The Advanced Graduate Certificate in Biogeoscience aims to prepare students to develop academic mastery in biogeoscience, expertise in biogeoscience research and communication, and generally be prepared to enter the job market. Details about the Certificate program can be found in the Boston University Academic Bulletin.

Eligibility and Application

Ph.D. and Master’s students enrolled in any participating program qualify to complete the Certificate Program in Biogeoscience. Admission to the certificate program requires the submission of an official application to the Program Director (Jennifer Bhatnagar). The one page application is reviewed by the program chair and advisory committee, with admission based on the student’s potential and match of interests with the program’s mission. Upon completion of the certificate program, students are required to submit a program completion certificate to the Program Director (Jennifer Bhatnagar), in order to receive their official certificates upon graduation.

Coursework

Upon successful admission, students are required to complete 16 credits of coursework with the recommended courses: Colloquium in Biogeoscience (2 credits), Practicum in Biogeoscience (2 credits), one course in Biogeophysics (4 credits), one course in Biogeochemistry (4 credits), and one course in Methods in Biogeoscience (Statistics, Modeling & Geospatial Sciences; 4 credits). If it is logistically infeasible to complete Biogeophysics, biogeochemistry, and Methods in Biogeosciences courses, students can petition to the Program Director to take three (4 credit) courses within two of the focus areas (in addition to the Colloquium and Practicum). See the Biogeoscience Curriculum section below for list of course offerings in each area.

The certificate program is designed such that requirements can be fulfilled as part of, and not in addition to, requirements for the Ph.D. or Master’s degree in the student’s home department (e.g., Biology or Earth & Environment).

Research

Students are encouraged to engage intellectually in the science of both bio(geochemistry) and geo(physics).

Students conducting research as part of their degree program are required to constitute a faculty committee to evaluate their research. Biogeoscience faculty should constitute at least 50% of a student’s committee.

PhD students are required to have a five-member committee. At least two of the members must be drawn from participating faculty, one of whom must be outside of the student’s sponsoring department.

Master’s students who are conducting research as part of their degree (e.g., Research Thesis track or BA/MA) are required to have one of their thesis research committee members drawn from participating faculty. This requirement, in combination with the coursework requirement, ensures strong, interdisciplinary education and training in biogeoscience.

Biogeoscience Learning Outcomes

• Demonstrate academic mastery in biogeoscience
• Attain research expertise within the field of biogeoscience
• Be prepared to enter the job market
• Communicate research questions and results to the scientific community and communicate research findings and wider implications of biogeoscience research to the general public

Biogeoscience Curriculum

For information on how to apply, please contact Jennifer Bhatnagar (jmbhat@bu.edu), Director of the Biogeoscience Program.