Accelerated Master's Program in Geology
This accelerated program lets undergraduate students take graduate-level courses during their final years of undergrad, saving time and money while deepening expertise and advancing careers sooner.
Accelerated Master's Degree Program in Geology
Undergraduate students at UM who are interested in graduate study in Geology can get a head start through the Accelerated Master's Degree Program.
Undergraduate students who would like to qualify for the Accelerated Master's Degree Program must meet the following requirements:
- Geology major
- 3.0 minimum GPA
- 90 completed credit hours as an undergraduate
- Application and admission into the graduate school under the Program for Accelerated Advanced Degrees (PAAD).
- Only courses taken after admission can be applied toward an accelerated MS degree.
- Where undergrad and graduate versions are available for the same course, PAAD students must register for the graduate version prior to the start of classes.
Courses and hours applied toward accelerated MS degree:
- Any course in the list below, taken beyond the BS Geology requirements, can be counted toward an MS degree while still an undergraduate student, up to a maximum of 12 hours.
- Up to 4 credit hours can be double counted toward both a BS and MS degree, provided the course has not already been completed at the time of PAAD admission. Required and/or tech elective courses that can potentially be double counted include Hydrogeology, GIS, Optical Mineralogy, and Environmental Geochemistry.*
* University requirements allow double counting toward BS and MS degrees only for programs with more than 120 credit hours of required courses. Geology requires 124 credit hours, leaving 4 hours that can be double counted. Those hours must be completed in courses that are at or above the 5500 level. Students should be aware that financial aid may not count such courses when determining eligibility for state or federal aid. In addition, students will need to work with their undergraduate advisors to ensure they can count the graduate credit course towards their undergraduate degree.
Course options. Required and tech electives that can potentially be double counted are shown in bold. Any if the others can be double counted if used as an elective toward the BS, but with an upper limit of 4 hours total. Note that not all classes in the list below are routinely offered.
- GEOE 5530: Environmental Geochemistry (tech elective)
- GEOE 5600: Remote Sensing
- GEOE 5610: Spatial Analysis
- GEOE 5630: Economic Geology
- GEOE 5750: Engineering Seismology
- GEOE 5800: Advanced Geomechanics
- GEOE 5900: Rock Mechanics
- GEOE 5550: Introduction to Mining Engineering
- GEOE 5770: Geophysics I
- GEOE 6810: Applications in Geophysics
- GEOL 5500: Geographical Information Systems (required course)
- GEOL 5550: Hydrogeology (required course)
- GEOL 5680: Quantitative Methods in Geo. & Geo Eng
- GEOL 5850: Geochemistry
- GEOL 6140: Advanced Geographic Information Systems
- GEOL 6150: Geostatistics
- GEOL 6300: Coastal Plain Geology
- GEOL 6430: Advanced Geomorphology
- GEOL 6450: Advanced Sedimentation
- GEOL 6460: Advanced Stratigraphy
- GEOL 6470: Sedimentary Petrology
- GEOL 6480: Metamorphic Petrology
- GEOL 6490: Pedology
- GEOL 6900: Scientific Writing
- ENGR 5965: Special Projects in Engineering Science (tech elective with approval)
- ENGR 6000: Advanced Geochemistry
- ENGR 6140: Geometrics
- ENGR 6150: Analytical Petroleum Geology
- ENGR 6160: Isotope Hydrogeology
- ENGR 6180: Vadose Zone Hydrology
- ENGR 6200: Advanced Remote Sensing
- ENGR 6360: Groundwater Mechanics
- ENGR 6370: Groundwater Modeling
- ENGR 6410: Clay Petrology
- ENGR 6420: X-Ray Diffraction Analysis
- ENGR 6430: Advanced Geomorphology
- ENGR 6440: Carbonate Petrology
- ENGR 6460: Advanced Stratigraphy
- ENGR 6480: Numerical Modeling in Geoscience & Engineering
- ENGR 6500: Radar Remote Sensing
- ENGR 6950: Seminar
Remember: For students who participated in the accelerated program prior to fall of 2026, 500-level courses for graduate credit required the student to reserve the course for graduate credit. A student who did not do so will be unable to use the 500-level course for the graduate degree and it will be considered the same as a course between 5000 and 5499 in the new course-numbering system.
Students enrolled for the graduate credit in a 5500- to 5999-level course must complete the graduate work. Should they decide they do not wish to do so, they need to work with the instructor, their dean's office, and the Registrar to change their enrollment to the appropriate undergraduate course number. Otherwise, they will be graded based on the criteria for the graduate course number.
Reach out to the Graduate Program Coordinator
The Accelerated Master's Degree Program in Geology is a great chance for undergraduate students at the University of Mississippi to get a head start on their graduate career. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to get in touch!
Gregg Davidson
Professor of Geology and Geological Engineering