Environmental Science, M.S.

Program Requirements

Semester Hours

To earn the Master of Science degree in environmental science, a student must successfully complete a total of 36 semester hours comprised of required core courses, elective courses, and academic credit associated with a thesis (for the Thesis concentration) or, internship, individual studies, and/or research experience (for the Non-Thesis concentration) with a cumulative minimum grade point average of 3.0.

Program of Study

During the first semester of graduate coursework, a student must submit a Program of study to the Graduate School that establishes the courses the student must take for partial fulfillment of the degree requirements. The Program of Study must include all core courses and also may include known electives.

Admission to Candidacy

A student also must be admitted to candidacy by the Graduate School as partial fulfillment of the Master in Science degree in environmental science. The application for admission to candidacy typically is submitted during the semester prior to the anticipated graduation. The application must include all courses not declared by the student’s Program of Study and any changes to declared coursework.

Environmental Science: Thesis Program of Study

Core Courses (15 hours)

All students must take the following courses:

ESC 5020 - Mechanisms in the Environment
ESC 5050 - Biodiversity and Natural Resources Conservation
ESC 5120 - Applied Statistics for Environmental Scientists
ESC 5140 - Environmental Law and Regulations
ESC 5700 - Seminar I (must be taken in first year of graduate program)
ESC 5710 - Seminar II (must be taken in first year of graduate program)

Thesis (9 hours)

All students must complete 9 credit hours of thesis credit associated with the development, conduct, and successful defense of an approved thesis project.
ESC 5999r - Thesis

Unrestriced Electives (12 hours)

All students must complete 12 credit hours of graduate elective coursework as recommended by the thesis advisor and approved by the Graduate Program Coordinator. These elective hours may include up to 6 total credit hours of any combination of the following courses if the associated work conducted is distinct from the thesis project:
ESC 5996 - Internship
ESC 5997r - Individual Studies
ESC 5998r - Research

Environmental Science: Non-Thesis Program of Study

Core Course (15 hours)

All students must complete the following core courses:
ESC 5020 - Mechanisms in the Environment
ESC 5050 - Biodiversity and Natural Resources Conservation
ESC 5120 - Applied Statistics for Environmental Scientists
ESC 5140 - Environmental Law and Regulations
ESC 5700 - Seminar I (must be taken in first year of graduate program)
ESC 5710 - Seminar II (must be taken in first year of graduate program)

Experience (6 hours)

All students must complete 6 credit hours of internship, individual studies, and/or research experience as approved by a graduate faculty advisor. These hours may be comprised of any combination of the following:
ESC 5996 - Internship
ESC 5997r - Individual Studies
ESC 5998r - Research

Unrestricted Electives (15 hours)

All students must complete 15 credit hours of relevant graduate elective coursework as approved by the graduate faculty advisor.