Graduate Program - Ph. D.

Doctoral study provides the highest level of formal preparation before entering the engineering profession. It is both competitive and challenging and offers special opportunities for learning, research and offers special opportunities for learning, research and application. Together with their professors and mentors, doctoral students comprise a true community of scholars. The student's advisory committee, which is responsible for overseeing the student's final achievement, is an integral part of such a community.

Doctoral study in Environmental Engineering is normally completed in three to five years, depending on individual circumstances. In addition to the general requirements of the Graduate School as outlined in the Graduate School Catalog, each student must meet the minimum requirements of the program as well as complete and successfully defend a dissertation.

Admissions Requirements:

1. Minimum entering GPA of 3.5
2. Evidence of the ability to undertake and complete independent work of distinction
3. Minimum GRE: Verbal - 500 Quantitative - 750 Analytical - 650 or Analytical Writing 5.0
4. International students must achieve a minimum TOEFL score of 550

Ph.D. Degree Requirements:

1. Candidates will have completed 45 credit hours in post-baccalaureate coursework including curriculum requirements in the graduate handbook section 3.4.
2. By the end of the first year of study, candidates must pass a three-part doctoral general examination consisting of a written exam on course materials, a written response to a research question, and an oral exam.
3. Not fewer than six months before the expected date of degree completion, candidates will submit to the Program for official review a prospectus outlining the proposed research as approved by an advisory committee of their choosing. Proposals are reviewed for their written and organizational competence, scope, familiarity with the subject and related research, and potential for making a relevant and original contribution to existing knowledge. The successful prospectus is filed with the Graduate School.
4. Candidates will write a dissertation demonstrating their ability to formulate a hypothesis, design a protocol to test the hypothesis, and organize, analyze and present an original research project in publishable form. It is commonly expected that two to three articles publishable in major refereed journals will derive from the dissertation.