M.S. in Environmental Science

Program Description

The environmental science program gives the student the broad multi-disciplinary subject matter and analytical tools necessary to be successful in such professions as consulting, industrial environmental management and environmental protection. Students from diverse science backgrounds apply their knowledge and skills to environmental problems, such as air pollution and control; water pollution and treatment; groundwater protection, contamination and remediation; solid and hazardous waste management.

Admission Requirements

Applicants should follow the admissions process described in this catalog or at the Graduate Admissions website: www.marshall.edu/graduate/admissions/how-to-apply-for-admission.

Each applicant must satisfy at least ONE of the following criteria:

Score at the mean or above on the verbal GRE
Score at the mean or above on the quantitative GRE
Score at the mean or above on the analytical GRE
Score at the mean or above on the Miller Analogies Test
Have an undergraduate GPA of 2.50 or above
Have passed the Fundamentals of Engineering exam and/or the Professional Engineering exam

In addition to the general requirements all students entering the graduate Environmental Science program must have completed prior to admission the following courses or their equivalent:

CHM 205 General, Organic, and Biochem and MTH 130 College Algebra with a grade of C or better, and a minimum total of five (5) courses/ competencies, relevant to environmental, safety and health, from the following:

Chemistry (200 level or above);
Physics (100 level or above);
Biology; Geology; Geography; Statistics; Soil Science; Law; Health and Economics; or
10 years of relevant work experience.

Degree Requirements

Students must complete 36 graduate credit hours at the graduate level, including at least 24 credit hours at Marshall University. The degree consists of 12 credit hours of core courses; 12 credit hours of required courses; and 12 credit hours of electives.

Core Courses

EM 660 – Project Management (3 hrs)
ENGR 610 – Applied Statistics (3 hrs)
TE 698 – Comprehensive Project Formulation – after completion of 18 hours (3 hrs)
TE 699 – Comprehensive Project – after completion of 27 hours (3 hrs)
ES 680 – Thesis, may be taken instead of TE 698 and TE 699.

Additional Degree Requirements

Required Courses

ES 514 – Environmental Risk Assessment (3 hrs)
ENVE 615 – Environmental Chemistry (3 hrs)
ES 550 – Environmental Law I (or ES 662 or ES 655) (3 hrs)
ES 620 – Environmental Management Systems (or ES 640 or ES 646) (3 hrs)

To fulfill the Core requirement, 6 credit hours must be satisfied by the TE 698/TE 699 sequence (to complete a comprehensive project) OR six hours of ES 680 (to complete a thesis). Comprehensive projects and the resulting write-up tend to be based on the application of the Environmental Science degree to professional projects, whereas a thesis is written as an output of a research project.

Electives

On completion of the MS Environmental Science degree program the student should have the requisite scope of knowledge and competency in specific environmental subject matter. Students are required to take 12 credit hours of elective courses and use them to satisfy proficiency courses:

TWO Environmental Science program electives
ONE department elective (an approved course in the department)
ONE CECS elective (an approved course in CECS)

The required and elective courses should be outlined in the Plan of Study. The Plan of Study should be developed in cooperation with and signed by the student’s advisor and should be completed prior to registration for the 12th credit hour.

Graduate Minor in Environmental Science

The Graduate Minor in Environmental Science can be completed through 9 hours of coursework:

ES 514 – Risk Assessment (or ES 610 Environmental Sampling Practice or ES 630 Site Assessment) (3 hrs)
ENVE 615 – Environmental Chemistry (or ES 646 Dynamics of Ecosystems or ES 654 Environmental Microbiology) (3 hrs)
ES 550 – Environmental Law (or ES 662 Environmental Policy or ES 655 Environmental Ethics) (3 hrs)