PhD in Earth System Science at Auburn University

Auburn University

United States of America, Auburn

University Rank:#851

Auburn University offers the PhD of Earth System Science as a full-time degree delivered on campus at its main campus in Auburn, United States of America. Taught in English and completed over 4 years, the program equips students with the theoretical knowledge and practical skills required for earth system science and related professional fields. The next available intake begins on August 16, 2027.

About PhD in Earth System Science

The formal requirements for the PhD degree are the same as outlined in graduate school web page:http://bulletin.auburn.edu/thegraduateschool/doctoraldegrees/. This PhD program, due to its interdisciplinary nature, has specific course requirements as below:

Course Requirements: The interdisciplinary PhD degree, without previous graduate course work, requires successful completion of a minimum of 60 semester credit hours at the graduate level (6000-8000 level). The total 60 hours must include: 1) 7 hours of required core courses across earth system science disciplines, 2) a minimum of 10 hours of dissertation credit, and 3) additional elective course work to develop an academic focus with the approval of the faculty adviser and dissertation committee. Click here for recommended elective courses for students interested in a particular career path. The maximum number of directed-study credits that may be applied toward the degree is six (6) units. The total number of credit hours of previous graduate course or thesis work may be transferred toward the PhD degree must be less than 50 percent of the credit hours listed on the Plan of Study. A maximum of four hours of Master thesis credit may be transferred and counted toward PhD course requirement. Required core courses (7 hours) include:

1) Earth System Science and Global Change (3 hours)

2) Earth System Observation and Analysis (3 hours)

3) Earth System Science Seminar (1 hour)

The Interdisciplinary PhD Program in Earth System Science (ESS)

The new interdisciplinary graduate PhD degree program in Earth System Science is based on the integration of scientific disciplines from five participating colleges and 10 academic departments at Auburn University, providing for a curriculum of unusual richness and breadth. The earth system science involves the linkage of the physical, chemical, and biological, and social sciences to the understanding the interaction of Earth-system processes and humans. Our program offers an effective way to train the next-generation professionals in the areas of Earth and Environmental Sciences.

Click here to see the Ph.D. curriculum and coursework.
Click here to see the Student Learning Objectives.

Affiliated Colleges and Programs

College of Sciences and Mathematics
College of Forestry, Wildlife and Environment
College of Agriculture
College of Engineering
College of Liberal Arts
International Center for Climate and Global Change Research

Research Opportunities and Laboratory Facilities

Students will be engaged in all aspects of research and mentored by strong cross-disciplinary faculty group, including new faculty hires from the CHESS (Climate, Human, and Earth System Science) cluster initiatives. Students can choose among various areas of academic specialization (e.g., climate and earth systems, geological sciences and energy, environmental biogeochemistry, water resources and hydrology, coastal processes, ecosystem and food security, coupled natural and human systems, geospatial sciences, big data science, etc.). Laboratory and coursework provide students with a multidisciplinary background that will enable them to conduct state-of-the art research in earth system science. Auburn's state-of-the-art analytical and computational facilities and labs are available to all students in the PhD program.

Department of Geosciences Research Instrumentation and Facilities
Auburn Allied Facilities

Affiliated Faculty for the Program

College of Sciences and Mathematics

Department of Biological Sciences

F.Stephen Dobson, Aaron Rashotte

Department of Geosciences

Laura Bilenker, Philip Chaney, Bill Hames, David King, Ming-Kuo Lee, Luke Marzen, ‹Karen McNeal, Chandana Mitra, Ann Ojeda, Stephanie Rogers, Stephanie Shepherd, Ashraf Uddin, Lorraine Wolf, Haibo Zou

Department of Mathematics and Statistics

Ash Abebe

College of Forestry, Wildlife and Environment

Christopher Anderson, Art Chappelka, Latif Kalin, Sanjiv Kumar, Christopher Lepczyyk, Graeme Lockaby, Wayde Morse, Susan (Shufen) Pan, Lisa Samuelson, Larry Teeter, Hanqin Tian

Samuel Ginn College of Engineering

Department of Civil Engineering

Xing Fang, Frances O'Donnell, Jose Vasconcelos

Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering

Kai H. Chang, Wei-Shinn Ku, Bo Liu

College of Agriculture

Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology

Ruiqing Miao, Denis Nadolnyak

Department of Animal Sciences

Russell Muntifering

Department of Biosystems Engineering

Sushil Adhikar, William Batchelor, Puneet Srivastava

Department of Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences

Charles Y. Chen, Yucheng Feng, Branda Ortiz, Di Tian, Matthew Waters

Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology

Nannan Liu

School of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Aquatic Sciences

Dennis DeVries

College of Liberal Arts

Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work

Kelly Alley

Auburn University Montgomery

Department of Biology and Environmental Science

Benedict Okeke

Ph.D. Program Contact Information

Dr. Edward Thomas, Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies, [email protected], 334-844-4126.

Dr. Ming-Kuo Lee, Professor of Geosciences, [email protected], 334-844-4898.

Disciplines

Graduate School

Requirements and Admission Criteria for PhD in Earth System Science at Auburn University

Entry Requirements

Bachelor’s degree or its equivalent from an accredited college or university.
Graduate Record Exam (GRE) General Test if required by the department. Auburn University’s ETS institution code is 1005.
Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) for Management, Finance, Master of Business Administration, and Master of Accountancy programs. Auburn’s GMAT institution codes are:
Successful international applicants must score at least 550 on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) paper version (pBT), 213 on the computer version (cBT), and 79 on the internet version (iBT). Additionally, successful applicants must score minimums of 16 on the listening, reading, speaking, and writing components of the iBT. Auburn University’s ETS institution code is 1005. Auburn will also accept a 6.5 on the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) exam.

International applicants required to submit a language test score have several options of certifying their English proficiency.

The TOEFL or IELTS will be the only accepted language proficiency tests for admission to Auburn University Graduate School. We do not accept the Duolingo English Test.

ETS has also created the TOEFL iBT Special Home Edition to meet the needs of students who are unable to take the test in a test center due to COVID-19. The test is taken on your own computer at home and is identical in content, format and on-screen experience to the TOEFL iBT test taken at a test center. Visit The TOEFL Tests (ets.org) for more information.
Up to three (3) letters of recommendation may be required by the department. Applicants should contact the department to find out, first, if letters are required. If so, how many? And how should these letters be submitted?
International applicants must demonstrate full financial sponsorship if accepted into a graduate program, proof of a comprehensive medical insurance plan and submit an Official Statement Of Finance for International Students Form for 2023-2024. For more information, review our International Instructions.
One official transcript of all undergraduate and any graduate credits from each school previously attended. If an Auburn University transcript, the Graduate School will acquire the transcript for you. Official electronic transcripts from domestic institutions may be sent to [email protected].
International applicants should provide an official original language transcript and final diploma/certificate(s) accompanied by a certified English translation of each document.
Application fee payment: $60 for domestic students; $70 for international students. The following applicants are eligible for a fee waiver:
- Current Auburn University graduate students enrolled in graduate courses
- Full-time Auburn University employees
- Alabama HBCU applicants from the following schools (first 300 received per year): Alabama A&M and Alabama State Universities, Concordia, Miles, Stillman and Talladega Colleges, Oakwood & Tuskegee Universities – submit copy of school ID
- Ronald McNair Scholars – must submit a memo from sponsoring institution
- Florida A&M Feeders Program – must submit a memo from Faculty sponsor
- GEM applicants – must submit a copy of their GEM application
- Active Duty Military – with a letter confirming duty
- Applying for an approved dual program – the second application fee is waived
To qualify for one of the application fee exemptions, you must submit the required documentation to the Graduate School.

English Requirements

PTEMin 53
IELTSMin 6.5
TOEFLMin 79

Tuition and Fee Information for PhD in Earth System Science at Auburn University

Application Fee 70

How to Apply for PhD in Earth System Science at Auburn University

Auburn University is pleased to offer this Web-based application in order to make our application process as easy and convenient as possible.

This application is part of the ApplyYourself Application Network. You will receive a PIN and Password so that you can return to work on your application over several sessions. Your information is transmitted through a secured server and is kept confidential until you submit your application. Only after you submit your application will it be available for review by the Graduate School Admissions Office.

When you have completed your application and are ready to submit it, you can pay your application fee online via credit card. No application will be processed until the application fee is paid. However, Auburn University employees and current graduate students are exempted from the application fee requirement. A complete list of eligible application fee exemptions may be found in the Application Instructions section of the application.

Please carefully read the instructions that appear throughout the application pages. You can submit your application once. If you have to update any information you have submitted, please notify the Graduate School Admissions Office at once.

To get started on your application, click “create account” to the right to establish your pin and password. To submit multiple applications, you must create an account for each application. If you are trying to access an existing account and have forgotten your PIN or password, click “Forgot your PIN or Password?”. You will be emailed the login information and will be able to reset the password.

Best of luck. We look forward to reviewing your application.

PhD in Earth System Science at Auburn University

Auburn University

United States of America, Auburn