PhD Program in Earth Sciences & Environmental Sustainability

The interdisciplinary Earth Sciences & Environmental Sustainability doctoral program aims to train independent, integrative, and innovative researchers in the areas of earth sciences, climate change, ecology and conservation, social sciences, and engineering. Your graduate education will prepare you for a career in public or private research, and to contribute to a growing industry of leaders, scientists, and engineers addressing issues of climate change, water scarcity, changing biodiversity, natural resource demand, and environmental sustainability in the Southwest, United States, and the global community. Our PhD program offers five emphasis areas, as well as the opportunity to collaborate along common threads of inquiry linking the School’s diverse perspectives on the earth’s past and future. A successful graduate experience depends on finding the right program for you, and also the right advisor – a faculty member who shares and can support your research interests. You should plan to identify one or more potential faculty advisors well in advance of the application deadline, and to have at least one conversation about the match between your interests and opportunities in their lab. Learn more about our research areas!

Emphasis areas

• Earth Systems
• Climate & Environmental Change
• Ecology, Evolution & Conservation Biology
• Engineering Sustainable Systems
• Environment & Society

Requirements for all emphases

• ENV 555: Environmental Science/Policy Interface
• EES 605: Regional Topics in Earth and Environmental Science and Policy
• EES 606: Research Methods in Earth and Environmental Science
• Professional experience: Any experience that significantly broadens knowledge and skills, and advances your career objectives (6 units).
• 2 seminar courses (698) selected by student and committee
• 15 units of EES 799 for the research, writing, and oral defense of an approved dissertation
• Comprehensive exam
• Courses specific to an area of emphasis and dissertation topic, with at least 6 units in the area of emphasis chosen with approval of the student’s dissertation committee (30 units, with up to 24 units transferred in from other graduate course work).

How to apply

First, get to know our faculty and review current opportunities for students. It is very important that you reach out to faculty members you would be interested in working with before you apply. Faculty expect to receive emails from prospective students. To get the best response, be as specific as possible about why you are interested in their research or their lab (reading one or more papers from the lab is a great place to start!), and what you are hoping to get out of grad school. They can then tell you more about their research and if they have space available in their labs.

Second, entry into any SES Graduate Program requires an online application through the Office of Graduate and Professional Studies.

A completed application for admission will include:

• An online application for admission to the NAU Office of Graduate and Professional Studies, with the required application fee;
• A statement of your interests and goals, and your reasons for pursuing an advanced degree;
• Unofficial transcripts of all undergraduate and graduate course work;
• Names of the faculty advisor(s) you have been in contact with and would like to work with;
• Three letters of recommendation from academic or professional supervisors (you will only have to provide contact information, and then recommenders will submit letters directly to NAU. Give them time to submit before the deadline);
• Submission by the January 1st application deadline.

Funding your graduate education

Graduate students in this program are supported via Research Assistantships (funded by grants obtained by individual faculty within the School), and/or Teaching Assistantships. Both RA and TA positions for PhD students at NAU include a yearly stipend of $20,000 to $27,000 (depending on the availability of summer support) plus funding for tuition and health insurance. Decisions about RA/TA support are made together with admission – there is no separate application process required. Talk to your potential faculty advisor about funding availability, including summer support.

Once students are in the program, there are also scholarships and fellowships available to cover some research costs, student fees, and/or stipend supplements.