About the Environmental Sciences (ES) Graduate Program
The ES Graduate Program
The ES program is designed to allow the student an opportunity to design a curriculum to meet his or her disciplinary interests and professional aspirations. All requirements of the ES&H program are based upon the requirements for graduate study specified by the University of Nevada, Reno General Catalog.
Graduate Requirements
- Masters Students
- Doctoral Students
- University of Nevada, Reno - Graduate School
Masters Students:
M.S. students are required to complete a thesis (Plan A) including at least 30 credits of acceptable graduate courses.
- At least 18 credits in the program must be at the 700 level, and include 6 thesis units
- At least 21 credits must be earned in on-campus courses at the university.
- As many as three credits of satisfactory/unsatisfactory (s/u) grade, including transfer are acceptable
- Any transfer of credits from another institution must be recommended in the program of study by the advisory/examining committee and must be officially accepted by the Office of Admissions and Records
- As many as 9 graduate credits completed prior to admission to graduate standing may be applied toward the master's degree
All requirements for the master's degree must be satisfied within the period of six years immediately preceding the granting of the degree
| Degree | Total Credits | 700 Level | 600 Level | Thesis Credits |
| Masters | 30 | 12 | 12 | 6 |
Doctoral Students:
Doctoral are required to complete a minimum of 72 graduate credits, 48 of which must result from coursework.
- At least 30 credits must be taken at the 700 level: These credits may not include dissertation credits nor credits obtained during undergraduate study.
- Up to 18 credits of 700 level course work from a master's degree program may be applied to this requirement: No more than 24 credits of course work (with grades of B or better) from a master's degree program, or previous post baccalaureate graduate studies program, may be allocated toward the doctoral degree.
- Candidates for the Ph.D. degree must register for at least 24 dissertation credits and must submit a satisfactory dissertation to the examining committee: 1. A maximum of 24 credits must come from dissertation work; 2. Any exception to the minimum 24 dissertation credits requires the advance written approval of the program director and the graduate dean
All requirements for the Doctoral program, excluding prerequisite graduate course work or master's degrees, must be completed within a period of eight years
| Degree | Total Credits | 700 Level | 600 Level | Thesis Credits |
| Doctoral | 72 | 30 | 18 | 24 |
Interdisciplinary Approach
The Environmental Sciences Graduate Program is interdisciplinary and is focused on environmental chemistry, toxicology and ecological impacts of contaminants.
Faculty participation in the ES program comes from a variety of departments, programs and disciplines within the University of Nevada, Reno, the Desert Research Institute and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. We have provided links to several of those programs below and invite you to explore those resources on the web.