Department of Environmental, Earth and Ocean Sciences
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Ph.D. and M.S. Degrees in Environmental Sciences

 

Admission Requirements

The Environmental, Earth and Ocean Sciences Admissions Committee recommends admissions on the basis of the completed application, official transcripts, Graduate Record Examination scores (aptitude tests only) and letters of recommendation from individuals able to judge the applicant's potential to succeed in a rigorous graduate program.

A B.A. or B.S. degree is required for admission to graduate programs, with a major in the natural, physical, mathematical or social sciences. Candidates who have completed a Master of Science degree are particularly welcome in the Ph.D. program. Completion of at least one year of college level mathematics (including calculus), biology, chemistry, physics and social sciences will generally be considered as minimum prerequisites for admission to the Master of Science or Doctoral programs. Applicants should consult with prospective advisors as additional prerequisites may be required for each specific specialty area. Students are also advised to review the subject matter of the prerequisite courses before they begin the program.

Depending on the area of specialty chosen within the Environmental, Earth and Ocean Sciences Department, undergraduate deficiencies may need to be made up either before or after admission is granted to the Department at the discretion of the Admissions Committee at the time of admissions and the Thesis or Dissertation Committee thereafter. The stated interest of a prospective student must coincide to an acceptable degree with faculty specialties represented in the Department.

To be assured of full and timely consideration, completed applications should be received by January 21 for the fall semester and by October 15 for the spring semester. However, applications received after those dates may be considered. Students will be informed as soon as a decision has been made. In general, students who have been admitted will be notified of assistantship awards shortly thereafter.

The Application Process

The deadlines for application for course in the EEOS Department are the following:

 

October 15, 2008 for the Spring 2009 semester

January 21, 2009 for the Fall 2009 semester

 

Apply Online

Graduate Inquiry Form

Graduate Information Requset Form

For application materials, you can also send a request to:


University of Massachusetts Boston
Admissions Office
100 Morrissey Blvd.
Boston, MA 02125-3393
(617) 287-6000

Or call the graduate admissions office at (617) 287-6400

Or visit the Department Website - Prospective Students (Request Form)

Or send an e-mail request to Prof. Eugene Gallagher, Graduate Program Director EEOS (eugene.gallagher@umb.edu)

Curriculum (Ph.D.)

For the Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences, 60 credits are required.  These credits are earned through a combination of course work and reseearch.  Formal course work include a required ocre curriculum and a speciality areas.  Core courses include:

EEOS 611 Applied Statistics

Any 2 of the following courses:

  • EEOS 616 Environmental Policy and Administration
  • EEOS 675 Marine Resource Economics
  • EEOS 670 Environmental Economics
  • EEOS 680 Coastal and Ocean Law

Any 2 of the following courses:

  • EEOS 630 Biological Oceanographic Processes
  • EEOS 640 Chemistry of Natural Waters
  • EEOS 650 Physical Oceanography

The curriculum includes core courses taken by all students, several alternative concentrations beyond the core, weekly seminars, and dissertation research. Ph.D. students are not accepted as part-time students.  The core courses are intended to provide a common grounding in the biological, chemical, and physical areas of environmental sciences and in the administrative, policy, and management issues involved. These courses also provide students with training in numerical methods (statistics) essential to modern scientific activity.

To build on the core component, each student selects an area of specialization. Work in the specialty area usually includes 30 hours of course work to provide a thorough grounding in the student's area of specialization as well as satisfy the interdisciplinary program of study requirements. 

Appropriate courses in other departments at UMass Boston or at other area institutions may form part of a student's program. The specialty areas currently available include ecology, environmental microbiology, chemistry of aquatic systems, phytoplankton ecology, estuarine physics, environmental physiology / toxicology, environmental law, policy and administration, population and environmental biology, biotechnology, green chemistry, and cellular and organismal physiology.  Successful performance in the core courses is required for advancement to the degree. Grades of B- or better in each core course and an overall average of 3.0 in the core courses are required. There is one retake option on a course for which the student receives a grade of B- or less.

Weekly seminars presented by students and by visiting speakers are intended to broaden the scope of each student's experience and to provide experience in verbal communication. Each student presents a seminar once each year after the first year.

Each student's program of study and dissertation research are guided by a graduate commistte.  The students must select a major professor (or two major professors), who will serve as chair (or co-chairs) of the committee by the end of the second semester.  The student and major professor select at least two additional faculty to complete the graduate committee. Committee members are often solicited from other departments at UMass Boston and from other institutions in the academically-rich northeastern United States.

By the end of the third semester, the student meets with the committee to formulate his/her program of study.  This plan will include the specification of areas ofr which the student will be responsible on the comprehensive exam, and a written dissertation proposal. 

No later than the sixth semester, the student's committee administers the written and oral candidacy examinations, which are comprehensive and cover the core areas and the student's area of specialization. The candidacy examinations are designed to test the intellectual competence and maturity of the student in the broad area of environmental sciences and in the selected area of concentration.  In order to advance to the oral portion of the exam, the student must perform satisfactorily on the written portion.  A student who fails the comprehensive exam may, at the discretion of the committee members, be permitted a second and final examination.

A student who successfully completes the comprehensive exam becomes a candiate for the PhD degree and is thus required to present and defend a scholarly dissertation based on original reseach.   Dissertation research may be done in the laboratory or the field, or may be carried out in part during residence with an appropriate private business or government agency. Presentation and defense of a satisfactory dissertation complete the degree requirements. The dissertation defense consists of a public lecture on the dissertation and a subsequent oral examination by the Dissertation Committee.

 

Curriculum (M.S.)

The M.S. program requires 30 credit hours and includes both thesis and non-thesis options. Formal course work include a required ocre curriculum and a speciality areas.  Core courses include:

1 course in environmental policy/management/economics/law

Any 2 of the following courses:

  • EEOS 630 Biological Oceanographic Processes
  • EEOS 640 Chemistry of Natural Waters
  • EEOS 650 Physical Oceanography

Additional courses specific to his/her area of concentration

By the end of the first semester the student selects a major professor.  No later than the second semester, the professor and student chose one (non-thesis) or two (thesis) additional members to from the graduate committee.  Students choosing to write a thesis enrol in EEOS 699 (Thesis Research).  Students choosing the non-thesis option enrol in EEOS 698 (Project in Environmental Science).  Students in the thesis option must present and defend a thesis based on their research.  Students in the non-thesis option must present the results of their project to the committee.

Each student must present one seminar each year after the first year in the Department.  Criteria for adequate progress include the student's performance in courses and seminar presentations. Students are expected to maintain a B average in courses and normally two grades of C or one grade of F will result in dismissal from the program.

Policies

Definitions:

Full-Time — The University standard definition for full time status is registered for 9 credits per semester. However, you can petition the GPD that states that EEOS defines full-time status as registered for 7 credits per semester.


Part-Time — Registered for 3-8 credits per semester (With exceptions. See above).


Program Fee — Fee Paid (along with form submitted) to Registrar’s Office (upon approval by GPD).


Leave of Absence — Time taken away from the Program. Program Fee must still be paid.


Graduate Program Director (GPD) — Person responsible for quality and policies of EEOS MS/PhD Graduate Program.


EEOS Faculty — Tenured or Tenure-track faculty member whose primary affiliation is with the EEOS department.

EEOS Adjunct Faculty — Any individual who has been granted Adjunct status by nomination by the ECOS faculty, EEOS chair, and approval by the CSM Dean.


External Committee Member — Any individual whose primary affiliation is with a Department or Institution other than EEOS.

 

Program Fee:

A student may request up to a maximum of 2 semesters in the course of his/her graduate career. GPD may approve this request only if the student has completed all courses in Program of Study, completed all research, completed the minimum required number of Thesis/Dissertation credits.

The Program Fee does not extend the time limit for completion of the degree.

All students intending to graduate must be either registered or maintain continuous registration by paying the Program Fee.

 

Leave of Absence:


A maximum of 2 years may be granted at any time for personal reasons upon written petition to the GPD, written petition by the Major Advisor, approval by the GPD, and approval by the Dean of Graduate Studies.

 

Readmission:


Any student who has failed to maintain continuous registration or paying the Program Fee is required to apply for readmission and will be subject to the policies and requirements in effect at the time of readmission.

 

Seminars:


All Full-Time students (>6 credits) must take EEOS seminar, EEOS 791. All M.S. students must take at least 2 semesters of EEOS 791 during their graduate career. All Ph.D. students must take at least 4 semesters of EEOS 791 during their graduate career.

All students (M.S. or Ph.D.) full time, part time or on program fee, must give 1 seminar per year in the EEOS 791 class, after their first year in the program (They do not have to be registered for EEOS 791 to give a seminar).

 

Comprehensive Exams:

The Written Exam must be given to the GPD two (2) weeks before administered for approval.
The Examination Committee must be made up of at least 3 members (3 are EEOS faculty).
The Oral Exam must be announced to all EEOS faculty at least 30 days prior to the date on which it will be conducted.
All EEOS faculty are invited to participate in the Oral Exam.

 

Committees:

M.S. Project--Minimum of two (2) EEOS faculty members
M.S. Thesis—Minimum of three (3) members of whom two (2) are EEOS faculty members
Ph.D. Dissertation—MInimum of four (4) members of whom three (3) are EEOS faculty members
Major Advisor—Any EEOS faculty member or EEOS adjunct faculty member

 

Part-Time Students:


In general, there are no Part-Time Ph.D. students in EEOS. Under exceptional circumstances, Full-Time students may convert to Part-Time status or accepted as Part-Time Ph.D. students upon written petition by the student, written plan of study for completion of the degree, written approval by the Dissertation Committee, and approval by the GPD.

Part-Time students are not eligible for Assistantships.

 

Graduation:


There are two dates for Ph.D. graduation (the last Thursday in December and the date of Commencement in May/June). In addition, M.S. students may graduate on August 31.

A Commencement Fee must be paid to graduate regardless of whether or not the student attends the ceremony.

A Degree Application form must be filed with Graduate Studies 45 days prior to the date of Graduation unless otherwise notified. Students with more than 20 credits normally should receive this notification.

A Doctoral Tracking form for Ph.D. students should be filed and approved by the GPD and the Dean of Graduate Studies at the following times:

1.) Notification of Candidacy

2.) Notification of Proposed Dissertation Committee

3.) Notification of Proposal Acceptance

4.) Notification of Intent to Defend Dissertation

5.) Results of Dissertation Defense.

Upon completion of the Dissertation Defense, Results of Dissertation Defense (#5 above) must be filed with the Dean of Graduate Studies.

Final Drafts of Theses and Dissertations must be filed with Graduate Studies by December 1 for December graduation and May 1 for May/June Graduation.

Signature Pages must be signed by all Committee Members by the above filing dates. It is suggested that 3 copies of the Signature Page by brought and signed by Committee Members (if approving) to the defense.

Generally, Thesis or Doctoral Defense is scheduled at least 3 weeks prior to the Filing dates above in order for the student to have sufficient time to make revisions, correct formatting and if necessary obtain signatures after the Defense.

Thesis and Dissertation Defenses must be announced 30 days before their date.

An Intent to Graduate Form should be filled (pdf)

Web site: http://www.umb.edu/academics/departments/gce/student_resources/surveys_forms/

 

Forms

 

Exceptions to the above policies:

Exceptions to any of the above policies require a written petition by the student and a written petition signed by all of the student’s thesis/dissertation committee AND approval by the GPD.