Graduate Program: Environmental Science (MS)

General Information

Admissions Information

Admissions Requirements

ALL applicants must be accepted for admission to both The Department of Environmental Science and The University of Arizona Graduate College.  Minimum eligiblity requirements for admission to The Graduate College include completion of a bachelor's degree or an equivalent degree and a 3.000 grade point average on a 4.000 grade scale.

Required application materials include the following:
An official on-line application for admission to the UA Graduate College.
Letter of Intent (one to two page letter specifying your area of interest and goals).
*Three letters of recommendation (letters should be printed on letterhead and submitted electronically.       

Official transcripts from ALL institutions attended.  If you are currently in the process of completing a degree program, please mail your transcript, including your current course schedule, and later submit a MANDATORY final, official transcript that lists your graduation date and degree awarded.  If you are currently in the process of completing a degree program, please mail your transcript, including your current course schedule, and later submit a MANDATORY final, official transcript that lists your graduation date and degree awarded.                                                                                                   

Required prerequisite coursework is listed in the next section.

English language proficiency is one of the conditions for admission for all applicants whose native language is not English. Applicants must submit a minimum TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) score of 79 internet based (iBT), 550 paper based (PB), or IELTS (International English Language Testing System) composite score of 7 (no subject area below a 6).TOEFL Institution Code: 4832                                
Submission of GRE scores is suggested, but are not required. GRE Institution Code: 4832

*Recommenders are notified via email and provided directions for uploading the letter of recommendation.

 

Standardized Tests

*PREREQUISITES and DEFICIENCIES

The minimum undergraduate preparation for admission into the ENVS graduate program includes the following courses (or equivalent):

Course Descriptions / UA Course Numbers

General Chemistry I - (Lecture & Lab) / UA course equivalent:  CHEM 151

General Chemistry II - (Lecture & Lab) / UA course equivalent:  CHEM 152

Introductory Physics (Lecture & Lab) / UA course equivalents:  PHYS 102/181 or PHYS 141

General Microbiology (Lecture) / UA course equivalent:  MIC 205 A or

Introductory Biology / UA course equivalent:  MCB 181R

Calculus I / UA course equivalent:  MATH 122A/B or 125

Statistics / UA course equivalents:  MATH 263 or Math 363 or MGMT 276 or SBS 200

Physical Geology (Lec) / UA course equivalent:  GEOS 251 or Soil Science (Lec) / ENVS 200

*Note:  Soil and Water Science (SWS) track students must complete both GEOS 251 and ENVS 200; Environmental Science (ES) track students may choose either GEOS 251 or ENVS 200.

Students who lack some prerequisites, but who are otherwise qualified, may be admitted with the missing courses listed as deficiencies.  These deficient courses must be completed early in their program.  It is advantageous to take immediate steps toward removing any noted deficiencies within the first two semesters.  A higher-level course may be used to satisfy a prerequisite with prior approval of the Graduate Program Director.  A grade of "B" or better must be obtained to satisfy deficiency requirements.

 

Funding Opportunities

There is no guarantee of departmental financial assistance.  Prospective students should directly contact faculty members with whom they potentially share research interests regarding Research Assistantships. 

Applicants are encouraged to apply for institutional funding offered through the UA Graduate College, including Graduate Access Fellowships, UA/SIGP Fellowships, and NASA Scholarships.  Domestic students should submit a Free Application for Federal Student Loans, FAFSA, to qualify for institutional funding http://fafsa.gov/.  Detailed information on UA financial aid may be found at http://grad.arizona.edu/financial-resources.

 

Admissions Deadlines

Domestic Applicants:

• Fall: June 1
• Spring: October1

International Applicants:

• Fall: December 1
• Spring: June 1

 

International Conditional Admission

International applicants may be considered for conditional admission to this program at the department's discretion.

Other Information

The GRE Institution Code for The University of Arizona is 4832

Completion Requirements

Minimum Credit Units

30 

Core Coursework Requirements

Major Professor – Master’s Committee

The Major Professor is a faculty member within the student’s general area of study.  With the help of the Major Professor, the student will identify additional members from appropriate areas to complete the student’s Master’s Committee.  The Master’s Committee is responsible for guiding each student’s academic program, including all examinations. 

The Master's Committee consists of at least three members.  The Major Professor and at least one additional member must be tenure-track; the third member may be an approved special member).  Special committee members must be pre-approved by the Dean of the Graduate College.  At least two must hold faculty appointments in the ENVS Department.  The student may also have a co-director or committee member outside the department, provided that he or she has credentials acceptable to the Department and the Graduate College.

General Requirements

The ENVS Department Master of Science degree requires a minimum of 30 units of graduate credit, including thesis units.  There must be 15 units in the major field, and at least 15 units must be from courses in which letter grades of A and B have been earned.  In cases in which a thesis is part of the degree program, not more than 6 thesis units (ENVS 910) may count toward the degree. All units of coursework for the master's degree must be in 500-level courses or above. All graduate students are required to attend the weekly department colloqua. The last semester of the student’s study, the student must be enrolled in the department seminar (ENVS 696A or workshop ENVS 697).

Use of prior credit is limited.  Students who wish to transfer credit must submit a Transfer Credit form in GradPath before the end of their first year of study.

General limits on the 12 units taken prior to acceptance into the program:

•No more than 12 units of coursework taken in graduate non-degree seeking status may be used toward a master's degree. 
•Transfer from another institution may not exceed six units of credit.
•Tansfer credit can be applied to an advanced degree only upon satisfactory completion of deficiencies as prescribed ty the ENVS Department Head.
•Transfer of credit will not be made unless the grade earned was A or B, and unless it was awarded graduate credit at the institution where the work was completed.
•Grades of transfer are not used in computing the student's grade-point average.
•Credit for correspondence courses from other institutions will not be accepted for graduate credit.

Minimum Course Requirements

There are two tracks for the ENVS MS: the Environmental Science Track (ES) and the Soil and Water Science (SWS) Track.

The plan of study for both tracks require at least 36 hours of toital major coursework. Both Tracks also require:

• ENVS 508 Scientific Writing for Environmental, Agricultural and Life Sciences (3 units)

• One unit of ENVS 595 Colloquium (1), enrollment required in every semester

• One unit of ENVS 696A Seminar (1) or ENVS 697 Seminar and Career Workshop (1) or equivalent (1)

The MS with track in the Environmental Science (ES) Track requires:

•  at least 9 credits total with one course from EACH of the following three clusters:
  • environmental biology: select ENVS 525 (3 units) or 574 (3) or 577 (3) or WSM 552 (4),
  • environmental chemistry: select ENVS 562 (3) or 564 (3),
  • environmental physics: 3 units in ENVS 520 (3) or 570 (3)
• Additional course work in Major 10-15 credits (selectives) depending whether students does a MS-thesis or MS-report

The MS with tracks in the Soil and Water Science (SWS) Track requires:

• Major Core:  select 12 credits from the following list:
  • ENVS 502 (3 units)
  • ENVS 525 (3)
  • ENVS 562 (3)
  • ENVS 570 (3)
  • ENVS 580 (3) or ENVS 582 (3)
• Additional course work in Major 7-12 credits (selectives) depending whether students does a MS-thesis or MS-report

Both ES and SWS tracks a  minimum of 15 units are required in graded (A,B) lecture-based courses; the remaining units may comprise credits from non-dissertation research courses (e.g., independent study, laboratory rotation), special-topics discussion courses, seminars, and similar.

• 2-6 units of MS Thesis (ENVS 910) or 1-2 units of MS-Report (ENVS 909)
• Total Graduate Credits required = 30

Plan of Study

Each student is responsible for submitting a Responsible Conduct of Research form, and in conjunction with their Major Professor, for developing a written Plan of Study.  The Plan of Study is to be submitted to the Graduate College by the end of the second semester in residence. The Plan must identify

1. courses the student intends to transfer from other institutions
2. courses already completed at The University of Arizona that the student intends to apply toward the graduate degree
3. additional courses the student plans to complete to fulfill degree requirements 

Students using transfer coursework should submit the Transfer Credit Form to the Graduate College prior to submitting the Plan of Study.  Approval for the Plan of Study is routed for review starting with the ENVS Major Professor, and then to the Department Head.  The Graduate College grants final approval.

 

Master’s Final Examination and Completion of Degree Requirements

The Master's final exam in the ENVS Department involves a defense of the thesis to the Master’s Committee, and Departmental submission of the Master’s Completion of Degree Requirements form.  If the candidate fails the final exam, a second exam may be granted no sooner than four months from the date of the first exam.

Plan of Study

Each student is responsible for submitting a Responsible Conduct of Research form, and in conjunction with their Major Professor, for developing a written Plan of Study.  The Plan of Study is to be submitted to the Graduate College by the end of the second semester in residence. The Plan must identify

1. courses the student intends to transfer from other institutions
2. courses already completed at The University of Arizona that the student intends to apply toward the graduate degree
3. additional courses the student plans to complete to fulfill degree requirements 

Students using transfer coursework should submit the Transfer Credit Form to the Graduate College prior to submitting the Plan of Study.  Approval for the Plan of Study is routed for review starting with the ENVS Graduate Coordinator, Major Professor and then to the DGS.  The Graduate College grants final approval.

Master’s Final Examination and Completion of Degree Requirements

The Master's final exam in the ENVS Department involves a defense of the thesis to the Master’s Committee, and Departmental submission of the Master’s Completion of Degree Requirements form.  If the candidate fails the final exam, a second exam may be granted no sooner than four months from the date of the first exam.

Plan of Study
Each student is responsible for submitting a Responsible Conduct of Research form, and in conjunction with their Major Professor, for developing a written Plan of Study.  The Plan of Study is to be submitted to the Graduate College by the end of the second semester in residence. The Plan must identify
1. courses the student intends to transfer from other institutions
2. courses already completed at The University of Arizona that the student intends to apply toward the graduate degree
3. additional courses the student plans to complete to fulfill degree requirements 

Students using transfer coursework should submit the Transfer Credit Form to the Graduate College prior to submitting the Plan of Study.  Approval for the Plan of Study is routed for review starting with the ENVS Major Professor, and then to the Department Head.  The Graduate College grants final approval.

Master’s Final Examination and Completion of Degree Requirements
The Master's final exam in the ENVS Department involves a defense of the thesis to the Master’s Committee, and Departmental submission of the Master’s Completion of Degree Requirements form.  If the candidate fails the final exam, a second exam may be granted no sooner than four months from the date of the first exam.

Time Limitation: All requirements for the Master's degree must be completed within six years. Time-to-degree begins with the earliest course to be applied toward the degree, including credits transferred from other institutions. Work more than six years old is not accepted toward degree requirements.

Annual Progress Report

All graduate students are expected to submit an ENVS Graduate Student Annual Progress Report.  The Report is due annually on June 15th.

Satisfactory Progress Policy

Graduate students in the Soil, Water and Environmental Science Department are subject to annual evaluation for satisfactory progress based on their grade point average and overall progress towards

completion of degree requirements.  A high level of performance is expected of all students in the ENVS graduate degree programs. Students must maintain a minimum of a 3.0 cumulative GPA throughout the program.

Students failing to meet GPA requirements will be placed on probation by the Graduate College for one semester. If the cumulative GPA is not raised to the required minimum in the following semester, the student’s major professor and the graduate advisory committee will decide whether to:  (1 ) academically disqualify the student from the program; or (2) with Graduate College approval, allow the student to continue on probation upon approval of a remediation plan.  The Graduate Studies Milestones table below indicates the semester in which certain administrative steps should take place in order to meet satisfactory progress towards completion of degree requirements. These steps include scheduling annual committee meetings, comprehensive exams, submission of research proposals, and timely filing of required forms (e.g., plan of study, committee assignment, etc. ).  No later than one month after final grades are posted for spring semester, all graduate degree seeking students are mandated to fill the annual progress report form to be distributed by the graduate coordinator.  The progress reports will be prescreened by the graduate coordinator and in case of obvious deficiencies forwarded to the graduate committee for further evaluation. Students who fail to make satisfactory academic or research progress will be notified in writing of their status (with a copy of the letter going to the Graduate College). They will be asked to develop and submit a remediation plan signed by the faculty advisor.  Students must be in good standing with the ENVS Department to be eligible for inancial aid (including GAs and GTS) and enrollment in individual studies course work. 

 

Elective Coursework

 

The following list is for informational purposes only. For an accurate listing of courses, semester offered and instructor, and prerequisites, please see: https://uaccess.schedule.arizona.edu/psp/pubsaprd/UA_CATALOG/HRMS/h/?tab=DEFAULT

(select ENVS)

Note that some of the courses listed are Required Core Courses in the Environmental Science (ES) Track or Soil and Water Science (SWS) Track.  For example ENVS508, 595, 696a/697 are required in both tracks. Further, a selection of other courses is required in the ES or the SWS track. See description elsewhere on this page.  Selectives outside the ENVS department are not listed here.

 

ENVS 501. Sustainable Management of Arid Lands and Salt-Affected Soils (3)

ENVS 502. Nutrient Dynamics in Soils (3)

ENVS 506. Modeling of Mass and Energy Flow in Soils (3)

ENVS 508. Scientific Writing for Environmental, Agricultural and Life Sciences (3)

ENVS 510. Microbial Biogeochemistry and Global Change (3)

ENVS 515. Translating Environmental Science (3)

ENVS 518. Introduction to Human Health Risk Assessment. (3)

ENVS 520. Environmental Physics (3)

ENVS 525. Environmental Microbiology (3)

ENVS 526. Environmental Microbiology Laboratory (2)

ENVS 528R Microbial Genetics (3) ENVS 528R Laboratory (2).

ENVS 530R. Environmental Monitoring and Remediation (3) ENVS 530L (1) Lab.

ENVS 531R. Soil Genesis, Morphology, and Classification (3) ENVS 531L (1) Lab.

ENVS 531A Traditional Ecological Knowledge (3)

ENVS 536A Fundamentals of the Atmospheric Sciences. (3)

ENVS 541. Soils and Landscapes of Arizona/Advanced Soil Genesis (3)

ENVS 541A Natural Resource Management in Native Communities. (3)

ENVS 550. Green Infrastructure (3)

ENVS 554. Water Harvesting (3)

ENVS 561. Soil and Water Conservation (3)

ENVS 562. Environmental Soil and Water Chemistry (3)

ENVS 564. Environmental Organic Chemistry (3)

ENVS 565. Contaminant Transport in Porous Media (3)

ENVS 566. Soil and Groundwater Remediation (3)

ENVS 567 Introductory Statistics and Multivariate Statistics with R. (3)

ENVS 570. Soil Physics (3)

ENVS 572. Interfacial Chemistry of Biomolecules in Environmental Systems (3)

ENVS 574. Aquatic Plants and the Environment (4)

ENVS 575. Freshwater and Marine Algae (4)

ENVS 577 Principles of Ecotoxicology, (3)

ENVS 579 Boundary Layer Meteorology & Surface Processes, (3)

ENVS 580. Environmental Assessment for Contaminated Sites (3)

ENVS 582. Reclamation and Redevelopment of Impacted Lands (3)

ENVS 583 Geographic Applications of Remote Sensing. (3)

ENVS 590 Remote Sensing for the Study of Planet Earth. (3)

ENVS 595. Colloquium (1)

ENVS 596B. Water Policy In Arizona and Semi-arid Regions (3)

ENVS 641 Water Law (3).

ENVS 696A. Seminar (1)

ENVS 696N Indigenous Food Energy Water Security and Sovereignty Seminar (1)

ENVS 696P Hazardous Waste Risk and Remediation in the US Southwest (1)

ENVS 697. Graduate Seminar and Professional Development (1)

ENVS 593/693 Internship, (1-3)

ENVS 599. Independent Study (1-4 units per semester), 699 (1-6 units per semester)

 

Additional Requirements

Graduate Coursework list:  https://environmentalscience.cals.arizona.edu/graduate-courses

 

Student Handbook

Please refer to the Graduate Student Handbook for students who are pursuing this program of study.