Master of Science with Major in Environmental Science

This interdisciplinary program is designed to provide students with specialized training in Environmental Science. 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 their coursework spread across the four core subject areas and electives listed below. The exact courses taken are to be determined by students and their advisory committees. The application deadlines are March 15 for the fall semester and October 1 for the spring semester. The FAU Graduate College uses the online GradCAS system for all applications. 

Admissions Requirements

Admission will be based upon your academic record (B or better average on the last 60 hours of undergraduate credits or established graduate-level proficiency), your personal statement, three letters of recommendation (including the FAU faculty sponsor), and minimum GRE scores of 151 Verbal and 151 Quantitative. GRE scores more than five years old will not be accepted. 

Potential students (both non-thesis and thesis) must have a faculty "sponsor" from within Florida Atlantic University, who will then act as the student’s advisor for thesis students until a thesis topic has been chosen. The faculty sponsor and two additional references will submit their letters of recommendation directly through the GradCAS application system. 

For sponsor selection suggestions, contact Program Assistant Cynthia Berman at envirosci@fau.edu, Program Coordinator Michelle Petersen at mpeter45@fau.edu, or go to the departmental web pages to examine the fields and interests of individual faculty. When you find a faculty member in your field of interest, contact them directly. 

Thesis Option

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

Core Subject Areas:  12-27 graduate credits with at least one course from each of the four core subject areas. 

Electives:  No more than 15 graduate credits of electives will be counted toward the degree. Up to 3, graduate credits combined of Directed Independent Study (EVS 6905) and Directed Independent Research (EVS 6916) may be counted toward this degree.

Thesis:  6-12 credits (EVS 6971).

Environmental Science Colloquium Series (EVS 6920): 2 credits or more.  No more than 4 credits of EVS 6920 may be counted toward this degree. This course is currently only offered in the fall semester. Students must take EVS 6920 during their first fall semester. 

Fundamentals of Environmental Research (EVS 6917): 1 credit. This course is currently only offered in the spring semester. Students should take EVS 6917 during their first spring semester.

Degree requirements may change. Students must either: 1) fulfill the requirements in effect during the first semester they are enrolled in the program, or 2) they may choose to fulfill the requirements in effect during the semester they graduate. The  FAU University Catalog  is the only official source for determining degree requirements. 

Non-Thesis Option

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

Core Subject Areas: 12-30 graduate credits with at least one course from each of the four core subject areas. 

Directed Independent Study (EVS 6905) or Directed Independent Research (EVS 6916):
 3 credits combined. 

Electives: No more than 18 graduate credits of electives will be counted toward the degree.

Environmental Science Colloquium Series (EVS 6920): 2 credits or more.

Fundamentals of Environmental Research (EVS 6917): 1 credit.

Degree requirements may change. Students must either: 1) fulfill the requirements in effect during the first semester they are enrolled in the program, or 2) they may choose to fulfill the requirements in effect during the semester they graduate. The  FAU University Catalog  is the only official source or determining degree requirements.

 

Core Subject Areas:

    
 

Physical Science

Chemistry for Environmental Scientists

CHS 6611

3

Environmental Geochemistry

GLY 5243

3

Advanced Environmental Geochemistry

GLY 6246

3

Global Environmental Change

GLY 6746

3

Methods in Hydrogeology

GLY 6838

3

Coastal Environments

GLY 6737

3

Data Science

Spatial Data Analysis

GIS 6306

3

Experimental Design and Biometry

PCB 6456

4

Statistics for Urban Planning

URP 6211

3

Ecology and Conservation

Environmental Restoration

EVR 6334

3

Biogeography

GEO 5305

3

Ecological Theory

PCB 6406

3

Conservation Biology

PCB 6045

3

Advanced Ecology

PCB 6046

3

Sustainability

Sustainability and Pollution Prevention

ENV 6932

3

Human-Environmental Interactions

GEA 6277

3

Culture, Conservation, and Land Use

GEO 6337

3

Sustainable Cities

URP 6406

3

Environmental Policy and Programs

URP 6429

3

Electives

   

Flora of South Florida

BOT 5155

2

Flora of South Florida Lab

BOT 5155L

2

Plant Ecology

BOT 6159C

4

Coastal Plant Ecology

BOT 6606

2

Coastal Plant Ecology Lab

BOT 6606L

2

Symbiosis

BSC 6365

3

Scientific Communication

BSC 6846

3

Ecological Modeling

EVR 6070

3

Restoration Implementation and Management

EVR 6358

3

Geographic Analysis of Population

GEO 5435C

3

Plants And People

GEO 6317

3

Digital Image Analysis

GIS 5033C

3

Remote Sensing of the Environment

GIS 5038C

3

Principles of Geographic Information Systems

GIS 5051C

3

Applications in Geographic Information Systems

GIS 5100C

3

Programming in Geographic Information Systems

GIS 5103C

3

Advanced Remote Sensing

GIS 6039

3

Topics in Geoinformation Science

GIS 6120

3

Hyperspectral Remote Sensing

GIS 6127

3

Environmental Geophysics

GLY 5457

3

Shore Erosion and Protection

GLY 5575C

3

Marine Geology

GLY 5736C

3

Advanced Topics in Applied, Coastal 
and Hydrogeology

GLY 5934

3

Regolith Geology

GLY 6707

3

Modeling Groundwater Movement

GLY 6836

3

Coastal Hazards

GLY 6888

3

Natural History of the Indian River Lagoon

OCB 6810

3

Marine Global Change

OCE 6019

3

Freshwater Ecology

PCB 6307

3

Freshwater Ecology Lab

PCB 6307L

2

Marine Ecology

PCB 6317

3

Marine Ecology Lab and Field Studies

PCB 6317L

2

Environmental Physiology

PCB 6749C

4

Environmental Philosophy

PHM 6035

3

Advanced Methods of Environmental Education

SCE 6344

3

Perspectives of Environmental Education

SCE 6345

3

Introduction to GIS in Planning

URP 6270

3

Environmental Planning and Society

URP 6421

3

Environmental Analysis in Planning

URP 6425

3

Introduction to Transportation Planning

URP 6711

3

Urban and Regional Theory

URP 6840

3

Women, Environment, Ecofeminism, Environmental Justice

WST 6348

3

Marine Invertebrate Zoology

ZOO 6256

3

Marine Invertebrate Zoology Lab

ZOO 6256L

2

Natural History of Fishes

ZOO 6456

3

Natural History of Fishes Lab

ZOO 6456L

2

Seminar in Ichthyology

ZOO 6459

1-2

Seminar in Emerging Topics in Avian Ecology

ZOO 6544C

1