Curriculum and Course Work

Program Completion Requirements

The interdisciplinary PhD degree, without previous graduate course work, requires successful completion of a minimum of 60 semester credit hours at the graduate level (6000‐8000 level).

The total 60 hours must include:

1) 7 hours of required core courses across earth system science disciplines,

2) A minimum of 10 hours of dissertation credit,

3) Additional elective course work to develop an academic focus with the approval of the faculty adviser and dissertation committee.

PROGRAM COMPLETION REQUIREMENTS 

The maximum number of directed‐study credits that may be applied toward the degree is six (6) units. An additional five (5) credits of dissertation hours may be applied to the free electives. The total number of credit hours of previous graduate courses or thesis work may be transferred toward the PhD degree must be less than 50 percent of the credit hours listed on the Plan of Study. A maximum of four hours of Master thesis credit may be transferred and counted toward PhD course requirement.

Program’s Required and Elective Courses

Program’s required and recommended elective courses are listed below. Required core courses are listed under the subject code ESSI. In addition to core courses, many participating departments offer elective courses that are extremely useful for students to develop an academic focus. These courses are listed on Auburn Courses of Instruction website (http://bulletin.auburn.edu/coursesofinstruction/). The affiliated and supporting academic units include Geosciences (GEOL and GEOG), Mathematics & Statistics (STAT), Biological Sciences (BIOL), Departments in the College of Liberal Arts (ANTH, ECON, RSOC), Crop, Soil, and Environmental Sciences (CSES), Biosystems Engineering (BSEN), Fisheries, Aquaculture and Aquatic Sciences (FISH), Civil Engineering (CIVL), Computer Science and Software Engineering (COMP), School Forestry and wildlife Sciences (FORY, FOWS, WILD, GSEI), and College of Education (ERMA and CTSE).

Program Completion Timeline

The content and timeline of the dissertation research is to be determined by the student with inputs from his or her primary research adviser and committee. Students should work closely with their main faculty adviser to implement a plan of study in a reasonable timeframe that suits their individual circumstances.