Earth and Environmental Sciences

The Earth and Environmental Sciences program at the University of Rochester offers students a comprehensive and interdisciplinary education designed to prepare them for careers addressing some of the most critical challenges facing our planet today. This program explores the complex processes that shape the Earth's structure, composition, and dynamic systems, emphasizing the interactions between the Earth's physical components and the environment. Through a combination of rigorous coursework, laboratory research, and field studies, students gain a solid foundation in geology, hydrology, atmospheric sciences, and environmental sustainability.

The curriculum is structured to provide both theoretical understanding and practical skills. Students engage with topics such as plate tectonics, mineralogy, petrology, climate change, environmental monitoring, and pollution management. Emphasis is placed on developing analytical abilities, including data collection, interpretation, and scientific communication. Hands-on experiences are a key component of the program, with laboratory experiments and field trips designed to deepen understanding of Earth's processes and environmental issues.

Research opportunities at the University of Rochester enable students to work alongside faculty members on cutting-edge projects related to earthquake mechanics, climate modeling, water resources, and environmental remediation. These experiences prepare graduates for advanced study in graduate programs or for careers in environmental consulting, resource management, governmental agencies, and non-profit organizations focused on environmental protection and sustainable development.

The program also emphasizes the importance of scientific literacy and responsible stewardship of natural resources. Students are encouraged to think critically about societal impacts of environmental decisions and to develop innovative solutions for environmental challenges. By integrating physical sciences, environmental policy, and societal considerations, the Earth and Environmental Sciences program aims to cultivate well-rounded professionals equipped to contribute meaningfully to understanding and preserving our planet. Graduates leave the program with a versatile skill set applicable to various scientific, technical, and policy-oriented careers, positioned to make a positive impact on environmental health and sustainability worldwide.

• EES 201 EVOLUTION OF THE EARTH
• EES 201W EVOLUTION OF THE EARTH-THIS COURSE IS NO LONGER OFFERED AS A "W" SECTION
• EES 202 EARTHQKS, VOLCANOES&MT RANGE
• EES 202Q PLATE TECTONICS AND ACTIVE GEOLOGIC PROCESSES IN CALIFORNIA
• EES 203 SEDIMENTOLOGY & STRATIGRAPHY
• EES 203W SEDIMENTOLOGY & STRATIGRAPHY
• EES 204 MINERALOGY-THIS COURSE IS NO LONGER OFFERED
• EES 204W EARTH MATERIALS
• EES 205 SOLID EARTH GEOPHYSICS
• EES 206 PETROLOGY
• EES 206W PETROLOGY & GEOCHEMISTRY-UPPER LEVEL WRITING REQUIREMENT
• EES 207 PRINCIPLES OF PALEONTOLOGY
• EES 207W PRINCIPLES OF PALEONTOLOGY
• EES 208 STRUCTURAL GEOLOGY
• EES 209 INTRO GEOCHEMISTRY
• EES 211 GEOHAZARDS AND THEIR MITIGATION: LIVING ON AN ACTIVE PLANET
• EES 211W GEOHAZ AND THEIR MITIGATION
• EES 212 CLIM CHNG PERS CHEM. OCEAN.
• EES 213 HYDROLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES
• EES 213W HYDROLOGY & WATER RESOURCES
• EES 214  GEOSPATIAL DATA ANALYSES
• EES 215 ENVIRONMENTAL AND APPLIED GEOPHYSICS
• EES 216 ENVIRONMENTAL GEOCHEMISTRY
• EES 216W ENVIRONMENTAL GEOCHEMISTRY
• EES 217 CHEMICAL AND ISOTOPE HYDROLOGY
• EES 217W PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL HYDROLOGY-UPPER LEVEL WRITING REQUIREMENT
• EES 218 ATMOSPHERIC GEOCHEMISTRY
• EES 218W ATMOSPHERIC GEOCHEMISTRY
• EES 219 ENERGY AND SOCIETY
• EES 219W ENERGY AND SOCIETY-UPPER LEVEL WRITING REQUIREMENT
• EES 220 INTRODUCTION TO GEOBIOLOGY
• EES 222 ENERGY RESOURCES
• EES 231 ICE SHTS,GLACIERS,CLIM CHNG
• EES 232 SEMINAR IN MARINE BIOGEOCHM
• EES 233 MARINE ECOSYS&CARBN CYC MOD
• EES 234 FUND. ATMOSPHERIC MODELING
• EES 240 OPTICAL MINERALOGY-THIS COURSE IS NO LONGER OFFERED
• EES 247 CHEM. EVOLUTION OF THE EARTH
• EES 248 HIGH TEMPERATURE GEOCHEMISTRY
• EES 250 SEMINAR IN GEODESY
• EES 251 INTRODUCTION TO GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS
• EES 252 MARINE GEOLOGY
• EES 253 GEODYNAMICS
• EES 254 GEO INFO SYS:EARTH SCIENCE APPLLICATIONS
• EES 255 PLANETARY SCIENCE: GEOLOGIC EVOLUTION
• EES 255W PLANETARY SCI-GEOL EVOLUTN
• EES 256 PALEOMAGNETISM & GLOBAL PLATE TECTONICS
• EES 257 SEISMIC REFLECTION ANALYSES AND INTERPRETATION
• EES 258 HOTSPOTS & PLATE MOTIONS SEMINAR
• EES 258W HOTSPOTS & PLATE MOTIONS
• EES 259 SEMINAR IN PALEOMAGNETISM
• EES 260 SEMINAR IN EARLY EARTH GEOCHEMISTRY
• EES 261 STABLE ISOTOPE GEOCHEMISTRY
• EES 263 INTRO THERMODYNAMICS & KINETICS
• EES 264 PALEOENVIRONMENTAL RECONTRUCTIONS USING LIGHT STABLE ISOTOPES
• EES 264W PALEOENVIRONMENTAL RECONTRUCTIONS USING LIGHT STABLE ISOTOPES
• EES 265 PALEOCLIMATE
• EES 266 ICE CORE RECORDS of CLIMATE AND ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE
• EES 267 ISOTOPE GEOCHEMISTRY
• EES 268 CHEMICAL & ISOTOPIC HYDROLOGY
• EES 269 STABLE ISOTOPES IN GEOCHEMISTRY
• EES 270 VERTEBRATE PALEONTOLOGY
• EES 270W VERTEBRATE PALEONTOLOGY-UPPER LEVEL WRITING REQUIREMENT
• EES 274 SEMINAR IN PALEOCEANOGRAPHY
• EES 283 SEDIMENTARY BASIN ANALYSIS
• EES 283W SEDIMENTARY BASIN ANALYSIS
• EES 285 STRUCTURE AND TECTONICS OF MOUNTAIN BELTS
• EES 285W STRUC.&TEC.MTN.BELTS
• EES 286 SEMINAR IN SEDIMENTOLOGY & TECTONICS
• EES 286A SEM.SEDIMENTOLOGY&TECTONICS
• EES 286W SEM.SEDIMENTOLOGY&TECTONICS
• EES 287 CLIMATE AND TECTONIC INTERACTIONS
• EES 288 GEOMETRY & MECHANICS OF THRUST FAULTS
• EES 288W GEO & MECH OF THRUST FAULTS
• EES 298 INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH METHODS
• EES 299 FIELD GEOLOGY
• EES 299W FIELD GEOLOGY
• EES 307 ADV SEM CLIMATE & ENV CHNG
• EES 310 MULTIDIS.TOPICS SUSTAINABIL
• EES 312W RESEARCH OCEAN BIOGEOCHEM I
• EES 313 RESEARCH BIOGEOCHEM II
• EES 313W RESEARCH BIOGEOCHEM II
• EES 314W TOP QUATERNARY GEOMORPHOLOGY
• EES 318W ENVIRONMENTAL DECISIONS
• EES 319 ENERGY DECISIONS
• EES 319W ENERGY DECISIONS
• EES 320 SUSTAINABLE SYSTEMS
• EES 320W SUSTAINABLE SYSTEMS
• EES 352 EES ISS IN GROUP LEADERSHIP
• EES 360 ENVIRONMENTAL QUEST IN THE FIELD
• EES 390 SUPERVISED COLLEGE TEACHING
• EES 391 INDEPENDENT STUDY
• EES 391W INDEPENDENT STUDY IN EARTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES-UPPER LEVEL WRITING REQUIREMENT
• EES 393 SENIOR THESIS
• EES 393W SENIOR THESIS-UPPER LEVEL WRITING REQUIRMENT
• EES 394 INTERNSHIP IN EARTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
• EES 395 INDEPENDENT RESEARCH
• EES 396 SPECIAL TOPICS IN EES
• EES 405 SOLID EARTH GEOPHYSICS
• EES 406 PETROLOGY & GEOCHEMISTRY
• EES 407 ADV SEM CLIMATE & ENV CHNG
• EES 411 GEOHAZ AND THEIR MITIGATION
• EES 412 CLIM CHNG PERS CHEM. OCEAN.
• EES 412W RES OCEAN BIOGEOCHEM I
• EES 413 RES OCEAN BIOGEOCHM II
• EES 413W RES OCEAN BIOGEOCHM II
• EES 414 GEOSPATIAL DATA ANALYSES
• EES 415 ENV & APPLIED GEOPHYSICS
• EES 416 ENVIRONMENTAL GEOCHEMISTRY
• EES 417 CHEMICAL AND ISOTOPE HYDROLOGY
• EES 418 ATMOSPHERIC GEOCHEMISTRY
• EES 420 INTRODUCTION TO GEOBIOLOGY
• EES 422 ENERGY RESOURCES
• EES 431 ICE SHTS,GLACIERS,CLIM CHNG
• EES 432 SEMINAR IN MARINE BIOGEOCHM
• EES 433 MARINE ECOSYS&CARBN CYC MOD
• EES 434 FUND. ATMOSPHERIC MODELING
• EES 445 SOLID EARTH GEOCHEMISTRY
• EES 447 CHEM. EVOL
• UTION OF THE EARTH
• EES 448 HIGH TEMPERATURE GEOCHEMISTRY
• EES 450 SEMINAR IN GEODESY
• EES 451 GEOSPATIAL ANALYSES AND 3D VISUALIZATION-THIS COURSE IS NO LONGER BEING OFFERED
• EES 452 MARINE GEOLOGY
• EES 453 GEODYNAMICS
• EES 454 GEO INFO SYS:EARTH SCI APPL
• EES 455 PLANETARY SCI-GEOL EVOLUTN
• EES 456 PALEOMAG/GLOBAL PLATE TECH
• EES 457 SEISMIC REFLECTION ANALYSES AND INTERPRETATION
• EES 458 HOTSPOTS & PLATE MOTIONS
• EES 459 SEMINAR IN PALEOMAGNETISM
• EES 460 SEMINAR-EARLY EARTH GEOCHEM
• EES 461 STABLE ISOTOPE GEOCHEMISTRY
• EES 462 SEMINAR IN NOBLE GAS GEOCHEM
• EES 463 INTRO THERMODYNAMICS AND KINETICS
• EES 464 PALEOENV.RECONSTRUCTIONS USING LIGHT STABLE ISOTOPES
• EES 465 PALEOCLIMATE
• EES 466 ICE CORE RECORDS OF CLIMATE AND ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE
• EES 467 ISOTOPE GEOCHEMISTRY
• EES 470 VERTEBRATE PALEONTOLOGY
• EES 474 SEMINAR IN PALEOCEANOGRAPHY
• EES 480 MAT PROP OF DEFORMED ROCKS
• EES 481 MICROTECTONICS
• EES 483 SEDIMENTARY BASIN ANALYSIS
• EES 484 STRESS & STRAIN IN ROCKS
• EES 485 STRUCT & TEC MTN BELTS
• EES 486 SEM IN SEDIMENTOLOGY&TECTNCS
• EES 487 CLIMATE AND TECTONIC INTERACTIONS
• EES 488 GEOMETRY AND MECHANICS OF THRUST FAULTS
• EES 489 TOPICS IN ADV STRUC GEOLOGY
• EES 490 SUPERVISED COLLEGE TEACHING
• EES 491 MASTER'S READINGS IN GEOLOGY
• EES 492 GRADUATE FIELD SEMINAR
• EES 493 MASTER'S ESSAY
• EES 495 MASTER'S RESEARCH IN GEOLOGY

Requirements

• There is a $60 application fee for the Earth and Environmental Sciences Graduate Program.
• Three letters of recommendation (uploaded to the application per instructions)
• Official transcripts (minimum GPA is 3.0)
• Curriculum vitae
• Official GRE and TOEFL (or IELTS) test scores should be uploaded to the application and official copies should be mailed to the University for verification
• Other than the test scores, documents that are uploaded do not need to be mailed to the department
• The GRE General Test is required and should be taken in time for the admissions committee to receive score results by the January 1 deadline. We look for applicants to score at least a 145 on the Verbal, a 158 on the Quantitative, and a 3.0 on the Analytical Writing. The institution code is 2928 and the department code is 1603.
• All foreign applicants whose native language is not English must take the TOEFL and achieve a minimum score of 250 for the computer-based test (CBT), 600 for the paper-based test (PBT), or 100 for the Internet-based test (IBT), unless they are graduates of a US undergraduate program. IELTS scores can be accepted in place of the TOEFL with a minimum score of 7.0. 

Scholarships

Financial aid is available in the form of teaching and research assistantships and fellowships. Well qualified students may get additional support in the form of a university fellowships (e.g., Sproull fellowship ) and/or summer scholarships. Normally, PhD students are supported for four years, and receive a full tuition scholarship. MS students are treated on an individual basis - many receive partial to full tuition waivers.

Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Rochester offers a comprehensive curriculum designed to provide students with a deep understanding of the Earth's physical processes, environmental issues, and the interdisciplinary approaches needed to address global challenges. The program emphasizes both theoretical knowledge and practical skills, preparing students for careers in research, industry, environmental policy, and education. Undergraduate students have opportunities to engage in hands-on laboratory work, field studies, and research projects that enhance their understanding of topics such as geology, meteorology, oceanography, environmental science, and climate change. The department promotes experiential learning through internships, collaborations with government agencies and environmental organizations, and participation in field expeditions. Students are encouraged to develop critical thinking and problem-solving abilities, equipping them to analyze complex environmental systems and issues. The program also offers specialized coursework in areas like sustainable development, environmental policy, geophysics, and the impact of human activities on the natural world. Faculty members are active researchers, contributing to advances in earth sciences and mentoring students in their scholarly pursuits. The university's location provides excellent opportunities for field research in diverse environments, from local waterways to regional geological formations. Graduates of the program have gone on to successful careers in environmental consultancy, research institutions, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations, as well as pursuing graduate studies. The program fosters an inclusive academic community dedicated to addressing urgent environmental challenges through scientific innovation and responsible stewardship of natural resources.