Summary of Degree Requirements

A full description of the degree requirements is available in the Graduate Student Guide available from the department. The following summarizes the requirements:

Master (Project Option)

• Minimum of 30 graduate course credits (i.e., 400 level or above)
• At least 12 graduate course credits at 500 level or above
• At least 18 graduate course credits in SIE
• No more than 6 credits of independent study courses (SIE 498, 598, 698, or equivalent independent study courses in other graduate programs)
• SIE 589 Graduate Project
• At least 3 graduate faculty on the advisory committee
• At least 2 must be SIE tenured or tenure-track faculty
• Breadth Requirement: at least one 3-credit graduate course from four out of the five groupings:
• Formal Representations of Spatial Phenomena
• Image Analysis
• Database Systems
• Geographic Information Systems
• Information Policy

Master (Thesis Option)

• Minimum of 30 graduate course credits (i.e., 400 level or above)
• At least 24 graduate course credits
• At least 6 thesis credits - SIE 699
• At least 12 graduate course credits at 500 level or above
• At least 18 graduate course credits in SIE
• No more than 6 credits of independent study courses (SIE 498, 598, 698 or equivalent independent study courses in other graduate programs)
• SIE 501 Introduction to Graduate Research
• SIE 502 Research Methods
• SIE 693 Graduate Seminar
• Breadth Requirement - at least one 3-credit graduate course from 3 out of the 5 groupings:
• Formal Representations of Spatial Phenomena
• Image Analysis
• Database Systems
• Geographic Information Systems
• Information Policy
• At least 3 graduate faculty on the advisory committee
• At least 2 must be SIE tenured or tenure-track faculty
• Master's Thesis Defense

A maximum of six credit hours of graduate course work taken prior to enrollment in the master's program, whether at this university or another, may be counted towards the master's degree. If the course did not count towards a completed undergraduate degree and if the student's graduate advisory committee formally approves acceptance of the courses on the student's Program of Study, then the credit hours may be transferred toward the master's degree.

In order to meet the residency requirement, at least 50 percent of the course work applied toward the degree must be taken through The University of Maine.