The PhD in Marine and Environmental Sciences (MES) program provides students with advanced course work and training in the concentration areas of marine sciences, geosciences, sustainability sciences, and ecology and evolutionary biology.
Students must pass three examinations during the course of their graduate studies:
- An oral examination by the student’s dissertation committee.
- A proposal defense presented to the student's dissertation committee that explains the research areas that the student proposes to work in.
- A defense of the student's written dissertation consisting of a public seminar, public question-and-answer period, and private defense of their work to their dissertation committee. Dissertation committees consist of at least four Northeastern faculty and one external faculty member.
A cumulative GPA of 3.000 is required for graduation. All PhD students are required to have at least two first-authored publications submitted to or accepted in a peer-reviewed journal prior to their defense. The PhD will be awarded following submission of a dissertation, approved by the candidate’s dissertation committee, to the College of Science.
Students who do not qualify for the doctoral degree, but who have completed required coursework with a cumulative GPA of 3.000 or better, may be eligible to receive a terminal MS Marine and Environmental Sciences degree. Note that no students will be admitted directly into the Marine and Environmental Sciences program to pursue a masterʼs degree.
Bachelor's Degree Entrance
Complete all courses and requirements listed below unless otherwise indicated.
Milestones
Annual review
Dissertation committee
Qualifying examination
Dissertation proposal
Candidacy
First-author publication
Dissertation defense
Core Requirements
Code | Title | Hours |
---|---|---|
Statistics | ||
Complete one of the following: | 4-5 | |
Experimental Design Marine Ecology | ||
Biostatistics and Lab for ENVR 6500 | ||
Alternative statistics course as approved by graduate committee | ||
Research | ||
Complete the following (repeatable) course twice: | 8 | |
Research |
Concentration
Complete one of the following concentrations:
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Code | Title | Hours |
---|---|---|
Seminars | ||
EEMB 7102 | Seminar in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology | 2 |
Complete one of the following: | 2 | |
Seminar in Marine Sciences | ||
Seminar in Sustainability Sciences | ||
Seminar in Geosciences | ||
Readings | ||
EEMB 8102 | Readings in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology | 2 |
Concentration-Specific Electives | ||
Complete 12 semester hours from the following: | 12 | |
Population Dynamics | ||
Biology of Corals | ||
Biology and Ecology of Fishes | ||
Marine Birds and Mammals | ||
Oceanography and Lab for EEMB 5516 | ||
Ocean and Coastal Processes | ||
Tropical Marine Ecology | ||
Environmental Planning | ||
Ancient Marine Life and Lab for ENVR 5242 | ||
Geographical Information Systems | ||
Substitutions may be made with approval of graduate committee. |
Sustainability Sciences
Code | Title | Hours |
---|---|---|
Seminars | ||
EEMB 7103 | Seminar in Sustainability Sciences | 2 |
Complete one of the following: | 2 | |
Seminar in Marine Sciences | ||
Seminar in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology | ||
Seminar in Geosciences | ||
Readings | ||
EEMB 8103 | Readings in Sustainability Sciences | 2 |
Concentration-Specific Electives | ||
Complete 12 semester hours from the following: | 12 | |
Population Dynamics | ||
Biology and Ecology of Fishes | ||
Oceanography and Lab for EEMB 5516 | ||
Ocean and Coastal Processes | ||
Advanced Topics in Environmental Geology | ||
Geographical Information Systems | ||
Introduction to Computational Statistics | ||
Information Design and Visual Analytics | ||
Analyzing Complex Digitized Data | ||
Social Networks | ||
Dynamic Modeling for Environmental Decision Making | ||
Resilient Cities | ||
Substitutions may be made with approval of graduate committee. |
Geosciences
Code | Title | Hours |
---|---|---|
Seminars | ||
EEMB 7104 | Seminar in Geosciences | 2 |
Complete one of the following: | 2 | |
Seminar in Marine Sciences | ||
Seminar in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology | ||
Seminar in Sustainability Sciences | ||
Readings | ||
EEMB 8104 | Readings in Geosciences | 2 |
Concentration-Specific Electives | ||
Complete 12 semester hours from the following: | 12 | |
Ocean and Coastal Processes | ||
Advanced Topics in Environmental Geology | ||
Soil Science | ||
Environmental Planning | ||
Sedimentary Basin Analysis and Lab for ENVR 5240 | ||
Ancient Marine Life and Lab for ENVR 5242 | ||
Geographical Information Systems | ||
Substitutions may be made with approval of graduate committee. |
Marine Sciences
Code | Title | Hours |
---|---|---|
Seminars | ||
EEMB 7101 | Seminar in Marine Sciences | 2 |
Complete one of the following: | 2 | |
Seminar in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology | ||
Seminar in Sustainability Sciences | ||
Seminar in Geosciences | ||
Readings | ||
EEMB 8101 | Readings in Marine Sciences | 2 |
Concentration-Specific Electives | ||
Complete 12 semester hours from the following: | 12 | |
Population Dynamics | ||
Biology of Corals | ||
Biology and Ecology of Fishes | ||
Marine Birds and Mammals | ||
Oceanography and Lab for EEMB 5516 | ||
Ocean and Coastal Processes | ||
Tropical Marine Ecology | ||
Ancient Marine Life and Lab for ENVR 5242 | ||
Geographical Information Systems | ||
Substitutions may be made with approval of graduate committee. |
Dissertation
Code | Title | Hours |
---|---|---|
Dissertation Term 1 | ||
Dissertation Term 2 |
Program Credit/GPA Requirements
30 total semester hours required
Minimum 3.000 GPA required
Complete all courses and requirements listed below unless otherwise indicated.
Milestones
Annual review
Dissertation committee
Qualifying examination
Dissertation proposal
Candidacy
First-author publication
Dissertation defense
Core Requirements
Code | Title | Hours |
---|---|---|
Statistics | ||
Complete one of the following: | 4-5 | |
Biostatistics and Lab for ENVR 6500 | ||
Experimental Design Marine Ecology | ||
Alternative statistics course as approved by graduate committee |
Concentration
Complete one of the following concentrations:
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Code | Title | Hours |
---|---|---|
Seminars | ||
EEMB 7102 | Seminar in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology | 2 |
Complete one of the following: | 2 | |
Seminar in Marine Sciences | ||
Seminar in Sustainability Sciences | ||
Seminar in Geosciences | ||
Readings | ||
EEMB 8102 | Readings in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology | 2 |
Sustainability Sciences
Code | Title | Hours |
---|---|---|
Seminars | ||
EEMB 7103 | Seminar in Sustainability Sciences | 2 |
Complete one of the following: | 2 | |
Seminar in Marine Sciences | ||
Seminar in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology | ||
Seminar in Geosciences | ||
Readings | ||
EEMB 8103 | Readings in Sustainability Sciences | 2 |
Geosciences
Code | Title | Hours |
---|---|---|
Seminars | ||
EEMB 7104 | Seminar in Geosciences | 2 |
Complete one of the following: | 2 | |
Seminar in Marine Sciences | ||
Seminar in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology | ||
Seminar in Sustainability Sciences | ||
Readings | ||
EEMB 8104 | Readings in Geosciences | 2 |
Marine Sciences
Code | Title | Hours |
---|---|---|
Seminars | ||
EEMB 7101 | Seminar in Marine Sciences | 2 |
Complete one of the following: | 2 | |
Seminar in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology | ||
Seminar in Sustainability Sciences | ||
Seminar in Geosciences | ||
Readings | ||
EEMB 8101 | Readings in Marine Sciences | 2 |
Dissertation
Code | Title | Hours |
---|---|---|
Dissertation Term 1 | ||
Dissertation Term 2 |
Program Credit/GPA Requirements
10 total semester hours required
Minimum 3.000 GPA required