Doctoral Degree in Earth and Planetary Sciences (EPS)

Applicants are individuals with undergraduate or M.S. degrees in the natural sciences, mathematics, and engineering, and who normally would have completed a minimum of one year each of college mathematics, geology, physics, and chemistry. Adequacy of each applicant's additional preparation will depend on the particular branch of Earth and Planetary Sciences being pursued.

Requirements

• PhD candidates are accepted with either a BS or MS degree in geoscience or relate disciplines.
• Once in the program, all PhD candidates must pass a comprehensive examination no later than at the end of the fourth semester of residence, for students without an MS degree, or at the end of the second semester of residence for students entering the program with an MS degree.
• Course work is equivalent to MS degree requirements.
• Selected additional course work as required by dissertation topic.
• Students without an MS must pass a qualifying examination given at the beginning of their second semester in residence.
• The qualifying exam requires an oral presentation.
• The comprehensive exam includes oral and written parts that cover in-depth subjects in the student’s field of interest and also the breadth of several areas in this and other departments that bear on the field.
• Dissertation
• A final examination in defense of the dissertation is required.