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Australian School of Petroleum
The University of Adelaide
SA 5005
AUSTRALIA
Email

Telephone: +61 8 8303 8000
Facsimile: +61 8 8303 8030

Master of Science (Petroleum Geoscience)

Nominal Length

1 year (full-time). Part time not available. This program has fixed starting and ending dates each year, typically late January and early December. In 2009, the program commenced on 2 February, and will finish on 8 December.

Type

Full fee-paying coursework degree comprising coursework (5 months) and a research project written up as an internally-examined thesis (~ 4 months).

Potential Applicants

Geoscientists with a first degree who wish to

obtain a higher qualification;
specialise in an area of petroleum geology and/or geophysics;
convert from another area of geoscience;
perform applied research in petroleum geoscience.

A Masters degree is the standard entry-level qualification for employment in the petroleum industry outside Australia.

Prerequisite Qualifications

Applicants normally require:

Either a first or upper second class Australian B.Sc.(Honours) degree (4 years), or recognized overseas equivalent, majoring in geology and/or geophysics,
Or a credit-average Australian B.Sc. degree (3 years) or recognized overseas equivalent, majoring in geology and/or geophysics, coupled with at least one year of relevant experience in the petroleum industry.

Coursework

Students take all or part of the ASP Geoscience coursework curriculum in the first semester. This will be completed prior to commencing the research project. Exemptions will be granted from particular courses where a student is judged to have a satisfactory understanding of the course material at the required level either from previous studies or from practical experience in the topic. The coursework units to be taken by each student will be determined following discussion with School staff upon enrolment.

Research Project and Thesis

The second semester of a student's candidature is devoted to a research project. Research projects are generally sponsored by petroleum companies or government agencies, either directly or through research consortia or grants managed by ASP staff members. The data and/or results can be protected by confidentiality agreements if necessary. Students will have at least one academic supervisor and, where appropriate, an industry supervisor from the sponsor company, for their project. The completed project must be documented in a thesis, which must be submitted for examination by a deadline in early November.

Intake dates

One intake only per year, in late January, to synchronise with the start of the Geoscience coursework curriculum. An alternative starting time may be permitted in some circumstances.

Assessment

Coursework assessments are based on a combination of written and oral examinations and the marking of practical exercises. Results for individual topics are weighted according to the length of the course to arrive at an average coursework mark.

The thesis is assessed by at least three examiners chosen from ASP staff. The marks awarded will be moderated by the candidate's performance in an oral examination of their thesis. This will be held after all the examiners have read the thesis.

The final grade will be an equally weighted average of the total coursework mark and the moderated thesis mark. A final grade of at least 70% is required to graduate from the program. If this minimum final mark is not reached, the candidate will be awarded a Graduate Certificate in Petroleum Geology and Geophysics, provided they have achieved at least a 50% average for the coursework. Because of these requirements, students failing to reach a 70% average for their coursework may not be permitted to proceed to the research project.

Cost

This is a full fee-paying course for all students, both Australian and international. Tuition fees for Domestic students for 2009 are AUD 26,208.

As these figures and conditions may change, interested students should make enquiries concerning fees to the student administration section of the university.

Applications

Australian and permanent resident, students

International Students

Enrolment Application form (including request for scholarship)

Critical Dates

Please note the following deadlines for receipt of applications from candidates to enable enrolment at the normal commencement time for the program (late January).

Australian citizens and Australian permanent residents
- 31 October, if applying for a Government or University Scholarship
- 23 January otherwise
All other applicants
- 01 October otherwise. This is a guideline only, and international students are encouraged to apply as early as possible to ensure sufficient time for visa formalities to be completed before the start of the course.