The University of Maine Climate Change Institute offers a MS degree in Quaternary and Climate Studies which is a thesis-based program that requires at least 30 credit hours, which will consist of at least 24 hours of coursework and at least 6 hours of thesis work. Thesis work may not exceed 15 hours. All students in the M.S. program are required to take the following three courses: ERS 542 (Atmosphere, Ocean, Ice, and Climate Change), ANT 501/BIO501 (Climate, Culture, and the Biosphere) or ANT530 (Human Dimensions of Climate Change) and INT 500 (Interdisciplinary Applications of Climate Science). In addition, all UMaine students enrolled in research master's (thesis) programs must receive one credit of Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) training prior to completing the degree, preferably prior to commencing research. A minimum of 12 hours of coursework (exclusive of thesis) must be at the graduate level (500 or above) unless petitioned. Graduate coursework and thesis research, preparation, and completion will normally take no more than two academic years of resident study.