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.

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.

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 - Natural Resources Conservation and Management
ESC 5120 - Applied Statistics for Environmental Scientists
ESC 5140 - Environmental Law and Policy
ESC 5700 - Seminar 1 (must be taken in first year of graduate program)
ESC 5710 - Seminar 2 (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 - Natural Resources Conservation and Management
ESC 5120 - Applied Statistics for Environmental Scientists
ESC 5140 - Environmental Law and Policy
ESC 5700 - Seminar 1 (must be taken in first year of graduate program)
ESC 5710 - Seminar 2 (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.