Environmental Science, Ph.D.
About the Program
Format: In person on the Statesboro Campus and Armstrong Campus in Savannah
Credit Hours: 78
Entry Terms: Fall
Time to completion: Varies, but 4-5 years is typical
Heightened public interest in the hazards facing the environment, as well as increasing demands placed on the environment by population growth, are spurring the need for environmental scientists. The PhD with a major in Environmental Science is the only degree of its kind in the state of Georgia and qualifies graduates to meet the growing statewide and national demand for professionals trained in an interdisciplinary science, technology, education, and mathematics field that focuses on environmental science and sustainability. Opportunities exist across all science and mathematics disciplines for study and research in a wide range of natural laboratories that include forests, beaches, salt marshes, rivers and more along southeast Georgia’s coastal plain as well as abroad. Graduates are equipped with the writing, math, presentation, technical, and essential skills that are critical for success in today’s economy and are well-prepared for jobs in industry, government, non-profit, and/or educational sectors. Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that environmental science-related fields will fill more than 9,400 jobs each year until 2030.
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Regular Admission Requirements
The PhD with a major in Environmental Science is housed within the James H. Oliver, Jr., Institute for Coastal Plain Science (ICPS). The ICPS is an interdisciplinary unit that promotes, in coordination with public and private partnerships, interdisciplinary research and education directed toward understanding the physical and biological resources occurring below the Fall Line and their sustainable use and management. The PhD requires 78 hours of course work with the program of study developed jointly between the graduate student and graduate committee. Major advisors and committee members can come from any department within the College of Science and Mathematics as long as the faculty members are affiliates within the ICPS. In addition to completing the required course work, each candidate for the PhD in Environmental Science must complete a dissertation on a subject approved by the student’s doctoral committee.
For potential admission to the College of Graduate Studies to pursue graduate work leading to the Doctorate of Philosophy in Environmental Science, the applicant:
- Must have completed requirements for the bachelors or masters degree in a college accredited by the proper regional accrediting associations.
- Must complete the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) (scores must be sent to the College of Graduate Studies) with a combined verbal and quantitative score typically at 300 or above.
- Must complete the TOEFL Exam with scores sent to the College of Graduate Studies (international students only).
- Must submit a statement of research interests and career goals as pertains to pursuing a PhD in Environmental Science.
- Must submit three letters of recommendation from individuals familiar with the applicant’s academic or professional experience.
- Typically, will have a minimum 2.8 cumulative grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) for all undergraduate and graduate (if applicable) coursework.
*International transcripts must be evaluated by a NACES accredited evaluation service and must be a course by course evaluation and include a GPA. (www.naces.org)
Deadlines
Fall
Priority: March 1*
Final: April 1*
Spring
Does not admit
Summer
Does not admit
*The application and all required documents listed on the “admissions requirements” tab for the program must be received by the deadline. If all required documents are not received by the deadline your application will not be considered for admission.
Program Contact Information
Dr. Christine Hladik
Graduate Program Director
chladik@georgiasouthern.edu
Last updated: 1/10/2024