Prerequisites

The student is expected to have completed a bachelor’s degree, preferably in earth sciences or a related field, prior to admission to the department. This should include a year each of basic chemistry, physics, and calculus. Deficiencies to be filled by coursework at Boston University should be specified in the outline of study. Normally, these courses do not carry degree credit.

Outline of Study

Within the first four weeks of initial registration, the candidate, in consultation with the advisor and an Entrance Interview Committee, prepares an outline of study, which is submitted to the department for approval. The outline indicates the courses that the candidate expects to take, including undergraduate courses for those areas in which the candidate is deficient.

Course Requirements

Eight graduate-level courses (32 credits) are required, of which at least four must be Earth Sciences courses, including at least two non-research Earth Sciences courses (other than ES 699). Three of the eight required courses can be research courses associated with thesis research.

Language Requirement

The Department of Earth Sciences does not require a language for the MA degree.

Thesis and Thesis Defense

A written thesis, approved by at least three members of the department (usually the student’s advisor and two mutually agreed upon second readers) must be submitted to the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences. All MA candidates must give an oral presentation and defend their research results in a public forum.

Financial Support

Graduate students may receive up to two years of departmental support in the form of full or partial teaching fellowships that cover tuition costs and a stipend. Candidates may receive further support from research grants or other sources.

The Geoarchaeology Program is aimed at providing a broad background in both the geosciences and archaeology. Please see Archaeology for details.

Prerequisites

Candidates must have achieved the equivalent of a bachelor’s degree in earth sciences or a related discipline or an MA/MS degree in earth sciences. The PhD degree program is also open to anyone who has fulfilled the general requirements for an MS/MA degree in a natural science field.

Outline of Study

Within four weeks of initial registration, the PhD candidate, in consultation with the faculty advisor and an Entrance Interview Committee, must submit, for approval by the department, an outline of study that specifies the sequence of courses the student expects to take. The purpose of the outline is to clearly specify those courses that should be taken to make up general deficiencies in qualifications. In addition, the outline is intended to give incoming students guidance in their general readings for the qualifying exam.

Course Requirements

Normally a total of 16 graduate-level courses (64 credits) is required, including at least two non-research Earth Sciences courses (other than GRS ES 699). Up to eight courses (32 credits) taken as part of a master’s degree can be applied toward the required 16. All students must take at least one graduate-level course from two of the following Earth Sciences disciplines: (I) Geodynamics; (II) Geochemistry; (III) Earth History. Upon written, signed approval of the Advisor and Director of Graduate Studies students may substitute prior coursework, although such coursework will not count toward the graduate-level credit requirement unless transferred in accordance with the policies and practices of the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences.

Language Requirement

The Department of Earth Sciences does not require a foreign language for the PhD.

Dissertation Committee

The student, in consultation with the dissertation advisor, is responsible for arranging a dissertation committee, consisting of the dissertation advisor and at least three other faculty members. Two of these other faculty members must be full-time members of the Department of Earth Sciences, and one must be external to the department.

Qualifying Examinations

Each PhD candidate must pass two qualifying examinations (one written and one oral),which are intended to test the candidate’s specific knowledge of the dissertation topic as well as the depth of knowledge of the scientific context of the topic. The student must pass these qualifying examinations in order to proceed with the dissertation research. Exams are normally scheduled in the fourth semester.

Dissertation Proposal

Within a year after passing the comprehensive examination, the student, in consultation with the faculty advisor, must present for approval by the department a dissertation proposal outlining a program of dissertation research. (See “Dissertation Outline/Proposal/Prospectus” under the General Requirements for the PhD.)

Dissertation and Dissertation Defense

A dissertation must be presented to the members of the dissertation committee in a timely fashion in accordance with the rules of the Graduate School and the timetable agreed to with the department. The results of the dissertation must be presented orally in a lecture or demonstration open to the University community at a forum agreed upon by the student and the dissertation committee members. The student, in conjunction with the dissertation committee, must also schedule a dissertation defense, during which at least five members of the department are given adequate opportunity to question the candidate on the results of the dissertation research.

Financial Support

Graduate students may receive up to four years of departmental support in the form of full or partial teaching fellowships that cover tuition costs and a stipend. Candidates may receive further support from research grants or other sources.

Residency Requirement, Prospectus, Dissertation, Final Oral Examination

See General Requirements for the PhD.

Student Organizations

The Boston University Geological Society (BUGS)

The Boston University Geological Society (BUGS) is an organization of earth sciences students with activities complementing the classroom study of earth sciences. In addition to regular meetings and frequent fundraising events, BUGS organizes field trips, sports teams, and external lectures.

Sigma Xi

Eligible students may be elected to the Society of Sigma Xi.

Courses

• CAS ES 500 Field Geology
• CAS ES 503 Structural Petrology
• CAS ES 505 Plate Tectonics and Kinematics
• CAS ES 511 Groundwater Hydrogeology
• CAS ES 514 Dynamic Landsurface Hydrology
• CAS ES 522 Metamorphic Petrology
• CAS ES 533 Quantitative Geomorphology
• CAS ES 534 Ice-Age Systems
• CAS ES 541 Coastal Processes
• CAS ES 543 Estuaries
• CAS ES 545 Tropical Oceanography of the Caribbean Sea
• CAS ES 546 Tropical Oceanography of the Caribbean Sea: Applications and Research
• CAS ES 561 Mechanics of Earthquakes
• CAS ES 571 Geochemical Modeling
• CAS ES 573 Analytical Methods in Geochemistry
• CAS ES 576 Aquatic Geochemistry
• CAS ES 581 Solid Earth Geophysics
• CAS ES 587, 588 Seminar in Earth Sciences
• GRS ES 611 Glacial and Pleistocene Geology
• GRS ES 623 Marine Biogeochemistry
• GRS ES 640 Marine Geology
• GRS ES 643 Terrestrial Biogeochemistry
• GRS ES 652 Experimental Analysis of Marine Symbiosis: Organism-Sediment Relationships
• GRS ES 660 Geodynamics I
• GRS ES 671 Introduction to Geochemistry
• GRS ES 681 Geological Record of Global Change
• GRS ES 683 Geodynamics II Fluids and Fluid Transport
• GRS ES 699 Teaching College Earth Sciences I
• GRS ES 701 Quantitative Methods for the Earth Sciences I: Mechanics of Earth Materials
• GRS ES 702 Quantitative Methods for the Earth Sciences II: Analysis and Modeling of Geological Processes
• GRS ES 711 Fluvial Geomorphology
• GRS ES 712 Laboratory and Field Hydrogeology
• GRS ES 714 Advanced Groundwater Hydrogeology
• GRS ES 732 Geology of Continental Margins
• GRS ES 733 Advanced Desert Geomorphology
• GRS ES 742 Coastal Dynamics
• GRS ES 751 Advanced Paleoceanography
• GRS ES 762 Nonmarine Terrigenous Clastic Deposits and Processes
• GRS ES 771 Isotope Earth Science
• GRS ES 781 Methods of Seismology
• GRS ES 783 Climate-Tectonic Linkages

Advanced Topics

Hours arranged, 4 cr.

• GRS ES 830 Advanced Topics in Surface Processes
• GRS ES 831 Advanced Topics in Tectonics
• GRS ES 832 Advanced Topics in Paleoclimatology
• GRS ES 833 Advanced Topics in Seismology and Geophysics
• GRS ES 834 Advanced Topics in Geochemical Cycles
• GRS ES 835 Advanced Topics in Marine Geosciences
• GRS ES 836 Advanced Topics in Igneous and Metamorphic Geology

Directed Study or Research

Hours arranged. Variable cr.

• GRS ES 911, 912 Geomorphology and Hydrogeology
• GRS ES 913, 914 Environmental and Urban Geology
• GRS ES 921, 922 Crystallography and Mineralogy
• GRS ES 925, 926 Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology
• GRS ES 927, 928 Structural Geology and Tectonics
• GRS ES 931, 932 Sedimentation and Stratigraphy
• GRS ES 941, 942 Coastal and Marine Geology
• GRS ES 951, 952 Paleontology
• GRS ES 961, 962 Geophysics
• GRS ES 963, 964 Seismology
• GRS ES 971, 972 Geochemistry

Related Courses

A number of related courses in mathematics and natural science taught by other departments may be selected for graduate credit as part of the MA and PhD programs in earth sciences with prior approval of the chairman. The following courses are recommended; those marked with an asterisk (*) require a petition for graduate credit.

Astronomy

• CAS AS 591, 592 Introduction to Space Physics I, II

Biology

• CAS BI 303 Environmental Ecology*
• CAS BI 504 Evolution
• CAS BI 617 Lakes and Rivers
• CAS BI 666 Marine Ecology

Chemistry

• CAS CH 351, 352 Physical Chemistry*
• CAS CH 354 Physical Chemistry Laboratory*

Geography

• CAS GG 502 Advanced Topics in Remote Sensing
• CAS GG 517 Models for Hydrologic Analysis
• GRS GG 845 Topics in GIS

Mathematics

• CAS MA 411 Advanced Calculus*
• CAS MA 561 Methods of Applied Mathematics I
• CAS MA 562 Methods of Applied Mathematics II
• CAS MA 575 Applied Regression and Analysis of Variance I
• CAS MA 576 Applied Regression and Analysis of Variance II

Physics

• CAS PY 371 Electronics for Scientists*
• CAS PY 405 Electromagnetic Fields and Waves I*
• CAS PY 406 Electromagnetic Fields and Waves II*
• CAS PY 408 Intermediate Mechanics*

Cooperative Program with Boston College

A listing and descriptions of available courses offered at Boston College as part of the cooperative program may be obtained in the earth sciences office. Cross registration is designated by the symbols XRG.