Earth & Environmental Sciences

The Five-Year Combined Degree Program
M.S. in Environmental Science

Description

The five-year, combined degree program is open to students in Newcomb/Tulane Undergraduate College.   It combines the Bachelor of Science degree in either the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences (EENS) or the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EEB), with the terminal Master of Science degree in Environmental Science, condensing what would normally be about six years of study into five years. 

Undergraduate students typically graduate after four years of study, having fulfilled all regular requirements for the Bachelor of Science degree with a major in either  Geology/Environmental Science or Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.  The accelerated master’s degree component allows six graduate credits (two 600- or 700- level courses) completed during the senior year to be applied to the B.S. degree as well as to the M.S. degree.  Each student pursuing the M.S. degree in Environmental Science then completes course work toward the master’s degree during one additional year of graduate study.  During the fifth (graduate) year the student typically completes a minimum of 24 credits (eight courses, four each semester) of graduate work for a minimum total of 30 semester hours (10 courses). 

Eligibility

Candidates for the program should apply for admission during the junior year, but students in their senior year can also apply.  By the end of the junior year (or at the time of application), candidates should have completed all proficiency and distribution requirements for the B.S. degree and all core requirements for either the GEOL, ENSE or EEB major.  In addition, candidates are required to have a minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA.  To advance to the fifth (graduate) year, candidates must complete all requirements for the B.S. degree in GEOL, ENSE, or  EEB  by the end of the senior year, while maintaining an overall 3.0 GPA and a 3.0 cumulative in GEOL, ENSE or EEB.  Teaching assistantships are not available to students pursuing the master’s degree in Environmental Science as they are only awarded to doctoral students.

Tuition

Tuition for this M.S. degree program is 35% of regular graduate tuition.   For 2008-09, regular graduate tuition was $18,550 per semester; thus, the 4+1 tuition was $6,500 per semester.   Additional semester fees, such as health insurance, Reily recreation fee, student activity fee, etc. and are not discounted.

Application Process

Studfents should complete the on-line graduate application and submit two letters of recommendation and official transcipts to the department, sometime during senior year, but no later than March 15th.   A GRE test is not required for admission.   Admitted students will be assigned a graduate faculty advisor within the department unless the student wishes to redirect her/his disciplinary emphasis and requests an advisor in another department.  Students admitted to the program should be aware that in the fifth (graduate) year their academic progress is evaluated using the performance standards expected of all graduate students; the Graduate School catalog should be consulted for details.

Coursework

Credit/course total:  10 courses at 3 credits each = 30 credits with a maximum of 6 credits counting from the B.S. degree.

(Note: The departments will consider admitting to the program students from Tulane and other institutions who had not completed six graduate credits in their senior year but potentially could complete the M.S. degree within one year.)

One course must be selected from each category.  (The course work below is a suggestion only and subject to change).

Core courses:   Minimum of three (3) of the courses selected from the list below .  Each core course to be interdisciplinary in nature.

Statistics

Biostatistics (EEB)

Advanced Statistics for Environmental Scientists (EEB) 

Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Ecosystem Ecology (EEB)

EEOB/EENS 621, Global Biogeochemical Cycles

                 Geology

EENS 603, Environmental Methods

EENS 619, Marine Geology

EENS 626, Paleoclimatology

EENS 630, Groundwater Hydrology 

        Elective courses:

Seven (7) courses to be completed in either department, depending on the interest of the student and the guidance of the student’s faculty advisor