Summary of Degree Requirements

A full description of the degree requirements is provided in the Graduate student Guide which is available from the department. The following summarizes the PhD requirements:

• Minimum of 42 graduate course credits (i.e., 400 level or above)
• Minimum of 12 thesis credits (SIE 699)
• Minor of 9 graduate course credits as detailed below
• Up to 24 transfer credits of graduate course work
• No more than 9 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 Requirements: 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
• At least 5 graduate faculty on the advisory committee
• At least 3 must be SIE tenured or tenure-track faculty
• Dissertation Proposal Defense
• Dissertation

A maximum of 24 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 course on the student's Program of Study, then the credit hours may be transferred toward the doctoral degree.

All students must complete a minor program consisting of at least nine credit hours of course work taken outside of Spatial Information Science and Engineering. Only courses at the 400 level or above and listed in the Graduate Catalog (or equivalent courses transferred from another university) can be counted toward the minor requirement. Independent study courses do not qualify for a minor. This minor must consist of courses relevant to the student's thesis and must have a common core that typically comes from a single department. The minor program must be approved by the advisory committee.

The minimum residency requirement for Ph.D. programs is met by registering for courses or thesis research at The University of Maine for four semesters beyond the baccalaureate degree. Students entering doctoral programs with a master's degree from The University of Maine must register for at least two semesters of course work or thesis research.