Graduate Program

Application Deadlines

Fall semester: January 15 (with financial aid)
  April 1 (without financial aid)
Spring semester: November 1

Degrees Offered

  • Master of Science in Earth and Planetary Sciences (M.S.)
  • Doctor of Philosophy in Earth and Planetary Sciences (Ph.D.)

Interdisciplinary Programs

Computational Science and Engineering: The Computational Science and Engineering interdisciplinary graduate certificate program prepares students to effectively use high-performance computing within their disciplines and is open to graduate students in this department. See the School of Engineering section of this Catalog.

Nanoscience and Microsystems Engineering: This department participates in the interdisciplinary Nanoscience and Microsystems Engineering M.S. and Ph.D. programs; for more information, see the Graduate Interdisciplinary Studies section of this Catalog.


Master of Science in Earth and Planetary Sciences

Doctor of Philosophy in Earth and Planetary Sciences

The Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences offers the Master of Science (M.S.) in Earth and Planetary Sciences and the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Earth and Planetary Sciences. In addition to the application form and fee and official transcripts for all college study required by the Office of Admissions, the Department requires a Departmental application, three letters of recommendation, a letter of intent, unofficial transcript copies, and general GRE scores for admission consideration. Application instructions and forms for admission, financial aid, and letters of recommendation are available from the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences Web site.

Entering graduate students must demonstrate via their transcripts that they have received rigorous scientific preparation in courses relevant to graduate study in earth, planetary, atmospheric, or environmental science. Because the Earth and Planetary Sciences Department offers graduate training in many aspects of the earth sciences, there is no single list of courses that must have been completed prior to graduate study. Necessary background courses must instead be mutually agreed upon by the student, thesis advisor, and thesis committee, and must be approved by the Graduate Committee. It is expected that some students will need to take one or more 300-level EPS courses in order to prepare them adequately for their graduate programs; such courses must be taken as early in those students’ programs as possible. No graduate credit can be earned for 300-level courses in Earth and Planetary Sciences. Entering graduate students are expected to have completed the equivalent of CHEM 1215/1215L and 1225/1225L; MATH 1512 and 1522; PHYS 1310 and 1320. If one or more of these courses has not been taken, it will be formally identified as a deficiency that must be made up within the student’s first year in the graduate program. Additional coursework in math, chemistry, physics, statistics, or biology is encouraged. No graduate credit can be earned for 100- or 200-level math and science courses.

Students with a B.S. degree are generally admitted into the M.S. program. Under certain circumstances, direct admission to the Ph.D. program from a B.S. degree may be possible. General requirements for the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees are found within the Graduate Program section of this Catalog. Each candidate will meet with their advisor, during the first week or so of the first semester of enrollment. The results of this interview will determine in part the student’s ensuing schedule. M.S. candidates are required to pass an examination involving the preparation and defense of a thesis proposal during the second semester of enrollment. Ph.D. candidates are required to pass a Comprehensive Examination, during the third semester of post-M.S. enrollment, involving the preparation and defense of two dissertation proposals.


Courses

ENVS 1130 [GEOL 1120] [ENVS 101]. The Blue Planet [Environmental Geology] [The Blue Planet]. (3)



ENVS 1130L [GEOL 1120L] [ENVS 102L]. The Blue Planet Laboratory [Environmental Geology Laboratory] [The Blue Planet Laboratory]. (1)



ENVS 315. Statistics and Data Analysis. (3)



ENVS 320L. Environmental Systems. (4)



ENVS 321L. Earth Materials and Critical Zone Geology. (4)



ENVS 322L. Life and the Earth System . (4)



ENVS 323L. Water in the Earth System. (4)



ENVS 324. Earth's Climatic Environment. (3)



ENVS 330. Environmental Systems. (3)



ENVS 430L / 530L. Advanced Environmental Science. (4)



ENVS 530L / 430L. Advanced Environmental Science. (4)



EPS **300. Topics in Geology. (1-4, may be repeated once Δ)



EPS **301. Mineralogy/Earth and Planetary Materials. (3)



EPS **302L. Mineralogy Laboratory. (2)



EPS **303L. Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology. (4)



EPS **304L. Sedimentology and Stratigraphy. (4)



EPS **307L. Structural Geology. (4)



EPS 310L. New Mexico Field Geology. (4)



EPS **319L. Introductory Field Geology. (4)



EPS 352. Global Climate Change. (3)



EPS **365. Exploring the Solar System. (3)



EPS *400. Topics in Earth and Planetary Sciences. (1-4, may be repeated once Δ)



EPS 401 / 501. Colloquium. (1, may be repeated twice Δ)



EPS 405L / 505L. Stable Isotope Geochemistry. (3)



EPS 410 / 510. Fundamentals of Geochemistry. (3)



EPS *411L. Invertebrate Paleontology. (4)



EPS 415 / 515. Geochemistry of Natural Waters. (3)



EPS 420L / 520L. Topics in Advanced Field Geology. (2-4 to a maximum of 8 Δ)



EPS 427 / 527. Geophysics. (3)



EPS 428 / 528. Applied Mathematics for Earth and Environmental Sciences. (3)



EPS 436 / 536. Climate Dynamics. (3)



EPS *439. Paleoclimatology. (3)



EPS 445 / 545. Topics in Sedimentology and Stratigraphy. (1-4, may be repeated five times Δ)



EPS 450L / 550L. Volcanology. (4)



EPS 455L / 555L. Computational and GIS Applications in Geomorphology. (3)



EPS 462 / 562. Hydrogeology. (3)



EPS 476 / 576. Physical Hydrology. (3)



EPS 481L / 581L. Geomorphology and Surficial Geology. (4)



EPS 482L / 582L. Geoarchaeology. (3)



EPS 485L / 585L. Soil Stratigraphy and Morphology. (3)



EPS *490. Geologic Presentation. (1)



EPS 491–492. Problems. (1-3; 1-3)



EPS 493. Independent Study. (3)



EPS 495. Senior Thesis. (3)



EPS 501 / 401. Colloquium. (1, may be repeated twice Δ)



EPS 502. Center for Stable Isotopes Seminar. (1, may be repeated eight times Δ)



EPS 505L / 405L. Stable Isotope Geochemistry. (3)



EPS 507L. Thermodynamics and Physical Foundations of Geochemistry. (4)



EPS 510 / 410. Fundamentals of Geochemistry. (3)



EPS 513. Planetary Materials and the Evolution of the Solar System. (3)



EPS 515 / 415. Geochemistry of Natural Waters. (3)



EPS 516. Selected Topics in Geomorphology. (3, may be repeated five times Δ)



EPS 518L. Electron Microprobe Analysis. (3)



EPS 520L / 420L. Topics in Advanced Field Geology. (2-4 to a maximum of 8 Δ)



EPS 522. Selected Topics in Geophysics. (3, may be repeated five times Δ)



EPS 523. Topics in Tectonics. (3, may be repeated five times Δ)



EPS 527 / 427. Geophysics. (3)



EPS 528 / 428. Applied Mathematics for Earth and Environmental Sciences. (3)



EPS 534. Radiogenic Isotope Geochemistry. (3)



EPS 536 / 436. Climate Dynamics. (3)



EPS 538L. Analytical Electron Microscopy. (3)



EPS 545 / 445. Topics in Sedimentology and Stratigraphy. (1-4, may be repeated five times Δ)



EPS 547–548. Seminar. (2-3, may be repeated five times Δ; 2-3, may be repeated five times Δ)



EPS 550L / 450L. Volcanology. (4)



EPS 551–552. Problems. (1-3; 1-3 to a maximum of 3 Δ)



EPS 555L / 455L. Computational and GIS Applications in Geomorphology. (3)



EPS 562 / 462. Hydrogeology. (3)



EPS 576 / 476. Physical Hydrology. (3)



EPS 581L / 481L. Geomorphology and Surficial Geology. (4)



EPS 582L / 482L. Geoarchaeology. (3)



EPS 585L / 485L. Soil Stratigraphy and Morphology. (3)



EPS 587. Advanced Mineralogy. (3)



EPS 599. Master's Thesis. (1-6, no limit Δ)



EPS 699. Dissertation. (3-12, no limit Δ)



GEOL 1110 [EPS 101]. Physical Geology [How the Earth Works: An Introduction to Geology]. (3)



GEOL 1110L [EPS 105L]. Physical Geology Laboratory. (1)



GEOL 1120 [ENVS 101]. Environmental Geology [The Blue Planet]. (3)



GEOL 1120L [ENVS 102L]. Environmental Geology Laboratory [The Blue Planet Laboratory]. (3)



GEOL 2110C [EPS 201L]. Historical Geology Lecture and Laboratory [Earth History]. (4)



GEOL 2130 [EPS 251]. Introduction to Meteorology [Meteorology]. (3)



GEOL 2140 [EPS 250]. Geology of New Mexico. (3)



GEOL 2430 [EPS 252]. Volcanoes!. (3)



GEOL 2996 [EPS 110]. Topics [Topics in the Earth Sciences]. (1-3 to a maximum of 3 Δ)



NTSC 1110 [261L]. Physical Science for Teachers [Physical Science]. (4)



NTSC 1120 [262L]. Life Science for Teachers [Life Science]. (4)



NTSC 2110 [263L]. Environmental Science for Teachers [Environmental Science]. (4)



NTSC *400. Science Topics for Educators. (1-4, may be repeated twice Δ)



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Office of the Registrar

MSC11 6325
1 University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87131

Phone: (505) 277-8900
Fax: (505) 277-6809