The Master of Ocean Science and Technology (MOST) is a non-thesis degree. It provides students with education and training from scientists who are active researchers and educators working at the cutting edge of ocean sciences throughout the global ocean, from the Gulf of Mexico to the waters around Antarctica.

The curriculum is designed to provide students with a basic understanding of the major concepts in oceanography that can be applied in their Ocean Sciences careers; provide students with the skills and tools to evaluate and analyze data, particularly large datasets of the type generated by ocean observing systems; and facilitate critical thinking and problem solving.

Program Requirements

• Student's Advisory Committee
• Degree Plan
• Credit Requirement
• Transfer of Credit
• Limitations on the Use of Transfer, Extension and Certain Other Courses
• Final Examination

Student's Advisory Committee

All MOST non-thesis students’ advisory committees will consist of the departmental graduate advisor for the MOST program or the department head for the Oceanography department. The departmental graduate advisor or the department head has the responsibility of approving the proposed degree plan for all non-thesis MOST students.

Degree Plan

The student’s advisory committee, in consultation with the student, will develop the proposed degree plan. The degree plan must be completed and filed with the Graduate and Professional School according to deadlines published in the Graduate and Professional School calendar each semester for graduation that semester. The calendar may be found at http://grad.tamu.edu.

This proposed degree plan should be submitted through the online Document Processing Submission System located on the website https://ogsdpss.tamu.edu.

Additional coursework may be added to the approved degree plan by petition if it is deemed necessary by the advisory committee to correct deficiencies in the student’s academic preparation. No changes can be made to the degree plan once the student’s Request for Final Examination is approved the Graduate and Professional School.

Credit Requirement

The minimum requirements for the degree are 36 hours of coursework.

Transfer of Credit

A student who has earned 12 hours of graduate credit in residence at Texas A&M University may be authorized to transfer courses in excess of the limits prescribed above upon the advice of the advisory committee and with the approval of the Graduate and Professional School. Courses taken in residence at an accredited U.S. institution or approved international institution with a final grade of B or greater might be considered for transfer credit if, at the time the courses were completed, the courses would be accepted for credit toward a similar degree for a student in degree-seeking status at the host institution. Otherwise, the limitations stated in the preceding section apply. Coursework in which no formal grades are given or in which grades other than letter grades (A or B) are earned (for example, CR, P, S, U, H, etc.) is not accepted for transfer credit. Courses appearing on the degree plan with grades of D, F or U may not be absolved by transfer work. Credit for thesis research or the equivalent is not transferable. Credit for coursework submitted for transfer from any college or university must be shown in semester credit hours or equated to semester credit hours. An official transcript from the university at which the transfer coursework was taken must be sent directly to the Office of Admissions.

Courses used toward a degree at another institution may not be applied for graduate credit. If the course to be transferred was taken prior to the conferral of a degree at the transfer institution, a letter from the Registrar at that institution stating that the course was not applied for credit toward the degree must be submitted to the Graduate and Professional School.

Grades for courses completed at other institutions are not included in computing the GPA.

Limitations on the Use of Transfer, Extension and Certain Other Courses

Some departments may have more restrictive requirements for transfer work. If otherwise acceptable, certain courses may be used toward meeting credit-hour requirements for the master’s degree under the following limitations.

1.      The maximum number of credit hours which may be considered for transfer credit is the greater of 12 hours or one-third (1/3) of the total hours of a degree plan. The following restrictions apply:

• Graduate and/or upper-level undergraduate courses taken in residence at an accredited U.S. institution, or approved international institution with a final grade of B or greater will be considered for transfer credit if, at the time the courses were completed, the student was in degree-seeking status at Texas A&M University, or the student was in degree-seeking status at the institution at which the courses were taken; and if the courses would be accepted for credit toward a similar degree for a student in degree-seeking status at the host institution.
• Courses previously used for another degree are not acceptable for degree plan credit.

2.      The maximum number of credit hours taken in post-baccalaureate non-degree (G6) classification at Texas A&M University which may be considered for application to the degree plan is 12.

3.      Any combination of 684 and 685 may not exceed 25 percent of the total credit hour requirement shown on the individual degree plan:

• A maximum of 4 hours of 684 (Professional Internship) and
• Up to 8 hours of 685 (Directed Studies).
• A zero credit 684 or 685 course is only allowed for non-thesis option master's students. A zero credit 681 course can be used for either thesis or non-thesis option master’s students. Other courses, including 691 (Research) hours, are not eligible for zero credit.

4.      A maximum of 2 hours of 681 (Seminar).

5.      A maximum of 9 hours of advanced undergraduate courses (300- or 400-level).

6.      For graduate courses of three weeks’ duration or less, taken at other institutions, up to 1 hour of credit may be obtained for each five-day week of coursework. Each week of coursework must include at least 15 contact hours.

7.      No credit hours of 690 (Theory of Research), 691 (Research), or 695 (Frontiers in Research) may be used.

8.      Continuing education courses may not be used for graduate credit.

9.      Extension courses are not acceptable for credit.

10.    For non-distance degree programs, no more than 50 percent of the non-research coursework required for the program may be completed through distance education courses.

11.    To receive a graduate degree from Texas A&M University, students must earn one-third or more of the credits through the institution’s own direct instruction. This limitation also applies to joint degree programs. 

Exceptions will be permitted only in unusual cases and when petitioned by the student’s advisory committee and approved by the Graduate and Professional School.

Final Examination

A final oral examination is not required for the Master of Ocean Science and Technology degree.

Additional Requirements

• Residence
• Time Limit
• Foreign Languages
• Application For Degree

Residence

In partial fulfillment of the residence requirement for the degree of Master of Ocean Science and Technology, the student must complete 9 credit hours during one regular semester or one 10-week summer semester in resident study at Texas A&M University. Upon recommendation of the student’s advisory committee and with approval of the Graduate and Professional School, a student may be granted exemption from this requirement. Such a petition must be approved, however, prior to the student’s registration for the final 9 credit hours of required coursework.

Students who are employed full-time while completing their degree may fulfill total residence requirements by completion of less-than-full time course loads each semester. In order to be considered for this, the student is required to submit a Petition for Waivers and Exceptions along with verification of their employment to the Graduate and Professional School.

See Residence Requirements.

Time Limit

All degree requirements must be completed within a period of seven consecutive years for the degree to be granted. A course will be considered valid until seven years after the end of the semester in which it is taken. Graduate credit for coursework which is more than seven calendar years old at the time of the final examination (oral or written) may not be used to satisfy degree requirements.

Foreign Languages

A foreign language is not required for the Master of Ocean Science and Technology.

Application for Degree

For information on applying for your degree, please visit the Graduation section.