Earth and Energy Sciences, PhD

Admission Requirements

In addition to meeting the general application and admission requirements of the Graduate School, applicants to the Ph.D. program in Earth and Energy Sciences must provide: 1) evidence of a B.S. in Chemistry, Environmental Science, Geology, Physics, or a related field of study, 2) a personal statement of interest in the program and in a particular research direction, and 3) a Curriculum Vitae. If previous research experience exists, it should be emphasized in the personal statement. 

Applicants must identify a faculty member from one of the disciplines contributing to the program (Chemistry, Environmental Science, Geology, and Physics; note, Environmental Science and Geology are both found within the School of Geosciences) who is willing to support their application and serve as their prospective dissertation advisor.

It is expected that admitted students will have completed Calculus I and II as well as a minimum of two courses and one laboratory in each of the following disciplines: Chemistry, Environmental Science, Geology, and Physics.

Course Requirements

To earn the Ph.D. degree in Earth and Energy Sciences, students must complete a minimum of 72 graduate credit hours. That includes core courses (12 credit hours), specialized courses (30 credit hours), graduate seminar (6 credit hours), and dissertation research (24 credit hours), as detailed below.

Concentrations

Concentrations are optional. Students in the EESC program may apply for a discipline concentration to be included in their transcripts. All concentrations require that the topic of the student’s dissertation belongs to the discipline of that concentration. In addition, each concentration has specific coursework requirements as follows. For a concentration in Chemistry, any four of the following six courses must each be passed with a minimum grade of B: CHEM 501 ; CHEM 504 ; CHEM 505 ; CHEM 506 ; CHEM 510 ; and CHEM 555 . For a concentration in Environmental Science, 12 credit hours must be taken in EESC 62X or ENVS 4XX or ENVS 5XX, except ENVS 472 , ENVS 494G , ENVS 559 , ENVS 579 , ENVS 589 , ENVS 597 , ENVS 598, and ENVS 599 , each course being passed with a minimum grade of B. For a concentration in Geology, 12 credit hours must be taken in EESC 63X or GEOL 4XX or GEOL 5XX, except GEOL 405G , GEOL 499 , GEOL 501 , GEOL 551 , GEOL 597 , GEOL 598, and GEOL 599 , each course being passed with a minimum grade of B. For a concentration in Physics, the following courses must be passed with a minimum grade of B: PHYS 423G , PHYS 424G , PHYS 437G  (or PHYS 438G ), and PHYS 405G .

General Comprehensive Examination

Each student is expected to complete the General Comprehensive Examination (GCE) by the end of the fourth semester of study. The exam focuses on the student’s mastery of core course content by verifying the student’s ability to critically analyze and connect information previously learned and/or developed from preexisting information. An oral component of the exam will follow for students who do not pass the written GCE component. Questions in the oral GCE are not limited to those from the written exam but stay within the scope of knowledge and research in Earth and Energy Sciences. The GCE is administered and assessed by a committee comprised of a chair and typically the four faculty members who most recently taught the core courses. Students taking the GCE will be notified in advance of the committee’s make-up and the format of the exam.

Degree Progress

The program is coordinated by a Graduate Advisory Committee (GCA) which is composed of the EESC graduate coordinators in Chemistry, Geosciences, and Physics. The GCA is led, in rotation, by its members. The current head of the GCA is designated as the EESC program’s graduate coordinator. At the start of their program, each student meets with the EESC graduate coordinator, and an Individual Development Plan (IDP) is created. This document is updated every semester at the time of advising and before the advising hold is lifted. It is the student’s responsibility to inform the current graduate coordinator of the program of any changes in the IDP, as they progress in their studies.

Immediately after successfully passing the GCE, students must apply for Admission to Candidacy. During the same or in the following semester, in consultation with the dissertation advisor, the student shall create a doctoral committee. The doctoral committee includes the student’s dissertation advisor, as its chair, and a minimum of three other graduate-faculty members from the disciplines contributing to the EESC program. At least two members must be from two different EESC disciplines that are not represented by the dissertation advisor. Outside committee members (from other departments or institutions) are allowed and encouraged. It is highly recommended that the dissertation committee includes at least one other member considered an expert in the student’s dissertation topic.

No later than the end of the third year of study, the student must convene their doctoral committee for a proposal defense. A written copy of the proposal, revised and approved by the chair, must be received by the committee at least two weeks before the defense. At the defense, the student gives an oral exposure of the problem to be investigated, the motivation and significance of the work, techniques involved, any preliminary results that support the planned research, and a detailed plan of action. The doctoral committee will provide feedback to the student and may suggest specific courses to be added to the student’s IDP that are relevant to the research topic. The result of the proposal defense and any recommendations must be communicated to the current graduate coordinator of EESC by the student’s dissertation chair in the form of a collected survey filled in by the committee members. Acceptance of the proposal by the research adviser and a majority vote of the dissertation committee is required for a satisfactory proposal defense. A second proposal defense is allowed if the first attempt is unsuccessful. If the second defense is also unsuccessful, the student shall become ineligible to continue in the program and will be evaluated by the Earth and Energy Science Graduate Advisory Committee for M.S. degree program options in Industrial Chemistry, Environmental Science, Geology, or Physics.

Final Examination

The oral defense of the dissertation constitutes the final examination for the degree. A minimum of six months must pass between a successful proposal defense and the dissertation defense. A waiver for this rule may be granted for extraordinary circumstances, which will be evaluated by the Graduate Advisory Committee. A rigorous examination of the dissertation as well as discussions covering topics in related areas are to take place during the dissertation defense. A written copy of the dissertation, revised and approved by the chair, must be received by the committee at least two weeks before the defense. The dissertation must present original work by the student and be of a quality acceptable for publication in peer-reviewed journals in the specific field of study. If the oral dissertation defense is unsatisfactory to fifty percent or more of the committee, a second defense shall be allowed not earlier than six months after the unsuccessful defense. If the second oral defense is unsatisfactory to fifty percent or more of the committee, the student shall become ineligible to continue in the program and will be evaluated by the Earth and Energy Science Graduate Advisory Committee for M.S. degree program options in Industrial Chemistry, Environmental Science, Geology, or Physics.

After completing the revisions requested by the doctoral committee members, the candidate must prepare the final version of the dissertation in accordance with the requirements of the Graduate School.

Notes

Students should consult the Doctor of Philosophy Degree Checklist compiled by the Graduate School and included in the University Catalog. Students with a M.S. degree may transfer credit hours to be used toward the required 30 credit hours of specialization coursework, following the University guidelines.

The proposal and dissertation defense events are open to the public. The graduate coordinator of the program will announce the event at least a week in advance, using information from the defending student, who must initiate the process.

All the research results publicly disseminated must follow the current Artificial Intelligence Guidelines of the Graduate School and of the EESC program.

To graduate, the student must submit at least one manuscript to a peer-reviewed journal as first author.