Environmental Science M.S.

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Admission Requirements

In addition to University requirements for admission, the applicant must:

Have a bachelor’s degree in biology, environmental science, or a related field from an accredited institution.
Complete all requirements for admissions to the Graduate School before the end of the first semester of graduate course work. (See “Admission to Graduate School”)
Have an overall minimum grade point average of 2.85.
NOTE: M.S. in Environmental Science program no longer requires the GRE for admissions.

Conditional Admission may be granted for students with less than the minimum grade point average or test scores; students will be fully admitted after completion of nine hours of graduate coursework with no final grade below a “B”. Students with undergraduate degrees in fields other than biology or environmental science may be required to complete specific leveling courses, such as organic chemistry, basic statistics (or equivalent math course; e.g., MATH 2413), physical geology, hydrogeology, and/or microbiology.

Admission to the program is selective. Students interested in a master’s research assistantship are strongly encouraged to visit campus and/or remotely meet with the faculty in their proposed academic study area. Students are encouraged to identify/contact Master’s committee chair and/or academic supervisor willing to supervise coursework and/or thesis research project(s).

In addition to meeting the above-mentioned admission requirements, international students desiring to pursue the Master of Science degree in biology or environmental science must submit one of the following minimum test scores (for all requirements see the International Students - Applicants webpage: http://wtamu.edu/student-support/international-applicants.aspx):

TOEFL - score of 233 (computer based); 90-91 (iBT); or 575-477 (paper based)
IELTS - score of 6.5 overall
PTE - score of 62

Major in Environmental Science

(Major Code: 5105)

Areas of Specialization

General Environmental Science
Human and Ecological Risk Assessment
Air Quality and Atmospheric Science

Requirements

Student must complete 36 credit hours including core, specialization, and elective courses.

Master of Science Degree Core Requirements - All Specializations (20 hours)

ENVR 6303 - Advanced Scientific and Numerical Methods 3 or
ENVR 6305 - Geographic Information Systems 3 or
ET 6305 - Geographic Information Systems 3
ENVR 6509 - Human Ecology 5
ENVR 6111 - Seminar 1 (3 - students must enroll in three different seminar classes)
ENVR 6320 - Environmental Regulations 3
ENVR 6350 - Applied Hydrogeology 3 or
ENVR 6304 - Ecological Risk Assessment 3 or
ENVR 6092 - Special Topics 1-6

General Environmental Science Specialization

Master of Science Degree Core Requirements–listed above (20 hours)

Elective Courses in Specialization Area (10 hours)

Agriculture, biology, chemistry, geology, engineering technology, and environmental science.

Additional Requirements for Thesis Option (6 hours)

ENVR 6301 - Thesis 3
ENVR 6302 - Thesis 3
Successful completion of a thesis defense (Thesis topic will be decided based on the interest of student and adviser’s expertise.)

Additional Requirements for Non-Thesis Option (6 hours)

ENVR 6395 - Research Problems in Environmental Science 3 (Research topic will be decided based on the interest of student and adviser’s expertise.)
ENVR 6098 - Graduate Internship in Environmental Science 1-3 (3)
Successful completion of comprehensive written and oral exams

Human and Ecological Risk Assessment Specialization

Master of Science Degree Core Requirements–listed above (20 hours)

Courses in Specialization Area (10 hours)

ENVR 6304 - Ecological Risk Assessment 3
ENVR 5306 - Hazardous Waste Site Assessment 3 (if student has not taken ENVR 4306 as an undergraduate)
Electives in agriculture, biology, chemistry, engineering technology, or environmental science 4-7

Additional Requirements for Thesis Option (6 hours)

ENVR 6301 - Thesis 3
ENVR 6302 - Thesis 3
Successful completion of a thesis defense (Thesis will focus on a specialized topic relevant to Human Ecological Risk Assessment.)

Additional Requirements for Non-Thesis Option (6 hours)

ENVR 6395 - Research Problems in Environmental Science 3 (Research will focus on a specialized topic relevant to Human Ecological Risk Assessment.)
ENVR 6098 - Graduate Internship in Environmental Science 1-3 (3)
Successful completion of comprehensive written and oral exams

Air Quality and Atmospheric Science Specialization

Master of Science Degree Core Requirements–listed above (20 hours)

Courses in Specialization Area (10 hours)

ENVR 5308 Fundamentals of Air Quality 3 (if not taken as ENVR 4308 at the undergraduate level)
Note: course numbers are subject to change.
ENVR 6092 Special Topics 3 or
ENVR 5311 Modeling Earth and Environmental Systems 3 (if not taken at the undergraduate level)
Note: course numbers are subject to change.
Electives. in agriculture, biology, chemistry, engineering technology, or environmental science 4-10

Additional Requirements for Thesis Option (6 hours)

ENVR 6301 - Thesis 3
ENVR 6302 - Thesis 3
Successful completion of a thesis defense (Thesis will focus on a specialized topic relevant to Air Quality and Atmospheric Science.)

Additional Requirements for Non-Thesis Option (6 hours)

ENVR 6395 - Research Problems in Environmental Science 3 (Research will focus on a specialized topic relevant to Air Quality and Atmospheric Science.)
ENVR 6098 - Graduate Internship in Environmental Science 1-3
Successful completion of comprehensive written and oral exams

Note:

For this specialization in air quality and atmospheric science, it is recommended that students take the following courses as leveling work (if not already taken for the B.S. degree):

GESC/GEOG 3313 - Meteorology
GESC 3303 - Oceanography
CHEM 3511 - Analytical Chemistry
MATH 2413 - Calculus I (or equivalent)

It is encouraged that students who choose the Air Quality and Atmospheric Science specialization have interests in the following specific area(s):

Atmospheric or Oceanographic Dynamics
Atmospheric or Oceanographic Thermodynamics
Physical Meteorology of Physical Oceanography
Synoptic Meteorology (or Weather Systems) or Synoptic Oceanography
Or any advanced courses related to the above mentioned courses