PROGRAM ENROLLMENT REQUIREMENTS

Applicants are generally required to have a master’s degree in an environmental field such as Anthropology, Geography, Geology, Biological Science, or Agronomy. Further, these students should have at least a 3.2 GPA in graduate courses and a satisfactory score on the Graduate Record Exams. Applicants without a masters degree but with exceptionally strong qualifications may be admitted to the Ph.D. program at the discretion of the Environmental Dynamics committee. All applicants are on an equal footing with regard to placement and funding within the Environmental Dynamics program (depending, of course, upon their individual academic backgrounds). Entry into the Environmental Dynamics program is by committee evaluation. During the first semester of study, all students are assigned an advisory committee to determine the students particular programs.

Students are required to integrate components of the physical, social, and biological sciences into their Ph.D. program. The advisory committee will determine the courses required and help the student balance courses between the three areas.

Students become candidates for the doctorate only upon passing a candidacy examination. This examination must be passed at least nine months before expected graduation.

Each candidate must complete a doctoral dissertation on a topic determined through collaboration of the major professor and the dissertation committee. This dissertation must be a scholarly and significant original contribution to knowledge within the field of Environmental Dynamics.

A final oral examination is required and must be taken at least two weeks before graduation. The examination is concerned primarily with the candidate’s dissertation, but may include other aspects of the graduate work.

Individually tailored programs of study are designed with the expectation that the student will complete a minimum of 24 hours of course work beyond the master’s level, to include ENDY 6013: Environmental Dynamics, ENDY 5053: Quaternary Environments, ENDY 5113: Global Change, and three semesters of ENDY 6991: Colloquium. An additional 18 hours of dissertation research beyond the 24 hours of course work are also required. Students without a master’s degree must complete that degree either before they can be considered for the doctoral program or, if accepted with a BA/BS degree, as a first step under the ENDY program. Each student’s degree program will be developed by a Ph.D. advisory committee, whose chair will normally oversee the dissertation research. The student will be advanced to candidacy upon passing written and oral comprehensive exams and meeting the language requirement.

All potential Environmental Dynamics students will apply to the Graduate School for admission, and must meet all Graduate School requirements.