Master of Science with Major in Environmental Sciences

This is an interdisciplinary program designed to provide Students with specialized training in Environmental Sciences. All the departments in the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science and the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters participate in the program, as do several other colleges at Florida Atlantic University.

Students are required to take most of the coursework spread across the six core subject areas listed below. The exact courses taken are to be determined by students and their advisory committees.

Download Environmental Sciences Graduate Application

 

Admissions Requirements

Admission will be based upon academic record (B or better average on the last 60 hours of undergraduate credits or established graduate level proficiency), two letters of recommendation, and an acceptable GRE score (minimum of 1000, combined verbal and quantitative categories).

Potential students must have a "sponsor" from within Florida Atlantic University, who will then act as the student’s advisor until a thesis topic has been chosen.

For sponsor selection suggestions, contact Program Coordinator Cynthia Berman at envirosci@fau.edu or go to the departmental web pages to examine the fields and interests of individual faculty. When a faculty member who is in a field of interest is found, contact them directly.

Thesis Option

A student curriculum consists of  a minimum of 36 credits taken in the following four categories:

Core Subject Areas: 22-28 credits from the core subject areas and electives with at least one course from four different core subject areas 
Electives: No more than 9 credits of electives taken outside the core areas will be counted towards the degree, and no more than 6 credits may be 4000 level courses. No more than three credits of Directed Independent Study may be counted towards this degree
Thesis: 6-12credits
Colloquium 2 credits or more

 

Non-Thesis Option

A student curriculum consists of a minimum of 36 credits taken in the following three categories:

Core Subject Areas: 34 credits from the core subject areas and electives with at least one course from four different core subject areas

Electives and Directed Independent: Studies: No more than 9 credits of electives taken outside the core areas will be counted towards the degree, only 6 credits may be 4000 level courses. No more than three credits of Directed Independent Study may be counted towards this degree

Colloquium 2 credits or more

Colloquium

Geo 6920 Geosciences Colloquium Series (1 credit, may be taken more than once)

Core Subject Areas

Chemistry

CHS 6611  Chemistry For Environmental Scientists
GLY 5243   Advanced Environmental Geochemistry

 

Geographic Information Science

URP 6270  Introduction to GIS in Planning
GIS 5051c Principles of Geographic Information Systems
GIS 5100c  Applications In Geographic Information Systems
GIS 5103c  Programming In Geographic Information Systems
GIS 5038c  Remote Sensing Of The Environment
GIS 5033c  Digital Image Analysis
GIS 6039   Advanced Remote Sensing
GIS 6127   Hyperspectral Remote Sensing
GIS 6114   Internet Gis
GIS 6120   Topics in Geoinformation Science

Modeling

GLY 6826   Optimization Applications In Groundwater
GLY 6827c  Advanced Hydrogeology
GLY 6828   Groundwater Solute Transport Modeling
GLY 6836   Modeling Groundwater Movement
EVR 6070  Ecological Modeling

Statistics

STA 6206 Statistical Methods For Environmental Sciences

Conservation And Ecology

GEO 6318   Plants And People
EVR 6364  Environmental Restoration
BOT 6606  Coastal Plant Ecology      
BOTl6606  Coastal Plant Ecology Lab
PCB 6336c Conservation Biology
PCB 6317  Marine Ecology   
PCB 6046  Advanced Ecology  
PCB 6317l Marine Ecology Lab And Field Studies
ENC 6258  Scientific Communication
PCB 6307  Freshwater Ecology                                  
PCBl6307  Freshwater Ecology Lab 
BSC 6365  Symbiosis
BSC 6534  Seminar in Avian Ecology
BSC 6336  Conservation Biology                                                                                
PCBc6749  Environmental Physiology      
GLY 5736c  Marine Geology
GLY 5934   Advanced Topics In Applied, Coastal And Hydrogeology
GLY 6707   Regolith Geology
GLY 6737   Coastal Environments
GLY 5575c  Shore Erosion And Protection
GLY 6746   Global Environmental Change
GLY 6889   Environmental Geosphysics 
ZOO 6459  Seminar In Ichthyology    
ZOO 6495  Seminar In Ichthyology
ZOO 6495  Graduate Ecology Seminar
ZOO 6256  Marine Invertebrate Zoology
ZOOl6256  Marine Invertebrate Zoology Lab 
ZOO 6456  Natural History Of Fishes 
ZOOl6456  Natural History Of Fishes Lab 
ZOO 6544  Seminar In Avian Ecology

Policy And Planning

GEA 6277   Human-Environmental Interactions
GEO 6337   Culture, Conservation And Land Use
GEO 5435c  Geographic Analysis Of Population
GLY 6888   Coastal Hazards
URP 6711  Introduction to Transportation Planning
URP 6421  Environmental Planning And Society
URP 6425  Environmental Analysis In Planning
URP 6429  Environmental Policy And Programs
URP 4402  Sustainable Cities
URP 6840  Urban And Regional Theory
WST 6348  Women, Environment, Cofeminism, Environmental Justice
PHM 6035  Environmental Philosophy