Baylor's Requirements

Baylor's official requirements for the MS degree in geology are available at http://CroninProjects.org/Vince/MS_Requirements.html

Some minimum requirements for MS students in structural geology

People who have earned their Bachelor's degree in a field of geoscience at Baylor are very, very strongly encouraged to pursue your interests in graduate education at another university. It's not that we don't love you or think you are qualified -- it's just that you will probably learn more and be a better-rounded geoscientist if you go somewhere else, see some new geology, and learn from different professors who have different experiences and knowledge. See Dr. Cronin for information about other suitable graduate programs.

Completed degree

• B.S. in Geology or Geophysics (or Engineering with Geology/Geophysics minor) or its equivalent

Math competency

• If you "are not a quantitative person," you need to choose another field of geology!
• Successful completion of no less than 2 courses in calculus (preferably through PDEs), and (ideally) linear algebra, vector analysis.

Computer competency

• You will need to bring your own computer with you to grad school. Preferably a robust laptop. Cronin uses Macs, but you can use any lesser computer that you are comfortable with.
• Fluency in use of spreadsheets and word processors
• Programming experience in Mathematica or MatLab or FORTRAN or another useful computer language would be quite good
• Competency with ArcGIS would be good, but you can develop that at Baylor

English-language competency

• You need to be able to write well. Dr. Cronin does not write students' theses for them, or serve as their copy editor.
• You will need to submit a sample of your writing to Dr. Cronin. Contact him at Vince_Cronin@baylor.edu for further information.
• As a graduate teaching assistant, you need to be able to communicate clearly and effectively in the classroom.

Non-native English speakers and the TOEFL exam

• If you are not a native English speaker, you will need an overall TOEFL score of greater than 100, with very good scores (close to 30) in speaking and writing.

GRE scores

• You must have scores on the GRE that are well above the 50th percentile; otherwise, there is currently little or no chance that the Baylor Graduate School will agree to admit you into the MS program in geology.
  Current information about GRE scores is available online from ETS by searching on "GRE scores average." On 23 December 2014, the 50th percentile on the verbal reasoning part of the GRE was 151, and the 52nd percentile for quantitative reasoning was 153 (http://www.ets.org/s/gre/pdf/gre_guide.pdf, pages 23-24).

Other grades

• You need to have earned an A or A- in your undergraduate structural geology course
• You also need to have done well in a course in field geology and in your intro-level laboratory physics courses

Letters of reference

• You will need to supply a letter of reference from your structural geology professor as one of the letters submitted with your application.

Mobility

• You need to either have a car that you can use for field work, or
• You need to be old enough to rent a field vehicle for yourself.
  Dr. Cronin is not a chauffeur

Research funding

• If accepted to our MS program, you will have access to a maximum of 4 semesters of stipend in exchange for serving as a graduate teaching assistant (GTA). Work as a GTA is a job like any other, so this funding stream continues to flow only as long as the tasks required of a GTA are completed fully, on time, and well.
• You are responsible for acquiring funding for your thesis research. The Geology Department provides some funds after a thesis proposal has been accepted, and some travel funds are available to help with costs associated with making presentations at professional meetings.
• Most Cronin grad students are granted funds by one of the groups listed at http://bearspace.baylor.edu/Vince_Cronin/www/funding.html.
  Dr. Cronin is not a banker, loan officer or funding agency.

The two-year timeline for completion of a MS degree in geology, available at http://CroninProjects.org/Vince/MSTimeline.html, is intended to guide progress, but is not a guarantee that the degree will be completed in two years (or at all).

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All of the original content of this website is © 2014 by Vincent S. Cronin