Master of Geosciences at San Francisco State University

San Francisco State University

United States of America, San Francisco

University Rank:#1401

International students can study the Geosciences at San Francisco State University at its main campus in San Francisco, United States of America. This Master degree is available as a Full Time program delivered on campus in English. The program has a duration of 2 years and is offered at the university's main campus. Students can apply for the next intake starting on August 16, 2027.

About Master of Geosciences

The Master of Science in Geosciences provides an advanced degree that prepares students to work in private industry or government agencies, teach in community colleges or high schools, or continue postgraduate studies leading to a doctoral degree at another university. The graduate program also gives professional geoscientists an opportunity to update and upgrade their job skills.

The Department of Earth & Climate Sciences' faculty has expertise in geology, meteorology, oceanography, and paleoclimate –fields critical to understanding many environmental problems, such as air and water contamination, active faulting, coastal erosion, and global warming. There are no formal concentrations within the M.S. program, but most students choose to emphasize research that is aligned with the faculty area of expertise. We encourage students to work on interdisciplinary projects, particularly in the San Francisco Bay Area. We also encourage students to develop linkages with other departments in the university, and with agencies and firms in the local region.

All students take courses in their respective areas of emphasis plus a common core of three courses: ERTH 700, a multidisciplinary seminar that exposes students to current geoscientific research and literature, and ERTH 701 and ERTH 702, which prepare students for thesis research, quantitative analyses and scientific writing. Thesis projects are expected to have a rigorous base in a geoscience discipline. Depending on the particular field and focus of study, these projects can involve laboratory research, fieldwork, theory development, numerical simulations or model development.

Recent graduate research projects have focused on topics such as active faults in Death Valley, effects of climate change on regional aquifers, geomorphic controls on Bay Area streams, deformation associated with the San Andreas fault system, Pliocene–Pleistocene climate change, large-scale tectonic processes in the Himalayan Mountains, carbon cycling in the ocean, wave erosion at Ocean Beach, and characteristics of severe storms in California. We encourage students to work on interdisciplinary projects and develop interactions and collaborations with other departments in the University, other institutions and agencies, and private industry.

We strongly recommend that students plan a course of study before beginning the M.S. program, in consultation with a faculty advisor and the graduate coordinator.

Upon completion of the Master of Science in Geosciences:

Students can access information about previous research that is relevant to their own study, and they can organize that information and incorporate it into their writing (thesis proposal and thesis manuscript).
Students can formulate a research question and develop a detailed plan to address their research question.
Students can work independently to collect appropriate data and evaluate its quality.
Students can use quantitative methods to analyze research data.
Students can write clear, well-organized explanations of their research goals, methods, results, and implications.
Students can obtain entrance into a doctoral program or find employment in their filed of interest.

Requirements and Admission Criteria for Master of Geosciences at San Francisco State University

Entry Requirements

Eligible Degrees: Bachelor's degree.

Required Academic Documents: Degree certificate and transcript (record of subjects taken and marks earned) If your academic record is not in English, an English translation must accompany all academic documents. Academic documents must be university issued and sealed.

GPA Equivalency: a GPA of "B" or higher is required for graduate study 70 - 79

English Requirements

PTEMin 59
IELTSMin 6.5
TOEFLMin 80

Tuition and Fee Information for Master of Geosciences at San Francisco State University

Application Fee 70

How to Apply for Master of Geosciences at San Francisco State University

Before Applying

Spend time reviewing your desired program's information
Note your program deadline for application. Applications are due by 9:00 pm the day of your application deadline. Refer to the lists below to determine your application deadline.
Review the minimum university requirements for admission for domestic or international students.
Gather your transcripts, test scores, and additional program materials that can be uploaded online. At this time, you may use unofficial copies, however, official copies will be required for formal review.
International students should also gather uploadable versions of their TOEFL or IELTS scores.
Provide notice to your recommenders prior to completing your application.

Submitting Your Application

Go to the Cal State Apply portal, select semester from dropdown menu, create an account or login with account credentials
Upload and attach all required materials under the four quadrants
Once you have submitted names and emails for recommendations, recommendation requests are automatically generated.
Complete payment for application: $70. All fees are non-refundable and non-transferrable.
Once your application and payment have been submitted, you cannot add documents.

Cal State Apply

San Francisco State Graduate program applications are submitted through Cal State Apply. Cal State Apply is a Centralized Application Service (CAS) that simplifies the process of applying to CSU programs. You will only submit one application for the university and the graduate program.

Quadrant I: Personal Information

Complete all of the required fields in the 7 sub-sections
Fields noted as optional may be skipped

Quadrant II: Academic History

Colleges attended: Add all previous institution information and dates attended
Standardized tests: Standardized tests will be reported under Program Materials, click on "I am Not Adding Any Standardized Tests"
GPA entries: Graduate Studies will calculate your GPA from your previous institution transcripts, click on "Don't have a GPA to add"

Quadrant III: Supporting Information

Experiences: You may opt out of all supporting materials, unless your intended program instructs you to use these fields. Select "I Am Not Adding Any Experiences" in this section of the application.

Quadrant IV: Program Materials

Program materials is composed of 4 separate tabs. Carefully read the Home tab as the program lists all required materials and important information on this tab.
Questions: All required questions must be answered
Documents: All required documents must be uploaded. Attach documents that are legible. You may need to resize any scanned PDFs so that you do not exceed the MB limit for each document.
Recommendations: Once you have submitted names and emails for recommendations, recommendation requests are automatically generated.
Do not wait for recommendations to be returned. Continue with the application process in order to meet your deadline.

After Submitting

Applications will be sent electronically to the program once all materials have arrived and evaluators have evaluated the minimum requirements are met.
The program reviews applications and makes their recommendations to the Graduate Division.
You will receive an email notifying you that a decision is ready.
Log into your Student Center to review the acceptance checklist. If you have not already arranged for submission of official copies of transcripts, test scores and degree certificates, you will need to make these arrangements.

Master of Geosciences at San Francisco State University

San Francisco State University

United States of America, San Francisco