GEOGRAPHY DEPARTMENT GRADUATE PROGRAM POLICIES
1. Nothing in these graduate policies shall be construed as conflicting with the polies and
procedures of the CCSU School of Graduate Studies.
2. The Geography Department shall elect a representative to the Graduate Studies Committee
and that person shall report to the Departmental meeting as required.
For Students
1. Prior to entry into the CCSU Geography Graduate program the Department will require in
addition to CCSU Graduate school requirements an academic autobiography of up to 500
words explaining why the person should be permitted to enter the Departmental graduate
program and how any deficiencies in Geography might be addressed. A 30 question
proficiency test will be administered in GEOG 500.
2. In order to graduate student will need to successfully complete, in accordance with CCSU
Graduate School policies and procedures:
a. A Comprehensive Exam OR
b. A Special Project OR
c. A written Thesis.
It is seen by the Department that all of these options contain similar rigor and acceptable
outcomes. For the option the student chooses, the student must address certain
requirements:
A. Comprehensive Exam
It is expected that these examinations will take place over a three hour time period, maximum and
may be given over a period of seven days at times satisfactory to both student and faculty.
A student who wishes to take the comprehensive exam must register for GEOG 597, a course used
as an independent study to prepare for the exam in conjunction with student’s committee
members. The student may register for the course during the same semester as taking the exam or
one semester beforehand. Registering for the comprehensive exam requires a special form, found at
the URL at the end of this section.
The comprehensive exam will consist of three separate questions generally administered as one
question per day over the course of one week. The student will have a given number of hours (4
hours if handwriting, 2 hours if typing), which will be agreed upon by advisor and student before
the exam is administered.
i.
ii.
iii.
One question will be on general geographical history, concepts and contemporary
issues.
One question will be directly related to the student’s area of geographical interest
One question will be on any area of geography, other than the area in (ii) above.
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The comprehensive exam is graded by the student’s graduate advisor and a second reader. The
judgment will be either PASS or FAIL.
In some cases, the comprehensive exam committee may request that answers be explained in an
oral defense. After the oral defense, the student may pass or fail. If the student passes, the
comprehensive portion of the graduate degree will be concluded. If the student fails, then he or she
will file a petition with graduate studies to take the exam again. If approved, the format of the exam
will be the same, but the questions will be different. If a student fails the exam a second time, then
the student must either successfully complete a thesis or special project in order to graduate.
The graduate studies handbook on capstone exam is found at:
http://web.ccsu.edu/gradstudies/default.asp
B.
Special Project (GEOG 595)
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
vi.
vii.
viii.
ix.
x.
A special project is seen as comparable to a thesis except that it is a work of applied
geography that addresses a special topic, area, region, problem or issue.
As such it will be a bound volume of research reflecting the goals and objectives in
this piece of applied work. It will take the form of an inductive or deductive piece of
original research.
For the special project the student will be designated an advisor and a second
reader whose primary duty is to read the special project in detail and comment.
Once completed to the satisfaction of the advisor, the student will defend the
Special Project before the Geography department faculty, invited faculty, and the
public. This defense includes a presentation of 20-30 minutes and then a time for
questions from those in attendance, not to exceed a 60 minute period.
Faculty will immediately convene to discuss the work and the defense presentation.
As a group, they may determine whether the special project needs major revisions,
minor revisions, or no revisions.
Once the decision is made, the student is informed and will integrate revisions as
required.
Once the student hands in the final version of the special project, the student’s
primary and secondary advisor will determine whether the work passes or fails
departmental requirements and rigor.
The special project approval form is then signed off on by the student’s committee
members and forwarded to the Dean of Graduate Studies.
If approved by the Dean, then the student has successfully completed his or her
graduate degree. If the Dean requires revisions or clarifications, then the student
must complete those in order to graduate.
The forms and additional information for completing the Special Project can be
found at http://web.ccsu.edu/gradstudies/capstone.asp
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C.
Thesis (GEOG 599)
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
vi.
vii.
viii.
ix.
x.
A thesis is seen as comparable to a special project except that it is geographical
enquiry of an academic nature that addresses a theoretical or philosophical
geographic topic, area, region, problem or issue.
As such it will be a bound volume of research reflecting the goals and objectives in
this piece of geographic enquiry. It will take the form of an inductive or deductive
piece of original research but contain significant reference to the existing body of
knowledge in that geographical area.
For the thesis, a student will be designated an advisor and a second reader whose
primary duty is to read the special project in detail and comment.
Once completed to the satisfaction of the advisor, the student will defend the Thesis
before the Geography department faculty, invited faculty, and the public. This
defense includes a presentation of 20-30 minutes and then a time for questions from
those in attendance, not to exceed a 60 minute period.
Faculty will immediately convene to discuss the work and the defense presentation.
As a group, they may determine whether the special project needs major revisions,
minor revisions, or no revisions.
Once the decision is made, the student is informed and will integrate revisions as
required.
Once the student hands in the final version of the thesis, the student’s primary and
secondary advisor will determine whether the work passes or fails departmental
requirements and rigor.
The thesis approval form is then signed off on by the student’s committee members
and forwarded to the Dean of Graduate Studies.
If approved by the Dean, then the student has successfully completed then his or her
graduate degree. If the Dean requires revisions or clarifications, then the student
must complete those in order to graduate.
The forms and additional information for completing the Thesis can be found at:
http://web.ccsu.edu/gradstudies/thesis.asp
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