Doctor of Philosophy in Natural Sciences: Geosciences
Student Learning Outcomes
Students graduating from this program will:
As part of the Natural Sciences Ph.D. program, students in a primary discipline of Biomedical and Health Informatics must meet the minimum Ph.D. program requirements. These can be found within the main program page and subsequent requirement pages.
Geosciences
Please see the School of Graduate Studies web page for the contact information for the discipline Coordinator. To view all doctoral and graduate faculty in Biomedical and Health Informatics, see this web page.
Admissions Requirements
Applicants must meet both the general and the discipline-specific criteria for admission and be recommended for admission by the faculty review group. Upon approval by the graduate dean, students are admitted to the School of Graduate Studies.
Please see the website for updated application deadlines.
Typically, a student would be expected to hold a master's degree in environmental sciences, geology, geography or a closely-related field. In exceptional cases, an undergraduate student may be considered by the Geosciences faculty for admission. Opportunities within Geosciences range from the physical to the social sciences.
Because of the wide range of faculty expertise, and in keeping with the general spirit of the entire Ph.D. program, the faculty in Geosciences has deliberately chosen to establish broad guidelines for admission of Ph.D. students. All prospective graduate students must attain a GPA of 3.0 or above, on a 4.0 scale, in all university work prior to admission. Three letters of recommendation from professors as well as a proposal from the prospective student detailing goals and expectations are needed for an evaluation of the application. Students are expected to have an advisor at the time of admission.
Non-native English-speaking applicants seeking Geosciences as a primary discipline must demonstrate proficiency in English. This requirement can be satisfied by obtaining English proficiency certification from UMKC.
Core Coursework Requirements
Students with a Geosciences primary discipline will complete a minimum of 42 credit hours for the degree. This includes at least 15 credit hours in the primary discipline, 9 hours outside the primary discipline (decided in consultation between the student and primary advisor), 6 credit hours of electives, and at least 12 hours of dissertation credit in the primary discipline.
Each student's supervisory committee may define other course requirements for the Geosciences primary discipline. The courses offered are listed below for consideration.
Primary Discipline
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| A minimum of 15 credit hours of coursework. | 15 | |
| Advanced Geographic Information Science | ||
| Advanced Spatial Data Analysis | ||
| Graduate Seminar in Geosciences | ||
or GEOLOGY 5597 | Graduate Seminar in Geosciences | |
| Environmental Remote Sensing and Digital Image Analysis | ||
| Global Environmental Change | ||
| Global Water and Sustainability | ||
| Satellite Climatology | ||
| Special Topics in Geography | ||
| Special Topics in Advanced GIS and Remote Sensing | ||
| Special Topics: Geostatistics and Modeling | ||
| Special Research Topics | ||
| Understanding and Living with Volcanoes | ||
| Advanced Methods for Earth and Environmental Science | ||
| X-Ray Diffraction and Fluorescence Methods: X-Ray Mthds Geol/Anly | ||
| Hazardous Waste Operation Management | ||
| Aqueous Geochemistry | ||
| Introduction to Scanning Electron Microscopy Methods | ||
| Environmental Geophysics | ||
| Advanced Hydrogeology | ||
| Special Topics in Urban Environmental Geology | ||
| Special Topics in Energy and Mineral Resources | ||
| Special Topics In Urban Environmental Geology | ||
| Special Research Topics | ||
| Coursework Outside of Primary Discipline (either in designated secondary discipline or multiple other disciplines) 1 | 9 | |
| Electives (coursework can be from any discipline) | 6 | |
| Dissertation | 12 | |
| Total Credits | 42 | |
Total Credit Hours: 42
- 1
Minimum of 9 hours with possibility of more required. Decided in consultation with primary advisor.
Secondary Discipline
Students with a Geosciences secondary discipline will complete a minimum of 9 credit hours in the discipline.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| A minimum of 9 credit hours in Geosciences. | 9 | |
| Total Credits | 9 | |
Other Discipline-Specific Special Requirements
Students are expected to take at least 15 credit hours and complete any special requirements from Geosciences as determined by their supervisory committee. The faculty in Geosciences are committee to an interdisciplinary approach and expect that all Ph.D. students will complete courses and conduct research with this principle in mind.
Requirements for Comprehensive Examinations
Primary Discipline
Comprehensive examinations of all Ph.D. students who select Geosciences as the primary discipline will contain both written and oral components and may include questions from related fields as determined by the student's examining committee. The examining committee consists of the student's supervisory committee and others who may be appointed by the dean of the School of Graduate Studies.
In the written exam, the students need to answer questions from related fields as determined by the students’ committee. The committee members prepare written questions for the students, which are evaluated before the oral exam. A committee member can also waive their portion of the written exam if the committee member decides to do so. The comprehensive examinations also consist of submitting a fully developed proposal of the Ph.D. research topic, together with an oral presentation to the committee. The exact timing and topic of written and oral comprehensive examinations will be determined by the students and their committee.
Secondary Discipline
There are no formal qualifying or Comprehensive Examination requirements for students whose secondary discipline is Geosciences.