Accelerated MS Programs
See also: Accelerated Masters Programs at the South Dakota Mines Graduate Education website for more details.
Both MS programs available through the Department of Geology and Geological Engineering -- the Paleontology MS degree and the Geology and Geological Engineering MS degree -- offer an accelerated MS program open to students enrolled in either the BS in
Geology or the BS in Geological Engineering at South Dakota Mines.
The accelerated MS program is designed to permit qualified students to shorten the expected time to an MS degree by counting approved courses towards both the BS and MS. For the Geology and Geological Engineering and Paleontology MS, up to nine credits
of approved courses may be double-counted. To be double-counted, the courses must be GEOL or GEOE courses taken at the graduate level, which includes 400/500-level courses taken at the 500-level, or 600-level courses. Students may use 400-level courses
only if 500-level versions of these courses are not available. Additional policies concerning accelerated MS degrees can be found in the requirements and policies applied to all graduate degrees by the Council of Graduate Education.