Ecological, Earth, and Environmental Sciences, Ph.D.
The Institute for Ecological, Earth, and Environmental Sciences (TIE3S) offers a unique program for advanced interdisciplinary study leading to the doctoral (Ph.D.) degree. This program utilizes courses and faculty partners from Anthropology, Biology, Chemistry & Biochemistry, Engineering, Environmental Science and Geology.
Graduate applicants to the program will be required to submit a letter of intent, a supporting letter from a TIE3S Fellow mentor, along with standard GRE scores (taken within the last five years), transcripts, and if necessary TOEFL, IELTS, or Duolingo scores. The letter of intent should indicate a research plan that has been discussed with a potential (TIE3S) Fellow mentor. Applicants are expected to have superior GRE scores and grade point averages. For non-native English speakers, recommended TOEFL scores will be 600 for the “paper” exam and 250 for the “computer” exam.
Students accepted into the program are expected to enter with a master’s degree in Biology, Ecology, Geology, Physical Science, Environmental Science, Chemistry or a related discipline. Candidates with a bachelor’s degree may be accepted provided they demonstrate through their application exceptional qualities including research experience. A graduate course in basic statistics is also required. Most students are expected to have at least one published work related to their previous research experience. Appropriate background courses or their equivalents for applicants should be in one of the following areas:
- Life Sciences. 24 semester hours in life sciences including courses in ecology, genetics, physiology (animal or plant), and evolutionary biology (e.g., taxonomy or systematics), or
- Physical Sciences. 24 semester hours including courses in geology, earth science, atmospheric science, hydrology, and at least 3 hours in chemistry or biochemistry, or
- Environmental Science. 24 semester hours of science or engineering, including a minimum of 8 hours in advanced chemistry and physical sciences, engineering or environmental science, or
- Chemistry. 24 semester hours including courses in physical chemistry and instrumental analysis, and at least 6 additional hours of course work in one of the three areas listed above.
The degree program has two components:
- the course work component, and
- the research component.
The course work component requires a qualifying examination early in the Ph.D. program and not less than 60 semester hours, which includes credit for course work beyond the bachelor’s degree and approved by the student’s committee and the Baylor University Graduate School. Course credit from the master’s degree may be applied for by petition to the Graduate School with a maximum of 24 hours allowable. After successfully completing all required course work, the student will concentrate on the remaining research planning leading to the preliminary examination, the doctoral research, dissertation preparation, and the final defense. The dissertation committee administers the preliminary (comprehensive) exam and evaluates the proposal and the student’s preparedness in the area of his/her dissertation and related fields. The preliminary exam will include a written and an oral portion. The written exam will assess the student’s knowledge of foundations of general areas of Biotic Systems, Physical Systems, and Quantitative Analysis. The oral portion will test the student’s knowledge of their proposal background and methodology as an assessment of the student’s preparation to move on to the dissertation phase of their program. Admission to doctoral candidacy requires successful completion of the preliminary exam coupled with acceptance of the written dissertation proposal by the doctoral committee.
Specific requirements include a minimum of 60 semester hour credits of approved course work and research credit hours beyond the bachelor’s degree, at least 21 of which must be in regular graduate-level foundation courses as required for the Ph.D. by the Baylor University Graduate Catalog. A master’s degree from an accredited university may be accepted for up to 24 semester hour credits upon approval of the faculty mentor and Baylor Graduate School. The minimum 60 semester hours required beyond the bachelor’s degree may be expanded depending on the student’s research concentration, background and recommendation of the graduate committee. Students entering the program with graduate-level work or a master’s degree in a related scientific discipline may apply up to 30 semester hours of approved courses toward the Ph.D.
The dissertation will be composed of three published (or submitted) written papers. A student may proceed to the defense with one published work, with two additional submitted manuscripts in national or international journals pertinent to the field of study.
The TIE3S doctoral program does not have a foreign language requirement for the Ph.D. degree; however, students are strongly encouraged to become competent in technological interface skills including computer programming, instrumentation, or analytical software such as SAS, Mathematika or IDL. At least half of the hours of course work (exclusive of dissertation) must be at the 5000/6000 level. The remaining hours will normally come from the dissertation (minimum of 12 hours) and its associated research, but a portion may be devoted to additional course and laboratory work at the discretion of the student’s dissertation committee.
A core curriculum is required and available from the Biology, Chemistry & Biochemistry, Environmental Science, Geology, and Statistics departments. All Ph.D. students must fulfill the core curriculum, which consists of foundational course work associated with the holistic earth system curricula and philosophy of the program. These courses exclude research specialization that will depend on mentor expertise and consultation.
Individual courses cannot fulfill more than one core requirement, but may count toward requirements for specialization areas. Students who have completed equivalent courses in a master’s program may request waivers from the Graduate Program Director and Graduate Committee. These foundational competencies are designed to give the student a common base for scientific research in the TIE3S program. A plan for completing the foundation courses is to be prepared by the student and their advisor, and then submitted to the student’s graduate committee for approval by the start of the student’s second semester. Courses taken to fulfill these requirements must be taken for credit and listed on the student’s program of study. An overall GPA of 3.0 must be maintained in these courses. The following are acceptable courses to satisfy competency requirement for these foundational areas:
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Advanced Chemistry Foundation Course | ||
| Select 3-4 course hours from the following: | 3-4 | |
| Instrumental Analysis | ||
| General Biochemistry | ||
| Separation Science | ||
| Geochemistry | ||
| Isotope Geochemistry | ||
| Aquatic Chemistry | ||
| Environmental Chemical Analysis | ||
| Advanced Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry | ||
| Advanced Environmental Chemistry | ||
| Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics | ||
| Numerical Methods of Analysis Foundation Course | ||
| Select 3-4 course hours from the following: | 3-4 | |
| Ecological Biophysics | ||
| Ecosystem Process Modeling | ||
| Advanced Ecological Data Analysis | ||
| Remote Sensing | ||
| Applied Ground Water Modeling | ||
| Measurement Methods and Data Analysis for Air Pollution Research | ||
| Statistical Methods | ||
| Advanced Experimental Design | ||
| Physical Systems Foundation Course | ||
| Select 3-4 course hours from the following: | 3-4 | |
| Introduction to Hydrology | ||
| Hydrogeology | ||
GEO 4459 | ||
| Advanced Studies in Earth Science | ||
| Paleopedology | ||
| Micromorphology of Soils and Paleosols | ||
| Advanced Hydrogeology | ||
| Earth System Science | ||
| Ecological Foundation Course | ||
| Select 3-4 course hours from the following: | 3-4 | |
| Biogeography | ||
| Limnology | ||
| Advanced Studies in Biology | ||
| Conservation Biology | ||
| Biological Invasions: Ecology and Management | ||
| Landscape Ecology | ||
| Wetland Ecology and Management | ||
| Stream Ecology | ||
| Applied Forest Ecology | ||
| Ecological Risk Assessment | ||
| Ecosystem Management | ||
Other course requirements include Seminar Courses (2 course hours) such as EEES 6100 Seminar in Ecology, Earth, and Environmental Sciences. Six more credits in upper-division earth science, ecology, environmental science, and chemistry courses most related to the intended research interest. A maximum of 9 hours of Special Problems (5V90 from participating departments) can be applied to degree requirements. The number of upper-division credits required varies with the research program recommended by the student’s committee. Completion of any courses listed as prerequisites for the courses listed above is also generally required. Finally, twelve or more credits in dissertation research credit as currently offered as 6V99 courses TIE3S.
Existing Courses Applicable to the Ph.D. Degree Program:
Biology
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| BIO 4405 | Limnology | 4 |
| BIO 4406 | Aquatic Biology | 4 |
| BIO 4418 | Biology of Wetland and Aquatic Vascular Plants | 4 |
| BIO 4422 | Ichthyology | 4 |
| BIO 4310 | Biogeography | 3 |
| BIO 4306 | Molecular Genetics and Genomics | 3 |
| BIO 4307 | Biochemistry and Physiology of the Cell | 3 |
| BIO 4381 | Restoration Ecology | 3 |
| BIO 5201 | Research Methods in Biology | 2 |
| BIO 5300 | Advanced Studies in Biology | 3 |
| BIO 5303 | Behavioral Ecology | 3 |
| BIO 5306 | Molecular Evolution | 3 |
| BIO 5310 | Advanced Microbiology | 3 |
| BIO 5320 | Ecological Biophysics | 3 |
| BIO 5330 | Conservation Biology | 3 |
| BIO 5340 | Ecosystem Process Modeling | 3 |
| BIO 5360 | Biological Invasions: Ecology and Management | 3 |
| BIO 5377 | Landscape Ecology | 3 |
| BIO 5380 | Integrative Ecophysiology | 3 |
| BIO 5400 | Population Genetics | 4 |
| BIO 5401 | Microbial Ecology | 4 |
| BIO 5402 | Invertebrate Zoology | 4 |
| BIO 5403 | Population Ecology | 4 |
| BIO 5404 | Wetland Ecology and Management | 4 |
| BIO 5405 | Stream Ecology | 4 |
| BIO 5407 | Bioenergetics | 4 |
| BIO 5412 | Biometrics | 4 |
| BIO 5413 | Advanced Ecological Data Analysis | 4 |
| BIO 5425 | Molecular Ecology | 4 |
Chemistry
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| CHE 4316 | Instrumental Analysis | 3 |
| CHE 4341 | General Biochemistry | 3 |
| CHE 5314 | Separation Science | 3 |
Environmental Science
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ENV 4304 | Aquatic Chemistry | 3 |
| ENV 4307 | Environmental Law | 3 |
| ENV 4333 | Coastal Zone Management | 3 |
| ENV 4344 | Fundamentals of Toxicology | 3 |
| ENV 4365 | The Environment and Energy | 3 |
| ENV 4375 | Natural Landscape Evaluation and Planning | 3 |
| ENV 4349 | Pollution Abatement and Prevention Systems | 3 |
| ENV 4355 | Sustainability and Natural Resource Management | 3 |
| ENV 4450 | Applied Forest Ecology | 4 |
| ENV 4487 | Advanced GIS Analysis | 4 |
| ENV 4393 | Environmental Ethics | 3 |
| ENV 5303 | Environmental Chemical Analysis | 3 |
| ENV 5310 | Agricultural Ecology | 3 |
| ENV 5330 | Conservation Biology | 3 |
| ENV 5342 | Ecological Risk Assessment | 3 |
| ENV 5360 | Biological Invasions: Ecology and Management | 3 |
| ENV 5368 | Integrated Energy Resource Systems | 3 |
| ENV 5370 | Advanced Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry | 3 |
| ENV 5373 | Advanced Environmental Biotechnology | 3 |
| ENV 5376 | Advanced Urban and Regional Comprehensive Environmental Planning | 3 |
| ENV 5379 | Ecosystem Management | 3 |
| ENV 5387 | Advanced Environmental Chemistry | 3 |
| ENV 5391 | Measurement Methods and Data Analysis for Air Pollution Research | 3 |
| ENV 5393 | Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics | 3 |
Geology
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| GEO 4312 | 3 | |
| GEO 4313 | 3 | |
| GEO 4314 | Meteorology | 3 |
| GEO 4337 | Paleoecology | 3 |
| GEO 4340 | Geomorphology | 3 |
| GEO 4341 | Introduction to Hydrology | 3 |
| GEO 4346 | Hydrogeology | 3 |
| GEO 4339 | Advanced Marine Field Studies | 3 |
| GEO 4459 | 4 | |
| GEO 4371 | Wetlands | 3 |
| GEO 4373 | Global Soil Systems | 3 |
| GEO 4375 | 3 | |
| GEO 4485 | Introduction to Geographic Information Systems | 4 |
| GEO 4386 | Remote Sensing | 3 |
| GEO 4487 | Advanced GIS Analysis | 4 |
| GEO 5308 | Advanced Studies in Earth Science | 3 |
| GEO 5320 | Geochemistry | 3 |
| GEO 5321 | Isotope Geochemistry | 3 |
| GEO 5337 | Advanced Studies in Remote Sensing Geomorphology | 3 |
| GEO 5340 | Paleopedology | 3 |
| GEO 5342 | Micromorphology of Soils and Paleosols | 3 |
| GEO 5347 | Advanced Hydrogeology | 3 |
| GEO 5348 | Applied Ground Water Modeling | 3 |
| GEO 5349 | Urban Geology | 3 |
| GEO 5378 | Advanced Studies in Hydrogeology | 3 |
| GEO 5388 | Advanced Studies in Hydrology-Engineering Geology | 3 |
| GEO 5389 | Earth System Science | 3 |
TIE3S
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| EEES 6100 | Seminar in Ecology, Earth, and Environmental Sciences | 1 |
| EEES 6V99 | Dissertation in Ecology, Earth, and Environmental Sciences | 1-3 |