Ph.D. Degree

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Admission Procedures
Applicants are required to submit the following:

1. a completed application form,
2. official transcripts of all previous college and university study,
3. at least two letters of recommendation from faculty members who know the student well,
4. Graduate Record Examination scores, or a TOEFL score if the applicant does not use English as the primary language,
5. a written statement defining career objectives relating directly to the program emphases, and
6. a Graduate Application Summary Form

Please send the Personal Career Letter (item #5) and the Departmental Graduate Application Summary Form (item #6) to:

Graduate Program Director
Geography Department
Callcott Building
University of South Carolina
Columbia, SC 29208

The Graduate School
University of South Carolina
901 Sumter Street, Suite 303
Columbia, SC 29208

Normally, a minimum grade point ratio of 3.5 in graduate-level courses (on a scale of 4.0), a minimum Graduate Record Examination score of 1100 (verbal + quantitative), and a Masters degree in Geography (or the equivalent) are required. All applications to the Ph.D. program are processed by the Department's Graduate Admissions Committee.

You may want to refer to the Department's Graduate Admisisions web page.

For additional requirements for the Ph.D. degree and for individual course descriptions the student should consult the Graduate Studies Bulletin.

Program Requirements
A. Course Work(Minimum of 25 course credits and 12 research credits)

1. Required Core Courses (7 credits) —
   Geog. 731 (3 cr) Seminar in Quantitative Analysis in Geography;
   Geog. 740 (1 cr) Current Research Trends;
   Geog. 801 (3 cr) Contemporary Approaches to Geography
   


2. Specialization — at least one course in the student's specialization at the 800-level.


3. Electives — at least 12 hours of course work in Geography related to the student's research interests.


4. Cognate Studies — at least one graduate course in an allied field outside Geography related to the student's research interests.


5. Research Course Work (12 credits) — GEOG 899 Dissertation Preparation


6. Technical Proficiency — demonstration of advanced training in a technique appropriate to the student's specialization and dissertation topic such as a foreign language, spatial analysis, or GIP.


7. Dissertation

These are minimum course requirements. Each Ph.D. student works closely with his/her advisor to determine the elective course work necessary to complete a satisfactory dissertation. It is anticipated that in many cases this course work entails additional electives outside the Geography Department.

B. Residence Requirement.
The intent of doctoral residency is to ensure that doctoral students benefit from and contribute to the complete spectrum of educational and professional opportunities provided by the graduate faculty. When establishing residency, the student should interact with faculty and peers by regularly attending courses, conferences, and seminars, and utilize the library facilities and resources needed to support excellence in graduate education.

The granting of a doctoral degree by the University of South Carolina presupposes a minimum of three full years of graduate study (or equivalent) and a minimum of 30 graduate hours of study after admission to the doctoral program. The doctoral residency requirement may be satisfied only after admission to a doctoral degree program and must be fulfilled by enrollment in at least 18 graduate credit hours within a span of three consecutive semesters, excluding summers. Enrollment in a summer term is not required to maintain continuity, but credits earned during summer terms will count towards residency. More than 50 percent of the coursework for a program must be completed through the Columbia campus. The student's Advisory Committee will certify on a form submitted with the program of study, the time period in and courses with which, the student satisfies the residency requirement.

C. Admission to Candidacy
All applicants for admission to candidacy for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Geography must be approved by the Department of Geography and by the Dean of the Graduate School. Each applicant must pass a written Admission to Candidacy Examination (ACE) that is administered by the Department during the first part of the first semester of residence. All applicants, regardless of their academic backgrounds, take the same examination at the same time during a given semester. After receiving a report on the performance on the ACE from the Department, the Dean of the Graduate School reviews all factors concerning an applicant and notifies the applicant of his/her admission or non-admission to Ph.D. degree candidacy.

Students must meet all requirements of their Master's degree programs prior to beginning their second semester of Ph.D. residency. Failure to meet these requirements results in immediate termination from the program.

The ACE Committee consists of three geography faculty members. The Department's Graduate Program Director is responsible for appointing the Committee and setting the date of the examination.

The content and format of the examination is established by the ACE Committee. The ACE is designed to assess a student's understanding of basic concepts/ideas in geography. These fundamental literacies include: physical/environmental, human/regional, and techniques. Applicants admitted to the program, especially those with a limited academic background in geography, should begin preparing for the ACE as soon as possible. Students are expected to demonstrate a fundamental understanding of each subject area, but are not expected to be expert in all areas.

The timing of the ACE is designed to identify any deficiencies in the student's background that requires remedial coursework at the undergraduate level. A student will receive one of three grades — unconditional pass, conditional pass, or fail. The criteria for each grade will be established by the ACE Committee and communicated to students before the exam. Students who pass unconditionally are recommended for admission to candidacy by the Department. Those receiving a "conditional pass" will be required to make up their deficiency according to the Committee's recommendation (e.g., remedial coursework and/or reexamination). If conditions are not removed by the end of the semester in which the exam is taken, the grade will be changed to "fail." For students who fail the exam, the ACE Committee will either require reexamination or recommend termination from the program.

The Department has developed a basic list of recommended readings to facilitate a student's preparation for the ACE. This list is amended each year by the ACE Committee.

D. Comprehensive Examination
The candidate must satisfactorily pass a written and oral Comprehensive Examination administered by the Comprehensive Examination Committee. The Comprehensive Examination Committee, appointed by the Graduate Program Director and approved by the Dean of the Graduate School, consists of not fewer than four members of the graduate faculty, at least one of whom must represent a department other than geography.

The examination tests the student's knowledge of his/her areas of specialization, but may include any material covered in the student's Program of Study for the degree. In the written exams, the student has some range of choice in the questions he or she must answer. The oral portion of the examination takes place after the written examination, but normally within six months after the student has successfully passed the written portion of the exam. The oral exam consists of a defense of the dissertation proposal.

The Comprehensive Examination is given after the candidate has completed all of the course work required in the program except that in which the candidate may be currently registered, but it cannot be administered less than 60 days prior to the date on which the candidate receives the degree. The time and place of each examination, as well as the composition of the committee, should be included in the original notice of the exam to the faculty. If the oral examination follows the written examination by more than a month the faculty should be sent a second notice of the timing of the oral exam.

The student's performance on the examination is evaluated as an unconditional pass, conditional pass, or failure. A conditional pass means the student must remove the conditions before proceeding in the program — he/she may have to prepare written materials, take additional course work, or retake part of the examination. A failure means the student cannot proceed in the program, but the student may, at the discretion of the committee, be given the opportunity to retake the entire examination. In order to continue in the program, he/she must earn an unconditional pass on the retake.

E. Dissertation
Before enrolling in Geography 899, the student must pass the Comprehensive Examination and must have a dissertation proposal approved by his/her Dissertation Committee. The Dissertation Committee, appointed by the Graduate Program Director and approved by the Dean of the Graduate School, consists of no fewer than four members, at least one of whom must be from a department other than geography. If a student wants someone other than a full-time tenure-track member of the USC-Columbia graduate faculty to serve on the Dissertation Committee that person must be approved by the Dean of the Graduate School through a process that is initiated by the Department. The student should see the Graduate Program Director for details about this process.

A candidate must complete and defend the dissertation before her/his Dissertation Committee within five years of passing the Comprehensive Examination. After completing the dissertation, the student must defend the research at a dissertation examination given not less than 30 days before the date at which the candidate receives her/his degree. A copy of the dissertation must be deposited in the Main Office of the Geography Department where faculty and graduate students may read it, for at least five working days prior to the scheduled defense. The student must deposit three signed copies of the completed dissertation (including an abstract) with the Dean of the Graduate School at least 20 days prior to the intended date of graduation.

F. Other
Language Requirements: Students are required to demonstrate a reading knowledge of a foreign language if such knowledge is determined to be necessary to meet the research requirements of the particular area of specialization.

Teaching Requirement: Students planning a post-doctoral career in teaching need to benefit from apprenticeship as part of their program. This sharpens their teaching skills and provides valuable classroom experience. It also adds to their credentials when seeking employment. Students in this category are encouraged to perform teaching associate duties or, in some cases, assume full responsibility for teaching a course. As in any sound apprenticeship program, progress will be noted and problems will be identified as early as possible.

Academic Progress
A student must demonstrate satisfactory academic progress at the end of each semester and maintain a minimal "B" average in all courses and a "B" average in courses at the 700 level and above. Any student who receives less than a "B" in a graduate course will be on probation for the next semester. See the Graduate Program Director for a more detailed document on the minimum expectations for maintaining satisfactory progress. Financial assistance may be terminated or reduced for a student who is on probation or who is not progressing satisfactorily. During the preparation of the dissertation any student who wishes to use University facilities or to confer with the faculty must be enrolled officially in Geography 899.

Termination from the Program
A serious or repeated failure to make satisfactory academic progress results in a student being terminated from the Ph.D. program. The student should become familiar with the criteria that determine whether satisfactory progress is being made and whether a student should be placed on probation as they are detailed in the document titled Minimum Expectations for Maintaining Satisfactory Progress in the Ph.D. Program. A student will be notified of termination, in writing, prior to the beginning of classes for a semester. Listed below are the more likely causes for termination from the program.

1. All requirements for previous degree not completed by the end of the first semester.
2. Failure to pass Admission to Candidacy Examination.
3. On probation for two consecutive semesters.
4. Failure to have an academic advisor at all times.
5. Failure to pass the Comprehensive Examination.
6. Receiving a total of three grades below B.
7. Failure to have an approved dissertation proposal by the end of the sixth semester for full-time students.

Advisement
The Graduate Program Director assigns an advisor to each student before the student enrolls in his/her first semester of course work. The advisor works with the student in the selection of courses and in preparation for the admission to candidacy examination. The student normally continues with this advisor through his/her academic career but may request a change to another advisor. This change necessitates a memo from the student to the Graduate Program Director that states this intent and which carries the approval of both the original and the new academic advisors. Before the end of the student's first year in the program an Advisory Committee should be selected in consultation with the student's advisor. This Committee must be submitted to the Graduate School for approval through the Graduate Program Director. The purpose of this Committee is to advise the student on coursework and to aid in the development of the student's Program of Study.

Program of Study
By the end of the first year in the program a student should develop, in consultation with his/her Advisory Committee, a Program of Study. This Program of Study must be submitted to the Graduate Program Director for approval. The Graduate Program Director must approve any changes be made to this Program of Study during the course of the student's program. Early in the student's terminal semester the Program of Study should be finalized with the Graduate School in preparation for graduation.

Field Excursion
All incoming graduate students are expected to participate in the field excursion scheduled just prior to the beginning of registration for fall classes. Those students entering the program in the spring semester are expected to participate the following fall. The excursion is directed by Geography faculty, and its purposes are to introduce students to the geography of South Carolina, provide opportunity for students to work together on a research project that involves field work, and allow students to meet and get to know each other and participating faculty before the semester begins. Additional information about the excursion is sent to incoming students during the summer prior to their matriculation.

Assistantships
The Department funds assistantships to support graduate students in their studies. All students accepted into the program are considered automatically for assistantships, and decisions on such awards are based on the same criteria used for admission. Financial assistance is available on a competitive basis in the form of teaching and research assistantships and fellowships. Grants are made officially for only one year, but they are renewable for up to six semesters.

Normally, a student who receives an assistantship continues to hold that award for six semesters, assuming that the student progresses satisfactorily in the program (i.e., acceptable grades for courses, timely completion of all requirements, and approval of a dissertation proposal by the end of the fourth semester). Student performance is reviewed by the faculty each semester; an unsatisfactory review, based on academic and/or job performance, results in the student's being placed on probation by the Graduate Program Director. Failure to improve performance at the end of the first academic year may result in termination of the assistantship.

Assistantship duties involve the commitment of 15-20 hours a week to the Department. Graduate Teaching Assistants are expected to report to the Department at least one week prior to the beginning of classes and be available for duties in the Department until the official end of the semester. Graduate Research Assistants are expected to perform their duties throughout the period of their appointment.

Fellowships
In addition to assistantships there are a number of graduate fellowships that are available to students on a competitive basis. Students who have been admitted to our program are nominated for these fellowships by the Department on the basis of the student's academic credentials. Fellowships pay up to $15,000 per year and may be renewed up to three times.

Instructional Development Project
All new students on financial assistance for the first time, new students hoping to be on assistance sometime during their graduate program, and students who entered the program during the previous spring semester need to participate in the University's Instructional Development Project. This is a workshop for students who will be involved with teaching in one way or another as a part of their assistantship duties. All new students in Geography graduate programs who are on assistance must participate in this training. Also students who plan to be on financial assistance from the Department in the future should participate so they will be eligible for teaching assistantships when they become available. The two day workshop is offered only once a year, during the third week of August, and students must have taken the workshop to qualify for a teaching assistantship. In addition, students who do not speak English as their native language need to take an additional two day workshop that precedes the above workshop.

For additional information about graduate study at the University of South Carolina, please see:

Graduate School Information

University Information

Information for Prospective Students
Office of the University Registrar
Office of Student Financial Aid and Scholarships