Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences, PhD
Contact Info
| Website: | https://eeps.wustl.edu/ |
Doctoral Candidacy
To earn a PhD at Washington University, a student must complete all courses required by their department; maintain satisfactory academic progress; pass certain examinations; fulfill residence and Mentored Experience Requirements; write, defend, and submit a dissertation; and apply to graduate via Workday Student. For the details of doctoral degree general requirements in Arts & Sciences, including an explanation of Satisfactory Academic Progress, students should review the Doctoral Degree Academic Information page of the Arts & Sciences Bulletin.
Program Requirements
- Total Units Required: 36
- Degree Length: 5 years
- Note: Students must be enrolled in 9 graduate credits each semester to retain full-time status. As students complete their course work, if enrolled in fewer than 9 graduate credits, they must enroll in a specific Arts & Sciences graduate course that will show 0 units but does count as full-time status. Students should connect with their department to ensure proper enrollment prior to Add/Drop.
- Grade Requirement: GPA of 3.0 or better
PhD in Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences
The PhD in Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences equips students for a research career centered on understanding Earth, environmental, and/or planetary processes. The degree provides comprehensive training in both research and teaching, with course requirements designed to provide foundational knowledge. Graduates are well-prepared to tackle complex scientific challenges in academia, government, and industry.
Required Courses
The PhD degree requires completion of at least eight courses at the 5000 level, with at least five in EEPS. EEPS 5920 Research and EEPS 5950 Seminar do not meet these course requirements. EEPS 5900 Independent Study can only meet these course requirements with the approval of the Graduate Studies Committee. Courses taken outside the department must be in science, mathematics, or engineering.
Students with limited prior coursework in EEPS, mathematics, physics, or chemistry may be required to take additional courses, as determined by their Research Advisory Committee. Those who hold a master’s degree in EEPS or a related field may petition, following department procedures, to waive up to two of the five required EEPS courses.
Qualifying Examinations
Progress toward the PhD is contingent upon the student passing examinations that are variously called preliminary, qualifying, general, comprehensive, or major field exams. The qualifying process varies according to the program. In some programs, it consists of a series of incremental, sequential, and cumulative exams over a considerable time. In others, the exams are held during a relatively short period of time. Exams may be replaced by one or more papers. The program, which determines the structure and schedule of the required examinations, is responsible for notifying the Office of Graduate Studies, Arts & Sciences, of the student’s outcome, whether successful or unsuccessful.
Mentored Experience Requirements
Doctoral students at Washington University must complete a department-defined Mentored Experience. The Mentored Experience Requirement is a doctoral degree requirement that is notated on the student’s transcript when complete. Each department has an established Mentored Experience Implementation Plan in which the number of units that a student must earn through Mentored Teaching Experience(s) and/or Mentored Professional Experience(s) is defined. The Mentored Experience Implementation Plans outline how doctoral students within the discipline will be mentored to achieve competencies in teaching at basic and advanced levels. Some departments may elect to include Mentored Professional Experiences as an avenue for completing some units of the Mentored Experience Requirement. Doctoral students will enroll in ASGS 8005, 8010, or 8015 Mentored Teaching Experience - Assistant in Instruction; ASGS 8020 Mentored Teaching Experience - Mentored Independent Teaching; or ASGS 8120 Mentored Professional Experience to signify their progression toward completing the overall Mentored Experience Requirement for the degree.
The Doctoral Dissertation
A Research Advisory Committee (RAC) must be created no later than the end of the student's third year; departments may set shorter timelines (e.g., by the end of the student's second year) for this requirement. As evidence of the mastery of a specific field of knowledge and of the capacity for original scholarly work, each candidate must complete a dissertation that is approved by their RAC.
A Title, Scope & Procedure Form for the dissertation must be signed by the committee members and by the program chair. It must be submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies, Arts & Sciences, at least six months before the degree is expected to be conferred or before the beginning of the fifth year of full-time enrollment, whichever is earlier.
A Doctoral Dissertation Guide and a Dissertation Template that give instructions regarding the format of the dissertation are available on the website of the Office of Graduate Studies, Arts & Sciences. Both should be read carefully at every stage of dissertation preparation.
The Office of Graduate Studies, Arts & Sciences, requires each student to make the full text of the dissertation available to the committee members for their review at least one week before the defense. Most degree programs require two or more weeks for the review period; students should check with their faculty.
The Dissertation Defense
Approval of the written dissertation by the Research Advisory Committee (RAC) is strongly recommended before the student can orally defend the dissertation. The Doctoral Dissertation Committee that examines the student during the defense consists of at least five members. Normally, the members of the RAC also serve on the Doctoral Dissertation Committee. The dissertation committee is then additionally augmented to ensure that the following criteria are met:
- Three of the five members (or a similar proportion of a larger committee) must be full-time Washington University in St. Louis faculty members or, for programs involving Washington University in St. Louis-affiliated partners, full-time members of a Washington University in St. Louis-affiliated partner institution. All members must be authorized to supervise PhD students and have appropriate expertise in the proposed field of study. One of these three members must be the PhD student's primary thesis advisor, and one may be a member of the emeritus faculty.
- All other committee members must be active in research/scholarship and have appropriate expertise in the proposed field of study whether at Washington University in St. Louis, at another university, in government, or in industry.
- At least one of the five members must bring expertise outside of the student's field of study to the committee, as judged by the relevant department/program and approved by the Office of Graduate Studies, Arts & Sciences.
The approval processes outlined in the RAC section of the Doctoral Council bylaws also apply to the doctoral dissertation committee, including approval of each dissertation committee by the Office of Graduate Studies, Arts & Sciences.
The student is responsible for making the full text of the dissertation accessible to their committee members for their review in advance of the defense according to program rules. Washington University in St. Louis community members and guests of the student who are interested in the subject of the dissertation are normally welcome to attend all or part of the defense but may ask questions only at the discretion of the committee chair. Although there is some variation among degree programs, the defense ordinarily focuses on the dissertation itself and its relation to the student's field of expertise.
Attendance by a minimum of four members of the Doctoral Dissertation Committee, including the committee chair and an outside member, is required for the defense to take place. This provision is designed to permit the student's defense to proceed in case of a situation that unexpectedly prevents one of the five members from attending. Students should not plan in advance to only have four members in attendance. If four members cannot attend, the defense must be rescheduled. The absence of all outside members or of the committee chair also requires rescheduling the defense.
Students, with the support of their Doctoral Dissertation Committee chair, may opt to hold their dissertation defense in person or by utilizing a virtual or hybrid format.
Submission of the Dissertation
After the defense, the student must submit an electronic copy of the dissertation online to the Office of Graduate Studies, Arts & Sciences. The submission website requires students to choose among publishing and copyrighting services offered by ProQuest’s ETD Administrator. Students are asked to submit the Survey of Earned Doctorates separately. The degree program is responsible for delivering the final approval form, signed by the committee members at the defense and then by the program chair or director, to the Office of Graduate Studies, Arts & Sciences. Students who defend their dissertations successfully have not yet completed their PhD requirements; they finish earning their degree only when their electronic dissertation submission has been accepted by the Office of Graduate Studies, Arts & Sciences.
Academic Performance
All students are expected to maintain satisfactory academic performance. This includes
- Students must complete all PhD requirements except for the dissertation by the end of the fourth year
- Students must maintain a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0 (exclusive of credits in EEPS 5920) and obtain a 3.0 or better in all courses (excluding courses taken through the English Language Program).
- Students may not at any time carry more than 9 credit units for which grades I, X, or N are recorded.
- Students must submit a dissertation proposal in the form of a Title, Scope, and Procedure Form before the start of the ninth semester.
- Students must successfully pass the Qualifying Examination within 90 days following the end of the fourth semester of enrollment.
- Students must make timely progress toward degree completion through the conduct of scientific research and the production of scholarly work (e.g., peer-reviewed journal articles, conference presentations) at the level of excellence expected of a Washington University PhD.
- Students must complete the mentored teaching requirements.
- Students must hold annual review meetings with the Research Advisory Committee.
Students who do not maintain satisfactory academic performance may be placed on academic probation or in rare cases face dismissal as described in the Departmentʼs Plan for Supervising Academic Progress and the Office of Graduate Studies in Arts & Sciences Policy on Probation and Dismissal for Academic Reasons.
Master's Degree Along the Way/In Lieu of a PhD Requirements
The MA degree requires completion of at least six courses at the 5000 level, with at least four in EEPS. EEPS 5920 Research and EEPS 5950 Seminar do not meet these course requirements. EEPS 5900 Independent Study can only meet these course requirements with the approval of the Graduate Studies Committee. Courses taken outside the department must be in science, mathematics, or engineering. The MA degree also requires a demonstration of competence in an oral examination by the Research Advisory Committee and completion of 30 units of graduate credit in courses and research.
As part of their degree requirements, PhD students must complete a program-defined Mentored Experience Requirement (MER) as per these guidelines. The Mentored Experience Implementation Plan (MEIP) is the written articulation of a program-defined degree requirement for PhD students to engage in mentored teaching activities and/or mentored professional activities, collectively referred to as MERs.
Mentored Experience Requirements (MERs)
Philosophy of Teaching
In EEPS, mentored experiences are essential for PhD education. Our philosophy is grounded in the idea that all PhDs should master the ability to articulate scientific ideas in a clear and engaging manner.
Mentored Teaching Experiences are a platform for students to sharpen their communication skills and deepen their understanding of fundamental concepts in the field.
Mentored Professional Experiences are encouraged but not required. These offer an opportunity for students to apply their theoretical knowledge in practical, real-world contexts, and they are particularly valuable for students who plan careers outside of academia.
Preparatory Engagement
Preparatory Engagement activities are those that represent an introduction to the foundational skills associated with teaching or communication. Pedagogical preparation engagement activities are normally completed before students are permitted to engage in assisting or teaching in a classroom.
All students are required to do the following:
- Attend an EEPS graduate student orientation, which includes information about mentored teaching.
- Attend a 90-minute Center for Teaching and Learning workshop.
- Enroll in EEPS 5950 First-Year Seminar, which includes sessions on teaching, communication, and professionalism.
Mentored Teaching Experiences (MTEs)
Assistant in Instruction (AI)
An Assistant in Instruction (AI) is a PhD student who is directly engaged in the organization, instruction, and/or support of a semester-long course primarily taught by a faculty member. An AI receives mentorship from a faculty member related to best practices in classroom engagement, instruction in the field, interpersonal engagement, and other relevant skills. Students and mentors complete a mentorship plan prior to the start of each AI experience. To complete each AI assignment and to ensure that it applies toward their degree requirements, students must register for the appropriate course number for each semester of engagement. Refer to the "Required Pathways for Completion" section below for course numbers and details.
Students will complete two AI assignments at 15 MER units each. Assignments are determined by the department in consultation with course instructors.
Required Pathways for Completion
Students work with their faculty mentor and their Director of Graduate Studies to plan how and when they will complete their MERs. Students register during the normal registration period for courses in accordance with one of these approved pathways.
- Preparatory Engagement
| ASGS 8015 | Take two times |
Optional Activity: Professional Intensive Pathway (PIP)
The PIP is an optional pathway for those students whose career interests lie outside of academia or who want to benefit from mentored professional experiences (MPEs). An MPE is an unpaid professional experience for PhD students that allows students to develop skills and experiences relevant to their intended career outcomes. Students and mentors complete a mentorship plan prior to the start of each MPE. Students who are interested in participating in this elective experience must formally request to participate, which is subject to program approval. Due to this experience being an elective, unpaid experience, students who participate in the PIP will not receive compensation.
Students may opt to complete one MPE as a Professional Intensive Pathway.
Optional Pathway
| ASGS 8120 | Take one time |