PhD in Geosciences Program
The Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences (EES) offers a PhD degree in geosciences. Please contact EES faculty that you would be interested in doing research with to check about availability prior to applying for this program.
The PhD program has three essential components: research, coursework and teaching. The formal coursework is meant to provide a solid knowledge foundation for the students’ focus areas of research as well as broaden the students’ knowledge in the geosciences. Most of the coursework is completed within the first two years of the program. For details about our PhD program coursework requirements, please see the EES Graduate Student Handbook. A full listing of graduate courses is available on our website.
Research is the largest and most important component of our PhD program. With guidance from their faculty supervisors, students are expected to conduct original research that significantly advances scientific knowledge in their field of study, and to publish this research in several peer-reviewed scientific articles. Depending on their research topic, EES PhD students are engaged in computational work, laboratory experiments, fieldwork, or some combination of these. In the process, students acquire critical skills for their future careers in research, industry or government organizations.
Serving as a graduate teaching assistant (TA) is another important part of our PhD program. Students are required to serve as a TA for at least one semester.
Students in the program are expected to pass a qualifying examination in their third year, and submit and defend a research thesis at the conclusion of the program.
For more details on our PhD program structure and requirements, please see the EES Graduate Student Handbook.