Environmental Science, PhD

Environmental Science program

The environmental science program is an interdisciplinary collaboration among the Department of Biological Sciences, the Department of Geography, the Department of Chemistry, the Department of Philosophy and Religion Studies and other departments at UNT to examine major environmental issues through an interdisciplinary perspective. The program offers graduate studies in environmental science that lead to the MS and PhD, granted through the Department of Biological Sciences. The course of study, involving both core and elective courses, is designed for those students who desire an interdisciplinary perspective concerning human–environmental interactions.

Visit www.biology.unt.edu or www.ias.unt.edu for more information on the diverse research interests of the environmental science program faculty, including aquatic biology, analytical chemistry, aquatic and terrestrial toxicology, ecology, ecophysiology, limnology, remote sensing and land use analysis, and environmental modeling. Information on degree requirements follows the program descriptions.

PhD with a major in Environmental Science

Doctor of Philosophy with a major in Environmental Science is a research degree, with a major, innovative dissertation project required for all students.

Students entering the PhD program immediately after a bachelor’s degree are required to take a minimum of 90 hours of graduate-level course work (the number may be higher, depending on the individual degree plan), while students entering the program with a master’s degree are required to take a minimum of 60 additional hours (the number may be higher, depending on the individual degree plan). A five- to six-member doctoral committee will help the student select courses for a degree plan.

The requirements for the PhD with a major in environmental science include the following:

Foundation Core, 5 hours
12 credit hours from at least three of the core groups
7 organized elective courses (incoming without master’s degree) or 4 organized elective courses (students with previous master’s degree in a related field, such as biology, chemistry or environmental science)
12 hours of dissertation research

Organized electives, which do not include special problems credit hours or research credit hours, may be selected from the core groups as electives or from non-core options as agreed upon by the student’s advising committee.

Doctoral degree requirements and procedures

Biology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and Environmental Science programs

During the second long term/semester, the student and major professor select an advisory committee of four other faculty members, three of whom must be from the department faculty. The fourth may be from another UNT department, the Federation of North Texas Area Universities or another university if the member is granted adjunct status in the department. Additional members may be added to the committee as long as the majority of the committee are faculty in the Department of Biological Sciences. A copy of the form designating the committee should be filed with the graduate advising secretary before the student’s third long term/semester.
Before registering for the third long term/semester, the student, major professor and advisory committee prepare a formal degree plan of the courses to be taken by the student, including the language or tool- subject requirement. The degree plan consists of 60 hours for students with an approved master’s degree, or 90 hours for students having only a bachelor’s degree, including 12 hours of dissertation. Only 6 hours of special problems (6900-6910) may be counted toward the degree. The number of individual research (6940) hours counted toward the degree is determined by the advisor and advisory committee. A copy of the degree plan, signed by all committee members, should be submitted to the graduate advising secretary before the student’s third long term/semester. All course work must be at the 5000 and 6000 levels. Doctoral students may not receive graduate credit for any undergraduate course by taking the course under a 5000- or 6000-level designation, such as special problems. Undergraduate courses, except those cross listed as graduate courses, are considered to be deficiencies and are not included in the graduate degree plan hours.
Students must satisfy the university language requirement or, in lieu of a foreign language, students may complete 6 hours of acceptable tool-subject courses specified by the major professor and the advisory committee. Exceptions to this requirement may be made for students whose native language is not English.
Before registering for the fifth long term/semester, a formal research proposal should be submitted to the major professor and advisory committee for approval. Students may not register for dissertation hours (6950) until a research proposal is filed with the graduate advising secretary for programs in biology, biochemistry and molecular biology, and environmental science.
Only following submission and approval of the research proposal may the student begin registering for dissertation hours. Once registered for dissertation, the student must maintain continuous enrollment in at least 3 hours of 6950 during each long term/semester until the dissertation is submitted to the graduate school. Failure to maintain continuous enrollment may invalidate previous 6950 credit or result in the student being dismissed from the degree program, unless granted an official leave of absence by the dean of the Toulouse Graduate School. If the student uses university facilities or faculty time or both during one or both summer terms/semesters, the student must also enroll for a minimum of 3 hours of 6950 during the summer.
Doctoral students may take written and oral candidacy examinations only after completion of all of their degree plan course requirements. Oral examinations may be taken only after the student has passed all written examinations. Both examinations must be completed at least nine months prior to graduation. The manner and form of the written and oral candidacy examinations are determined by the major professor, who is chair of the student’s advisory committee, and the committee members. The student must schedule a room for the examinations through the graduate advising secretary for biology, biochemistry and molecular biology, or environmental science. The committee members should send all written examinations to the graduate advising secretary at least one day prior to the scheduled date of the examination. The examining professor sets guidelines for administration of written examinations.
Following approval by the major professor, a draft of the dissertation must be submitted to the committee at least two weeks prior to the defense of the dissertation and final examination.
A formal seminar based on the dissertation must be presented by the student during the student’s final term/semester. The candidate must schedule a room for and publicly advertise the seminar and defense through the graduate advising secretary for biology, biochemistry and molecular biology, or environmental science.
Directly following the seminar, the candidate defends the dissertation in a final oral examination conducted by the major professor and advisory committee.
The candidate is responsible for completing all requirements and meeting all deadlines for graduation within the time specified by the graduate school.
A final copy of the dissertation must be submitted to the Department of Biological Sciences main office either bound or on disk in .pdf format.