment before meeting;

• Hold face-to-face meetings with major professor and committee mem-bers at least once per semester, provide a progress report and futureplans to the committee at least a week in advance of meetings;

• Attend meetings to assess the performance of their study program,more specifically with respect to the preparation and submission ofher/his thesis or dissertation.

It is the major professor and committee members’ responsibility to:

• Meet regularly with the student to provide guidance, assess progressand help develop a plan for completing the program on time;

46

• Monitor the accuracy, validity, and integrity of students progress andrespond in timely manner with comments/revisions to drafts of ap-plications, reports or research presentations;

• Meet with the student to discuss specific provisions related to theircourse of study, especially regarding intellectual property and finan-cial support;

• Ensure that the student is aware of relevant policies and proceduresfor the conduct of research;

• Assist the student in the presentation of their work as it progresses;

11.12.3 Interpersonal and Professional Conduct

It is the students responsibility to:

• Be receptive to any advice or suggestions given by major professorand committee members, or other faculty member involved in theireducation;

• Interact with fellow students, both graduate and undergraduate, staffand faculty in a professional and mature manner;

• Seek assistance from the advisor/supervisor especially making im-portant decisions about the course of study or while looking to defineor redirect their thesis or dissertation research project;

• Advise the major professor and committee members, in a timely man-ner, of any issues arising throughout the course of his or her program(difficulties of integration, learning or financial issues, selection ofcourses, availability of the advisor/supervisor, absence or delay infeedback material concerning their work or any other difficulty re-lated to his or her supervision framework);

• Advise the major professor and committee members, in a timely man-ner, of any foreseen prolonged absence and negotiate amount of timeand timing of holidays;

• Be aware of policies and rules and regulations in effect at the univer-sity as well as any communications which may be directed to them.

It is the major professor and committee members’ responsibility to:

47

• Establish a professional working relationship to guide the student intheir approach to research;

• Guide the student in learning to work independently and as a mem-ber of a team;

• Advise students concerning the preparation and submission of theirMS thesis or PhD dissertation or drafting of scientific papers;

• Maintain good professional and personal relationships with traineesin the research group and treat all members of the laboratory (andtheir work) with verbal and intellectual respect;

11.12.4 Funding Considerations

It is the students responsibility to:

• Apply for scholarships appropriate to program of study.

It is the major professor and committee members’ responsibility to:

• Provide consultation about scholarship applications in advance in or-der to look at ways of optimizing the students chances of success.

• Provide the student with as much notice as possible of changes infunding, such as loss of R.A. or OPS funding streams.

11.12.5 Safety

It is the student’s responsibility to:

• Complete any required training courses;

• Complete informal training related to health and safety

• Only operate vehicles if licensed and insured to do so

• Maintain personal health insurance.

It is the major professor and committee members’ responsibility to:

• Assist the student in determining the level of training and course(s)required for their study program;

• Make every reasonable effort to ensure that students learning andresearch environment is safe and adequately supported.

48

11.12.6 Laboratory Etiquette and Computer Use

It is the student’s responsibility to:

• Keep space tidy, respect the space of others, clean glassware, and par-ticipate in periodic laboratory cleanup;

• Understand that space and equipment is shared and that care mustbe exercised with problems reported as they arise;

• Refrain from borrowing the supplies of others and removing itemsfrom the laboratory without permission;

• Maintain good professional and personal relationships within the re-search group and treat all members of the laboratory (and their work)with verbal and intellectual respect;

• Maintain daily records of laboratory notes, including printed recordsof primary data and use their data as the basis for weekly meetings;

• Leave laboratory books and primary data within the department (orif signing out, use a pre-determined process);

• Use laboratory computers for research purposes only (e.g., email, dataanalysis, literature searches and other forms of scientific communica-tion).

• Adhere to all lab-specific safety/etiquette rules

11.12.7 Publications and Intellectual Property

It is both the student and major professor and committee members’ respon-sibility to:

• Present research results that are publishable in reputable, externallyrefereed journals, thereby achieving the goals of creating new knowl-edge and reporting it to the appropriate community;

• Determine an authorship process for shared and non-shared author-ship and identify the importance of first authorship for the student;

• Recommend timely completion and publication of manuscripts be-fore completion of the program to facilitate preparation of thesis;

49

• Publish the findings from the research. Agree that if original researchis carried out by students, the intellectual property component maywholly or in part belong to the student;

• Maintain appropriate confidentiality concerning research activities,in accordance with existing practices and policies of the discipline.

11.12.8 Professional Development

It is both the student and major professor and committee members’ respon-sibility to:

• Work together to find opportunities for students to attend suitableconferences and present research findings and seek funding sourcesfor associated travel costs.

It is the major professor and committee members’ responsibility to:

• Encourage participation in non-academic programs for professionaldevelopment, such as effective writing courses, teaching training pro-grams, conflict resolution and workshops on research grants.

12 Who’s Who?

Lots of people are available to help you navigate graduate school. Yourmajor professor and committee members are really important resources.Ask your fellow graduate students questions about procedures if you havethem. Office Staff are ready to help you navigate USF graduate school pro-cedures, and can keep you informed about your fees, course enrollments,academic status and lots of other official information. Check with the de-partment office Staff!

Almost any faculty member can help you with academic information.Of course, consult with your major professor and committee members first.If you have additional questions, the department administration and grad-uate committee members can help (Table 1).

The geology graduate faculty include all faculty members who can serveas your major professor or committee member. Table 2 lists the graduatefaculty for geology degree programs. One of these listed individuals mustbe your major professor, or co-major professor, in order to get a graduatedegree in geology at USF. Other faculty in the School of Geosciences andexternal faculty with appropriate expertise can serve as committee mem-bers.

50

Table 1: Address questions or concerns to these faculty members, or yourmajor professor:

Name Office Phone E-mail NotesMark Rains NES 203 974-3310 mrains@usf.edu Department Chair: makes

T.A. assignments, conflict res-olution, emergency contact

Bogdan Onac SCA 506 974-1067 bonac@usf.edu Graduate committeechair: Admissions, con-flict resolution

Len Vacher SCA 539 974-5267 vacher@usf.edu PSM Internship coordinatorRoccoMalservisi

SCA 218 974-1593 rocco@usf.edu Graduate committee member

Jen Bright NES 310 974-5709 jabright@usf.edu Graduate committee memberJason Gulley SCA 500 974-0323 jdgulley@usf.edu Graduate committee memberChuck Connor SCA 517 974-0325 cbconnor@usf.edu Graduate committee member

Table 2: Graduate faculty who can serve as your major professor in yourgeology graduate degree program:

Name Title SpecialtyZachary Atlas Research Assistant Professor Igneous Petrology, Volcanic Geochemistry,

MineralogyJochen Braunmiller Research Assistant Professor SeismologyJen Bright Assistant Professor Biomechanics, PaleontologySylvain Charbonnier Assistant Professor VolcanologyChuck Connor Professor Physical Volcanology and GeophysicsTim Dixon Professor Geodesy, TectonicsAurelie Germa Assistant Professor VolcanologyJason Gulley Assistant Professor Geomorphology in carbonate terrains; karst hydroge-

ology, and glaciologyGreg Herbert Associate Professor Paleobiology, Stable Isotope Geochemistry, Marine

ScienceSarah Kruse Professor Near-Surface and Environmental GeophysicsRocco Malservisi Associate Professor GeodynamicsSteve McNutt Professor Volcano Seismology, Infrasound, LightningBodgan Onac Professor Karst Geology and PaleoclimatologyMatt Pasek Associate Professor Astrobiology, Geochemistry, CosmochemistryMark Rains Professor Ecohydrology; Wetlands, rivers, estuaries; Scientific

support of policy and decision-makingMel Rodgers Research Assistant Professor Volcanology and geophysicsJeff Ryan Professor Petrology, Geochemistry, and Geoscience EducationGlenn Thompson Research Assistant Professor Volcano Seismology, Volcano-seismic MonitoringLen Vacher Professor Quantitative Literacy, Geoscience EducationPing Wang Professor Coastal ResearchPaul Wetmore Associate Professor Structural Geology/Tectonics

51