EESS-PHD - Environmental Earth System Science
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Program Overview
Contacts
Office: Yang and Yamazaki Environment and Energy Building, Room 140
Mail Code: 94305-4216
Phone: 650-721-5723
Email: jonellew@stanford.edu
Web Site: http://earth.stanford.edu/ess
Courses offered by the Department of Earth System Science are listed under the subject code ESS on the Stanford Bulletin's ExploreCourses web site.
On April 16, 2015, the Senate of the Academic Council approved the change of name for the department to become the Department of Earth System Science. Prior to April 16, the department was named the Department of Environmental Earth System Science.
Earth System Science studies the planet's oceans, lands, and atmosphere as an integrated system, with an emphasis on changes occurring during the current period of overwhelming human influence, the Anthropocene. Faculty and students within the department use the principles of biology, chemistry, and physics to study problems involving processes occurring at the Earth's surface, such as climate change and global nutrient cycles, providing a foundation for problem solving related to environmental sustainability and global environmental change.
Graduate Programs in Earth System Science
The University's basic requirements for the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees are discussed in the "Graduate Degrees" section of this bulletin. The Department of Earth System Science does not offer coterminal admission to the master’s in Earth System Science.
Learning Objectives (Graduate)
The objectives of the doctoral program in Earth System Science are to enable students to develop the skills needed to conduct original investigations in environmental and earth system sciences, to interpret the results, and to present the data and conclusions in a publishable manner. Graduates should develop strong communication skills with the ability to teach and communicate effectively with the public.
The objectives of the master's program in Earth System Science is to continue a student's training in one of the earth science disciplines and to prepare students for a professional career or doctoral studies.
Free Form Requirements
Doctor of Philosophy in Earth System Science
The University's requirements for the Ph.D. degree are outlined in the "Graduate Degrees" section of this bulletin.
Admission
For admission to graduate work in the department, completion of the Aptitude Test (verbal, quantitative, and analytical writing assessment) of the Graduate Record Examination is optional. In keeping with University policy, applicants whose first language is not English must submit TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) scores from a test taken within the last 18 months. Individuals who have completed a B.S. or two-year M.S. program in the U.S. or other English-speaking country are not required to submit TOEFL scores.
Degree Requirements
Unit Requirements
A minimum of 135 units of graduate study at Stanford must be satisfactorily completed.
Required courses must be taken for a letter grade, if offered.
Ph.D. students registered for 10 units must pass at least 6 units per quarter. Students must maintain at least a 3.0 grade point average.
Ph.D. students must complete a minimum of four graduate level, letter-grade courses of at least 3 units each from four different faculty members on the Academic Council in the University.
By the end of Spring Quarter of their first year in residence, students must complete at least three graduate level courses taught by a minimum of two different ESS faculty members.
Course Work
Course List | ||
Units | ||
|---|---|---|
Seminar Requirements | ||
Each quarter during the first academic year: | ||
Topics in Earth System Science | 1 | |
Required Core Courses (Students are required to take three 2-unit courses during the first year): | ||
Climate Change: An Earth Systems Perspective | 2 | |
From Freshwater to Oceans to Land Systems: An Earth System Perspective to Global Challenges | 2 | |
Research Proposal Development and Delivery | 2 | |
Distribution Requirements (Students must take one class from each of the following three areas within the first or second year): | ||
Area A: Analysis of the Earth System (Select one course) | ||
Data science for geoscience | 3 | |
Introduction to Probability and Statistics for Engineers | 4 | |
Uncertainty Quantification | 3 | |
Introduction to Statistical Inference | 4 | |
Applied Multivariate Analysis | 3 | |
Introduction to Time Series Analysis | 3 | |
Introduction to Statistical Learning | 3 | |
Modern Statistics for Modern Biology | 3 | |
Area B: Measurement of the Earth System (Select one course) | ||
Techniques in Environmental Microbiology | 3 | |
Measurements in Earth Systems | 3-4 | |
Remote Sensing of Hydrology | 3 | |
Remote Sensing of the Oceans | 3-4 | |
Molecular Geomicrobiology Laboratory | 3-4 | |
Hopkins Microbiology Course | 3-12 | |
Remote Sensing of Land | 4 | |
Area C: Earth System Processes, Models, and Human-Environmental Interactions (Select one course) | ||
World Food Economy | 5 | |
Physical Hydrogeology | 4 | |
Contaminant Hydrogeology and Reactive Transport | 3 | |
Biosphere-Atmosphere Interactions | 3-4 | |
Decision Science for Environmental Threats | 3-5 | |
Pursuing Sustainability: Managing Complex Social Environmental Systems | 3 | |
Antarctic Marine Geology and Geophysics | 3 | |
Marine Ecosystem Modeling | 3 | |
Atmosphere, Ocean, and Climate Dynamics: The Atmospheric Circulation | 3 | |
Atmosphere, Ocean, and Climate Dynamics: the Ocean Circulation | 3 | |
Tropical Meteorology | 3-4 | |
Geomicrobiology | 3 | |
Analyzing land use in a globalized world | 3 | |
Social Structure and Social Networks | 5 | |
Teaching Assistantship
As a program requirement, advanced degree candidates in ESS complete TA-appointed (25%) quarters at a minimum of: 2 for Ph.D. students and 1 for master's students, to be completed over the course of study. In addition, additional TA quarters may be considered and/or required in consultation with the research advisor, depending on academic goals, funding availability, or the requirements of individual doctoral programs.
Annual Review
Each year, the department evaluates students to assess progress to degree, identify areas of strength, provide helpful resources, and note potential issues or areas of concern. This annual review includes a record of accomplishments presented by the student, written evaluations by the faculty advisor of the student’s progress, and committee feedback on the academic and research progress of the student. The student should have no 'I' grades in core courses, must maintain at least a 3.0 grade-point average, and show evidence of productive and sustained research progress, with no conflict of interest or conflict of commitment.
Possible outcomes of the annual review include: (1) continuation of the student in good standing, and (2) placing the student on probation, with specific written guidelines of the period of probation and the necessary steps for reinstatement to good standing.
Annual reviews are required for all Ph.D. students, including first-year Ph.D. students. In the first year, the annual review is conducted between the student and the Ph.D. advisor(s) (prior to forming a doctoral committee). After the first year, the annual review must be conducted between the student and the student's doctoral committee. In all years, the written annual review form must be completed and signed by both the student and the advisor.
In the year in which students are undertaking their candidacy exam (research qualifying exam), that exam serves as the annual review. In addition, any student who has scheduled the dissertation defense and petitioned to graduate in Axess may elect not to hold an additional annual review meeting. Annual reviews that are not the qualifying exam or dissertation defense should take place in the Autumn or Winter Quarter (with the exception of first-year students, who may hold their annual review meeting with their advisor(s) in Spring Quarter).
Candidacy and Qualification Exam
Admission to a doctoral degree program is preliminary to, and distinct from, admission to candidacy. Admission to candidacy for the doctoral degree is a judgment by the faculty in the department or school of the student’s potential to successfully complete the requirements of the degree program. Candidacy is valid for five calendar years (through the end of the quarter in which candidacy expires), unless terminated by the department (for example, for unsatisfactory progress). University policy requires completion of the department qualifying procedures and application for candidacy by the end of the second year in the Ph.D. program. Therefore, it is strongly advised that the qualifying exam be taken during the fith (non-Summer) quarter so that the student may retake the exam in the case of inadequate performance and still advance to candidacy by the end of the sixth (non-Summer) quarter.
Students must present a draft proposal to their advisor in a timely fashion, and take account of the advisor’s comments and require revisions before preparing a final draft. The student submits a copy of the final draft of the research proposal to each member of the examining committee at least two weeks before the scheduled date of the examination.
The qualifying exam is an oral exam based on the candidate’s written research proposal. The exam is a test of the student’s ability to recognize, evaluate, and plan a significant research project and his/her mastery of fields essential to the completion of research. The research proposal must provide a concise review of the background literature, and must discuss the proposed problem, its importance, and the methods to be applied to its examination. The methods should be made clear. The proposal must contain a timetable and, if appropriate, the student should discuss such matters as funding, field logistics, laboratory scheduling, and availability of equipment. The proposal must be well thought out, carefully written and edited, and finished with appropriate references and illustrations. It must not exceed 15 double-spaced pages in length, exclusive of figures and bibliography. The qualifying exam is oral and consists of three parts:
A presentation of the proposed research (no more than 30 minutes duration);
An examination of the candidate on the merits of the proposal, touching on but not limited to the aspects listed in the proposal; and
An examination of any subject matter judged by committee members to be relevant to the student’s ability to carry out the proposed research.
It is recognized that, in practice, parts 1‐ 3 may not be entirely separate and distinct. The entire examination lasts no less than 2 hours and no more than 3 hours; the examination under part 3 is at least one hour. No part of examination is public.
Doctoral Dissertation and Oral Defense
Under the supervision of the research advisory committee, the candidate must prepare a doctoral dissertation that is a contribution to knowledge and is the result of independent research; curriculum must also be developed with the supervision of the committee, which should be designed to provide a rigorous foundation for the research area. The format of the dissertation must meet University guidelines. The student is urged to prepare dissertation chapters that, in scientific content and format, are readily publishable.
The doctoral dissertation is defended in the University oral examination. The department appoints the research advisor and two other members of the research committee to be readers of the draft dissertation. The readers are charged to read the draft and to certify in writing to the department that it is adequate to serve as a basis for the University oral examination. Upon obtaining this written certification, the student is permitted to schedule the University oral examination.