Graduate Program: Soil, Water and Environmental Science (PHD)

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.

*PREREQUISITES and DEFICIENCIES

The minimum undergraduate preparation for admission into the SWES 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.

 

Standardized Tests

GRE is recommended, but is not required.

 

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

NRC Taxon(a) for this program: Earth Sciences, Chemistry, Microbiology, Plant Sciences

Completion Requirements

Minimum Credit Units

63 

Core Coursework Requirements

Major Professor and Required Committees

A student’s Major Professor will be the faculty supervisor who has accepted the student into his/her program.  The two advisory committees with which the student will interact are the Comprehensive Examination Committee and the Doctoral Dissertation Committee.  

The Comprehensive Examination Committee consists of at least four members (three for the major, one for the minor), and should be formed by the end of the first year in consultation with the Major Professor. The purpose of this committee is to conduct the Comprehensive Examination (see below).

The Doctoral Dissertation Committee should be formed by the time the results of the Oral Comprehensive Examination form is submitted to the Graduate College; earlier formation is encouraged. The purpose of the Doctoral Dissertation Committee is to help supervise the student’s research, and to conduct the Final Oral Defense examination. It consists of four members, the Major Professor and at least two additional members must be tenure track faculty from the major; the fourth member may be an approved special member.  It may include members from the Comprehensive Examination committee.  Special committee members must be pre-approved by the Dean of the Graduate College. Generally, a majority of the committee must be faculty members in the SWES Department, with expertise in the immediate field of research. 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.

Credit Requirements and Transfer Credit

The equivalent of at least six semesters of full-time graduate study is required for the PhD program.  A minimum of 63 total units is required for the PhD; at least 36 units of course work in the area of the major subject, 12 units in the minor subject, and 18 units of dissertation (ENVS 920) must be completed.  At least one half of these units must be from courses in which letter grades have been earned.  Graduate credit earned at other approved institutions, if accepted by the SWES Department and the Graduate College and with a grade of A or B, may be counted toward the requirements of this degree, but will not be calculated in The University of Arizona grade point average.  Students who wish to transfer credit must submit a Transfer Credit form in GradPath before the end of their first year of study.  All required units of credit must be at the 500-level or above at The University of Arizona (or, in the case of transfer units, their equivalent at other institutions).  A minimum of 12 units of regular grades taken at The University of Arizona are required to establish a University of Arizona GPA.  Credit for correspondence courses or extension work obtained at other institutions will not be accepted for graduate credit.

At least two full-time semesters (i.e., at least 10 units each semester), and at least 30 credits of graduate work must be completed at The University of Arizona.  For students holding graduate assistantships, the residence requirement can be met by four semesters, during each of which they register for nine or more units of graduate credit.  Graduate credit for which a grade of A or B was obtained during a prior program at the UA may be used to meet the credit requirements upon approval of the Major Professor and Doctoral Dissertation Committee.  In addition, graduate credit for which a grade of A or B was obtained may be transferable from other institutions with the approval of the Major Professor and the Graduate College.

Minimum Course Requirements

There are two tracks for the ENVS PhD: 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)

• Two units of ENVS 595 Colloquium (1), enrollment required in every semester

• Two units of ENVS 696A Seminar (1) or ENVS 697 Seminar and Career Workshop (1) or equivalent (1)

The PhD 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 20 credits (selectives)

The PhD 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 17 credits (selectives).

Both ES and SWS tracks a  minimum of 18 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.

• Minor:  The ENVS department requires 12 units for the minor.  Since requirements vary by department, students should check with their minor department if it is not ENVS.  The Graduate College requires a minimum of 9 units for all minor programs.
• 18 units of dissertation (ENVS 920)
• Up to two units of ENVS 595 Colloquia may be applied to the Doctoral Plan of Study
• Total Credits required = 63 (66 is pursuing the ENVS/ENVS doctoral minor)

Foreign Language Requirement

The ENVS Department recommends, but does not require proficiency in a foreign language.

Doctoral Plan of Study

By the end of the first semester, students should develop a list of courses for their PhD graduate program, in conjunction with, and final approval by, the student’s Major Professor and Dissertation Advisory Committee. Suitable courses from other departments can be included in the major program.  The student is responsible for submitting the Doctoral Plan of Study.  The Doctoral Plan of Study requires approval by the Major Professor, Minor Professor, the SWES Department Head, and the Graduate College.  The Doctoral Plan of Study should 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 a graduate degree
3. additional courses the student plans to complete to fulfill degree requirements

Prospectus

The University of Arizona Graduate College mandates that every student in a doctoral program have an approved dissertation prospectus or proposal on file within their department.  As soon as the student has an approved prospectus/proposal on file within the department, the department's Graduate Coordinator will submit the prospectus/proposal confirmation form in GradPath on behalf of the student.

Doctoral Candidates should submit a final prospectus to their dissertation committee for review soon after advancement to candidacy, and prior to writing the dissertation.  The Prospectus should be approved a minimum of six months before scheduling the Final Oral Defense.  The prospectus provides a preliminary description of the proposed dissertation and should include:

Title Page

-     Title

-     Name, Program, Student ID

Problem Statement (1-2 pages)

-     Argument to address the gap in research literature in terms of relevance to the discipline

-     Evidence (citations) providing justification that this research is meaningful 

-     Purpose of study

-     What needs to be studied, describing variable and conjectured relationship among them

Research Question (which will be the foundation for the generation of hypotheses)

Significance (1-2 paragraphs)

Background (literature search supporting assertions in the problem statement)

Framework (identifies research design decisions: method of inquiry, data collection and analysis)

Other Information (e.g., challenges or barriers that may need to be addressed)

References

Comprehensive Examination                  

Before admission to candidacy for the doctoral degree, the student must pass a written and an oral Doctoral Comprehensive Examination.  The Comprehensive Examination is considered a single examination, although it consists of written and oral parts.  This examination is intended to test the student's comprehensive knowledge of the major and minor subjects of study, both in breadth across the general field of study and in depth within the area of specialization.  The examination, therefore, should not take place until the student has completed all, or almost all, of their coursework.  The format and administration of the written portion is determined by the Comprehensive Examination Committee.  The minor department controls the minor portion of the written examination and may waive it at their discretion.  A student must pass the written portion before the oral portion. The time between the written and oral portion is determined by the Comprehensive Examination Committee, but the oral portion should come early enough to allow the student to advance to candidacy in a timely fashion.

Upon successful completion of the written portion of the examination, the Oral Comprehensive Examination is conducted before the Comprehensive Examination Committee. The oral portion of the examination must cover both the major and the minor.  In addition to testing a broad knowledge of the chosen field of study and sufficient depth of understanding in areas of specialization, discussion of proposed dissertation research may be included. The examining committee must attest that the student has demonstrated the professional level of knowledge expected of a junior academic colleague.

Should a student fail the oral portion of the Comprehensive Examination, they will be permitted to

re-take the oral exam upon the recommendation of their Comprehensive Examination Committee. Receiving more than one “fail” vote constitutes failure of the exam. An abstaining vote counts as a negative vote.  Prior to re-taking the exam, the student will be directed to complete a remedial program recommended by their Comprehensive Examination Committee.  This remedial program may include additional course work to improve their depth or breadth of knowledge in the targeted area(s), completion of an independent study, or other activities as deemed appropriate by the committee.  Upon successful completion of the remedial program, the student will be granted the opportunity to re-take the oral portion of the Comprehensive Exam.  The second examination, if approved, may not take place sooner than four months from the date of the first examination.  The Comprehensive Oral Examination can only be taken twice.

Normally, the written and oral portions of the comprehensive examination should take place at least three months prior to the Final Oral Examination (defense of dissertation).  The exact time and place of the Comprehensive examination is scheduled with the Comprehensive Examination Committee. 

When the student has an approved Doctoral Plan of Study on file with the Graduate Degree Certification Office, has satisfied all course work and residence requirements, and passed the written and oral portions of the Comprehensive Examination their bursar account will be billed the fee for candidacy, dissertation processing, and archiving. This is a one-time fee and the student will not be billed again if they change their anticipated graduation date. Copyrighting is optional and carries an additional fee.

Doctoral Dissertation Committee Appointment

The Doctoral Dissertation Committee Appointment form must be filed with the Graduate College no later than six months before the student schedules the Final Oral Defense Examination.  This will notify the Graduate College of the student’s intended semester of graduation, title of dissertation, and diploma mailing address.  An approved Doctoral Dissertation Committee Appointment form must be on file with the Graduate College before scheduling the Final Oral Defense Examination. Prior to, or at this time, the student should select the members of the Doctoral Dissertation Committee, who will also serve as the Final Oral Defense Examination Committee. It is recommended that this committee be constituted as soon as possible.

Final Oral Defense Examination            

Upon the completion of the dissertation, the candidate must have a Final Oral Defense Examination. A student must be in good academic standing to schedule the defense. The examination focuses on the dissertation itself but can include general questioning related to the field(s) of study within the scope of the dissertation.

The date, time, and location of the final examination must be scheduled with the Graduate College in advance using the Announcement of Final Oral Defense form in GradPath.  This form should be submitted far enough in advance of the examination that all approvers can grant their approval in time for the form to reach the Graduate College one week prior to the exam. 

The Graduate College will place an announcement on the UA master calendar to invite the public to attend the candidate's presentation of his or her work.  Final Oral Examinations should be scheduled during days when the university is in session and during normal business hours. Permission to hold examinations during university holiday closures or outside of normal university business hours may be granted by Graduate College.

The Major Professor presides over the examination. The initial seminar portion during which the student presents the dissertation and entertains questions is open to the public.  The Doctoral Dissertation Committee's deliberation is closed to the public.  There is no minimum time limit for the Final Oral Examination, but the entire proceedings may not exceed three hours. Members of the Doctoral Dissertation Committee must be present for the entire examination. All committee members must participate for the entire oral examination. If a committee member is participating remotely, that member needs to be able to communicate with the candidate and other committee members during the entire defense. If more than one member of the committee, or the student, is participating remotely, Graduate Student Academic Services needs to be informed prior to the exam for approval.  If there are 3 committee members then all three members must pass the student in order for that student to pass the final defense. If there are more than 3 committee members then there may be only one negative vote (Fail or Abstain) for the student to pass.

If the Doctoral Dissertation Committee requires revisions, those must be done in a timely manner, not to exceed one year, and agreed upon by the committee. If the revisions are not completed by the dissertation submission deadline for the term when the student defends, the student will be required to register for the next semester and will graduate in the semester when the revisions are completed and approved.  If revisions are not done by the end of the time to degree period, the student will have to re-take comprehensive examinations to demonstrate up-to-date knowledge.

Time Limitations  

Students entering the PhD program must complete their degree within five years after taking the Oral Comprehensive Examination.  Students may petition for an extension of time to complete their PhD degree, if they are only slightly past the five-year rule.

Annual Progress Report

All graduate students are expected to submit a 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 SWES 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 SWES 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

None

 

Minor Requirements for Doctoral Students in this Program

A minor course of study is required. The Graduate College requires Minors of at least 9 units, which corresponds to Major Coursework of 63 units. However, for minors larger than 9 units the required Major units increase correspondingly. For example, the number of Makor units is 66 for 12-unit minors (such as the ENVS Minor).

ENVS students have two options for completing their minor:

Intradepartment (12 units) - In recognition of the diversity of the ENVS Department, students whose major department is ENVS can also obtain their minor within the ENVS Department if they so desire. In this case, the faculty acting as the major Comprehensive Examination Committee and Doctoral Dissertation Committee members must be distinguished from minor committee members.

Twelve credits are required for the minor. The set of courses used to satisfy the minor should comprise a topic area that is clearly distinguishable from the major. For example, a student majoring in Environmental Microbiology could complete an intradepartmental minor in Environmental and Soil Chemistry. The specific courses used to complete the minor will be selected in consultation with the Minor Professor (tenure-track faculty from the minor area of study) who has final approval.

Interdepartment (minimum of 9 units, actual number determined by Minor Department) - Students may also obtain a minor from another department. In this case, the requirements of that department must be followed.

 

Student Handbook

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

 

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