Earth Sciences, PhD

Contact

Gregory D. Hoke, Chair

earthevnsciences@syr.edu

204 Heroy Geology Laboratory

315-443-2672

Faculty

Suzanne Baldwin, Tripti Bhattacharya, Melissa Chipman, Daniel Curewitz, Paul Fitzgerald, Gregory Hoke, Linda Ivany, Christopher Junium, Jeffrey Karson, Christa Kelleher, Laura Lautz, Zunli Lu, Robert Moucha, Cathryn Newton, Scott Samson, Christopher Scholz, Jay Thomas, Sam Tuttle, Tao Wen

Program Description

Graduate study in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences offers students opportunities for field-based geological and geophysical research worldwide. Ongoing research in the department is focused primarily in the areas of solid earth sciences/tectonics/crustal evolution, climate science and water resources/hydrology. The department is housed in the William B. Heroy Geology Laboratory, which contains state-of-the-art analytical and computing facilities, modern well-equipped teaching spaces. All of the faculty are engaged in research and teaching.

The department typically has a combination of students pursuing either the M.S. or Ph.D. degree. Several of our faculty-led research projects are large collaborative, multi-institutional, multi-national programs that afford our graduate students’ opportunities to work in diverse parts of the world with teams of internationally recognized scholars. Department faculty and graduate students are currently pursuing field studies worldwide.

Admission

Incoming students are expected to have two semesters of the following courses: calculus, chemistry, and physics or biology. Applicants must have already taken (or take during their first two years of graduate study) at least three Earth Science courses, such as: Paleobiology, Sedimentology, Mineralogy, Structural Geology, Geochemistry, Geophysics, Climatology, Geomorphology and/or Hydrogeology. Students are strongly encouraged to have participated in an approved summer field course or comparable field experience. Substitutions may be granted upon petition of the department. The department only admits students that have identified faculty advisors, so it is highly recommended prospective students contact potential advisors in your field of interest either before or after application. GRE scores are now optional for graduate admission and departmental support (teaching and research assistantships). We evaluate applications based on fit with your advisor, grades and GPA, coursework, personal statement, research experience, and letters of recommendation. International/non-native English speakers must take the TOEFL exam.

Student Learning Outcomes

1. Conduct independent research in the Earth and Environmental Sciences at the specialist level

2. Present and communicate scientific information to a general audience through undergraduate teaching of laboratories and recitations

3. Analyze and evaluate research results

4. Communicate scientific research in writing at the specialist level

5. Describe fundamental concepts in earth sciences relevant to the area of specialization

Degree Programs

The Department offers programs of graduate study leading to the M.A., M.S., and Ph.D. Minimum requirements for each degree are an average GPA of 3.0 in major subjects and an overall average of 2.8.

Students who wish to continue graduate study toward a Ph.D. in Earth Sciences following a master’s degree must submit a Syracuse University Graduate School application form, including letters of reference, to the Department.

Ph.D. in Earth Sciences

48 total graduate credit hours are required. The following course work towards the 48 total graduate credits are required with exception for students with M.S.

Ph.D. students coming to the program with a M.S. may receive credit for up to 30 hours. An additional 18 credit hours are required. At least 12 of those 18 credit hours must be in graduate coursework, with the balance made up by dissertation credits. Incoming students already holding an M.S. degree must complete the Foundations 9-credit block at Syracuse University, minus the Numerical Skills requirement if they have prior equivalent coursework. Prior coursework from the M.S. degree may also count toward the Graduate Scope of Earth Sciences 9-credit block requirement.

Ph.D. students coming to the program without a M.S. must take at least 36 credits in graduate course work that includes the Foundations and Graduate Scope of Earth Sciences 9-crediit blocks. The remaining 18 credits will comprise coursework numbered 500 and higher. The remaining 12 credits are dissertation credits (EAR 999). The Ph.D. candidate must pass an oral qualifying examination and must give an oral defense of the dissertation.

Foundations (9 credits)

EAR 616 - Practicum in Earth and Environmental Scientific Communication 2 credit(s)
Approved Foundations of Geoscience course
Approved Professional Development Course

1 Numerical Skills lectures course: (3 credits)

EAR 602 - Numerical Methods in Geosciences 3 credit(s)
EAR 609 - Environmental Data Science 3 credit(s)
Other numerical/coding course approved by the graduate advisory committee

Discipline-Specific Seminar Course (1 credit, repeated once)

EAR 612 - Water-Energy Seminar 1 credit(s)
A Relevant course on paleobiology and ancient climates approved by the graduate advisory committee
EAR 666 - The SESSion - Solid Earth Seminar Series 1 credit(s)

Graduate Scope of Earth Sciences (9 credits)

1 cross-disciplinary* course in the Erath System Sciences: (3 credits)

*courses that are relevant across all facets of the Earth Sciences

EAR 610 - Applications of GIS in the Earth Sciences 3 credit(s)
EAR 617 - Geochemistry 3 credit(s)
EAR 622 - Applications of Electron Probe Microanalysis 3 credit(s)
EAR 623 - Stable Isotope Geochemistry 3 credit(s)

2 courses chosen from 2 of the 3 department disciplinary areas: (6-7 credits)

cross-cutting courses only count once

Solid Earth/Geodynamics

EAR 603 - Geomorphology 3 credit(s)
EAR 608 - Sedimentary Basin Analysis 3 credit(s)
EAR 618 - Petrology 4 credit(s)
EAR 631 - Plate Tectonics 3 credit(s)
Other relevant course approved by the graduate advisory committee

Ancient Climates and Ecosystems

EAR 607 - Climate Change and Human Origins 3 credit(s)
EAR 614 - The Holocene: Climate and Environmental Change 3 credit(s)
EAR 615 - Introduction to Climate Dynamics 3 credit(s)
EAR 629 - Topics in Paleobiology 3 credit(s)
EAR 655 - Geochemical Patterns in the History of Earth and Life 3 credit(s)
Other relevant course approved by the graduate advisory committee

Water Science

EAR 601 - Hydrogeology 3 credit(s)
EAR 603 - Geomorphology 3 credit(s)
EAR 619 - Environmental Aqueous Geochemistry 3 credit(s)
EAR 620 - Contaminant Hydrogeology 3 credit(s)
Other relevant course approved by the graduate advisory committee
EAR 665 - Groundwater Modeling 3 credit(s)

Graduate Awards

Graduate students are expected to pursue their studies energetically and to complete their advanced degree work without undue delay. Financial support typically will be given to a student for four semesters at the master’s level or eight semesters in the Ph.D. program.

Graduate Scholarships Awarded to students with superior qualifications, provide, in most cases, full tuition for academic year.

Graduate Teaching Assistantships:

Offered to some Graduate Scholarship recipients; no more than an average of 20 hours of work per week; 9 months; stipend in addition to tuition scholarship for up to 24 credits per year as needed.

Graduate Research Assistantships:

Offered to some Graduate Scholarship recipients; no more than an average of 20 hours per week; 9 to 12 months; stipends variable in addition to tuition scholarship for up to 24 credits per year as needed.

Syracuse University Graduate Fellowships:

Stipend for 9 months of full-time study; tuition scholarship for 15 credits per semester for a total of 30 for the academic year.

Department Research Support:

The Department has various funds available to support graduate student travel and research.

Facilities

The Heroy Geology Laboratory has well-equipped laboratories and graduate student offices. The department houses state-of-the-art workstation-based seismic data processing, GIS, and image-processing facilities; first-class laboratories for geochronology (U/Pb), thermochronology (⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar and fission track) and research utilizing all noble gases. The department hosts two regional user facilities - the Electron Microprobe Lab (with a new Cameca SXFive instrument, plus a Renishaw Raman Spectrometer) and the Multi-Sensor Core Logging Lab. Also housed in Heroy are the stable isotope geochemistry lab, the paleoclimate dynamics lab, a low-temperature geochemistry lab, a water chemistry lab and a water dynamics lab. Amongst other instrumentation are a scanning electron microscope, a number of unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) with various cameras, geophysical equipment such as ground-penetrating radar and resistivity systems, and a 384-core computing cluster. The department also has a range of sample preparation facilities and clean labs.