Degree and Specialization Information | Environmental Sciences Graduate Program

M.S. and Ph.D. students can select one of five program options:

General Study (no specialization)
Agroecosystems Sciences
Climate Change Science and Policy
Water Issues
Environmental Public Health

For General Study, all of the Core Coursework and Degree Requirements must be met. To earn a specialization, content-specific criteria must be met in addition to the requirements for General Study.

General Study (No Specialization)

ENV SCI MS Required Courses (20 credits)

ENV SCI 7899 ESGP Seminar (1 crhr)
ENV SCI 7899 ESGP Seminar (1 crhr)
ENV SCI 7899 ESGP Seminar (1 crhr)

ENV SCI 5170 Sustainability and Pollution Prevention Practices (3 crhrs)

Biological Sciences Foundational Knowledge (3 crhrs) (choose from approved courses on ESGP website)

Physical Sciences Foundational Knowledge (3 crhrs) (choose from approved courses on ESGP website)

Social Sciences/Policy Foundational Knowledge (3 crhrs) (choose from approved courses on ESGP website)

Entomology 7920 Presentation Skills for Interdisciplinary Scientists (2 crhrs)

Data Analysis Methods (3 crhrs) *Choose from approved courses on ESGP website. If you find a course you would like to take that is not on this list, please email Kelly Malone to get approval to take that course.

Remaining credits are a combination of research hours in your advisor’s home department and elective courses planned between you and your advisor. Total credit hours must be at lest 30 to earn the MS.

In addition to the general Graduate School requirements of a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher, students must meet specific college policies regarding grades in courses.

ENV SCI PhD Course Requirement Courses (21-24 credits)

ENV SCI 7899 ESGP Seminar (1 crhr)
ENV SCI 7899 ESGP Seminar (1 crhr)
ENV SCI 7899 ESGP Seminar (1 crhr)

ENV SCI 5170 Sustainability and Pollution Prevention Practices (3 crhrs)

Biological Sciences Foundational Knowledge (3 crhrs) (choose from approved courses on ESGP website)

Physical Sciences Foundational Knowledge (3 crhrs) (choose from approved courses on ESGP website)

Social Sciences/Policy Foundational Knowledge (3 crhrs) (choose from approved courses on ESGP website)

Entomology 7920 Presentation Skills for Interdisciplinary Scientists (2 crhrs)

Grant Writing (1-4 crhrs) *Choose from approved courses on ESGP website. If you find a course you would like to take that is not on this list, please email Kelly Malone to get approval to take the course.

In addition to the general Graduate School requirements of a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher, students must meet specific college policies regarding grades in courses.

Agroecosystem Specialization

The whole-system approach to sustainable agricultural and food systems is the interdisciplinary area of agroecosystems sciences. Agroecology links ecology, culture, economics and society. Agroecosystems Science research areas include:

Local food system development, food system assessment and sustainability
Watershed ecology and participatory water quality management programs
Renewable energy from agroecosystems
Sustainability science and policy

Contact Douglas Jackson-Smith for more information about the specialization.

ENV SCI MS Required Courses (20 credits)

ENV SCI 7899 ESGP Seminar (1 crhr)
ENV SCI 7899 ESGP Seminar (1 crhr)
ENV SCI 7899 ESGP Seminar (1 crhr)

ENV SCI 5170 Sustainability and Pollution Prevention Practices (3 crhrs)

Biological Sciences Foundational Knowledge (3 crhrs) (choose from approved courses on ESGP website)

Physical Sciences Foundational Knowledge (3 crhrs) (choose from approved courses on ESGP website)

Social Sciences/Policy Foundational Knowledge (3 crhrs) (choose from approved courses on ESGP website)

Entomology 7920 Presentation Skills for Interdisciplinary Scientists (2 crhrs)

Agroecosystem Sciences MS Required Courses (8 credits)

Choose 2 of these 3 course:
Entomology 7890 Agrosystems Special Topic (1 crhr)
ENR 8890.03 Agrosystems Special Topic (1 crhr)
EEOB 8890.03 Agrosystems Special Topic (1 crhr)

Geography 5220 Fundamentals of Geographic Information Systems (3 crhrs)

Elective (with advisor’s guidance and approval, select from the following list of ESGP courses) (3 crhrs):
AEDECON 6120    Applied Quantitative Methods II (4 crhrs)
AEDECON 7120    Adv Quantitative Methods II (3 crhrs)
AEDECON 7130     Adv Quantitative Methods III (3 crhrs)
CIVILEN 5420         Remote Sensing of Environment (3 crhrs)
ENVENG 7217        Applied Mathematical Ecology (3 crhrs)
FABENG 3510         Intro to Biological Engineering (4 crhrs)

Any remaining credits are a combination of research hours in your advisor’s home department and courses planned between you and your advisor. Total credit hours must be at least 30 to earn the MS.

In addition to the general Graduate School requirements of a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher, students must meet specific college policies regarding grades in courses.

ENV SCI PhD Course Requirement Courses (21-24 credits)

ENV SCI 7899 ESGP Seminar (1 crhr)
ENV SCI 7899 ESGP Seminar (1 crhr)
ENV SCI 7899 ESGP Seminar (1 crhr)

ENV SCI 5170 Sustainability and Pollution Prevention Practices (3 crhrs)

Biological Sciences Foundational Knowledge (3 crhrs) (choose from approved courses on ESGP website)

Physical Sciences Foundational Knowledge (3 crhrs) (choose from approved courses on ESGP website)

Social Sciences/Policy Foundational Knowledge (3 crhrs) (choose from approved courses on ESGP website)

Entomology 7920 Presentation Skills for Interdisciplinary Scientists (2 crhrs)

Agroecosystem Sciences PhD Required Courses (8 credits)

Choose 2 of these 3 course:
Entomology 7890 Agrosystems Special Topic (1 crhr)
ENR 8890.03 Agrosystems Special Topic (1 crhr)
EEOB 8890.03 Agrosystems Special Topic (1 crhr)

Geography 5220 Fundamentals of Geographic Information Systems (3 crhrs)

Elective (with advisor’s guidance and approval, select from the following list of ESGP courses) (6 crhrs):
AEDECON 6120    Applied Quantitative Methods II (4 crhrs)
AEDECON 7120    Adv Quantitative Methods II (3 crhrs)
AEDECON 7130     Adv Quantitative Methods III (3 crhrs)
CIVILEN 5420         Remote Sensing of Environment (3 crhrs)
ENVENG 7217        Applied Mathematical Ecology (3 crhrs)
FABENG 3510         Intro to Biological Engineering (4 crhrs)

Research Hours in Advisor’s home department (43-48 credits without a Master’s degree; 13-18 credits with a 30 credit hour Master’s degree)

Remaining credits are a combination of research hours in your advisor’s home department and courses planned between you and your advisor. Total credit hours must be 80 to earn the PhD.

In addition to the general Graduate School requirements of a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher, students must meet specific college policies regarding grades in courses.

Climate Change Science and Policy Specialization

Research on climate change at both the scientific and policy-making level inherently requires an interdisciplinary approach that bridges the gap between social and natural sciences. Research themes addressed by the climate change specialization program include:

The global water cycle including causes and consequences of sea level rise, and sustainability of water resources
The global energy economy, including conventional and alternative energy sources, technology, and policy
Rapid climate change including changes in the mean and variation in temperature and precipitation and their effects on managed and natural ecosystems, including biodiversity and agroecosystems

Contact Gil Bohrer for more information about the specialization.

ENV SCI MS Required Courses (20 credits)

ENV SCI 7899 ESGP Seminar (1 crhr)
ENV SCI 7899 ESGP Seminar (1 crhr)
ENV SCI 7899 ESGP Seminar (1 crhr)

ENV SCI 5170 Sustainability and Pollution Prevention Practices (3 crhrs)

Biological Sciences Foundational Knowledge (3 crhrs) (choose from approved courses on ESGP website)

Physical Sciences Foundational Knowledge (3 crhrs) (choose from approved courses on ESGP website)

Social Sciences/Policy Foundational Knowledge (3 crhrs) (choose from approved courses on ESGP website)

Entomology 7920 Presentation Skills for Interdisciplinary Scientists (2 crhrs)

Climate Change Science and Policy MS Required Courses (5 credits)

Special Topic Climate Change special topic or an independent study with a climate change affiliated supervisor (2 crhrs)

Elective (with advisor’s guidance and approval, select from the following list of ESGP courses) (3 crhrs):
AEDECON 4320/ INTSTDS 4320       Energy, Environment, and the Economy (3 crhrs)
ATMOSSC 5901                                   Climate System Modeling: Basics and Applications (3 crhrs)
ATMOSSC 5950                                   Atmospheric Thermodynamics (3 crhrs)
EARTHSC 5663                                    Global Biogeochemical Cycles (3 crhrs)
EARTHSC 5650                                    Paleoclimatology (4 crhrs)
EARTHSC 5663/ PUBHLTH 5203       Geo-environment and Human Health (3 crhrs)
EARTHSC 5663                                     Global Change and Sustainability in the Earth System (4 crhrs)
EARTHSC 5650                                     Glaciology (4 crhrs)
EEOB 5470                                            Community and Ecosystem Ecology (3 crhrs)
ENR 5600                                     Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems (3 crhrs)
GEOG 8902                                            Applied Climatology (3 crhrs)
GEOG 5802                                            Globalization and Environment (3 crhrs)
PUBAFRS 7500                                     Energy Policy and the Environment (3 crhrs)
PUBAFRS 7504                                      Science and Technology Policy (3 crhrs)
PUBHEHS 5320                                     Climate Change and Human Health (3 crhrs)

Remaining credits are a combination of research hours in your advisor’s home department and courses planned between you and your advisor. Total credit hours must be 30 to earn the MS

In addition to the general Graduate School requirements of a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher, students must meet specific college policies regarding grades in courses.

ENV SCI PhD Course Requirement Courses (21-24 credits)

ENV SCI 7899 ESGP Seminar (1 crhr)
ENV SCI 7899 ESGP Seminar (1 crhr)
ENV SCI 7899 ESGP Seminar (1 crhr)

ENV SCI 5170 Sustainability and Pollution Prevention Practices (3 crhrs)

Biological Sciences Foundational Knowledge (3 crhrs) (choose from approved courses on ESGP website)

Physical Sciences Foundational Knowledge (3 crhrs) (choose from approved courses on ESGP website)

Social Sciences/Policy Foundational Knowledge (3 crhrs) (choose from approved courses on ESGP website)

Entomology 7920 Presentation Skills for Interdisciplinary Scientists (2 crhrs)

Climate Change Science and Policy PhD Required Courses (8 credits)

Special Topic Climate Change special topic or an independent study with a climate change affiliated supervisor (2 crhrs)

Elective (with advisor’s guidance and approval, select from the following list of ESGP courses) (6 crhrs):
AEDECON 4320/ INTSTDS 4320       Energy, Environment, and the Economy (3 crhrs)
ATMOSSC 5901                                   Climate System Modeling: Basics and Applications (3 crhrs)
ATMOSSC 5950                                   Atmospheric Thermodynamics (3 crhrs)
EARTHSC 5663                                    Global Biogeochemical Cycles (3 crhrs)
EARTHSC 5650                                    Paleoclimatology (4 crhrs)
EARTHSC 5663/ PUBHLTH 5203       Geo-environment and Human Health (3 crhrs)
EARTHSC 5663                                     Global Change and Sustainability in the Earth System (4 crhrs)
EARTHSC 5650                                     Glaciology (4 crhrs)
EEOB 5470                                            Community and Ecosystem Ecology (3 crhrs)
ENR 5600                                     Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems (3 crhrs)
GEOG 8902                                            Applied Climatology (3 crhrs)
GEOG 5802                                            Globalization and Environment (3 crhrs)
PUBAFRS 7500                                     Energy Policy and the Environment (3 crhrs)
PUBAFRS 7504                                      Science and Technology Policy (3 crhrs)
PUBHEHS 5320                                     Climate Change and Human Health (3 crhrs)

Research Hours in Advisor’s home department (43-48 credits without a Master’s degree; 13-18 credits with a 30 credit hour Master’s degree)

Remaining credits are a combination of research hours in your advisor’s home department and courses planned between you and your advisor. Total credit hours must be at least 80 to earn the PhD.

In addition to the general Graduate School requirements of a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher, students must meet specific college policies regarding grades in courses.

Environmental Public Health Specialization

Please submit your application through The Office of Graduate Admissions at The Ohio State University, by following these application instructions. Applications are reviewed by the ESGP Graduate Studies Committee. Do not use SOPHAS (Schools of Public Health Application Service) to apply to the ESGP MS or PhD program.

Understanding the intersection between public health and the environment requires an interdisciplinary approach. Epidemiology, toxicology, and global health are all being affected by climate change. Environmental public health research interests include:

Global health and environmental microbiology
Environmental health science
Epidemiology, toxicology, and public health
The role of the environment in public health issues

Contact Darryl Hood for more information for more information about the specialization.

ENV SCI MS Required Courses (20 credits)

ENV SCI 7899 ESGP Seminar (1 crhr)
ENV SCI 7899 ESGP Seminar (1 crhr)
ENV SCI 7899 ESGP Seminar (1 crhr)

ENV SCI 5170 Sustainability and Pollution Prevention Practices (3 crhrs)

Biological Sciences Foundational Knowledge (3 crhrs) (choose from approved courses on ESGP website)

Physical Sciences Foundational Knowledge (3 crhrs) (choose from approved courses on ESGP website)

Social Sciences/Policy Foundational Knowledge (3 crhrs) (choose from approved courses on ESGP website)

Entomology 7920 Presentation Skills for Interdisciplinary Scientists (2 crhrs)

Data Analysis
PUBHBIO 6210 Applied Biostatistics I (3 crhrs)

Public Health Required Courses (12 credits)

PUBHLTH 6010 Essentials of Public Health (3 crhrs)
PUBHEPI 6410 Principles of Epidemiology (3 crhrs)
PUBHEHS 6310 Principles of Environmental Health Science (3 crhrs)
PUBHEHS 5315 Principles of Toxicology (3 crhrs)

Electives (3 credits)

With advisor’s guidance and approval, select from the list of approved ESGP core courses in Appendix II and/or from list of CPH-EPH approved courses in Appendix I.

Thesis (6 credits)

PUBHLTH 7999 Master’s Thesis Research in Public Health

In addition to the general Graduate School requirements of a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher, students must meet specific college policies regarding grades in courses.

ENV SCI PhD Course Requirement Courses (21-24 credits)

ENV SCI 7899 ESGP Seminar (1 crhr)
ENV SCI 7899 ESGP Seminar (1 crhr)
ENV SCI 7899 ESGP Seminar (1 crhr)

ENV SCI 5170 Sustainability and Pollution Prevention Practices (3 crhrs)

Entomology 7920 Presentation Skills for Interdisciplinary Scientists (2 crhrs)

Biological Sciences Foundational Knowledge
PUBHEHS 6320 Global Health and Environmental Microbiology (3 crhrs)

Physical Sciences Foundational Knowledge (3 crhrs) (choose from approved courses on ESGP website)

Social Sciences/Policy Foundational Knowledge (3 crhrs) (choose from approved courses on ESGP website)

Data Analysis
PUBHBIO 6210 Applied Biostatistics I (3 crhrs)

Public Health Required Courses (24 credits)

Select One:
PUBHEHS 6330 Molecular Techniques for Environmental Health Sciences (3 crhrs)
PUBHEHS 7365 Environmental and Human Health Risk Assessment (3 crhrs)
PUBHEHS 7380 Exposure Science Monitoring Techniques I (3 crhrs)

Research Methods Courses:
PUBHBIO 6211 Applied Biostatistics II (3 crhrs)
PUBHEPI 7411 Environmental Epidemiology (3 crhrs)

Select One:
PUBHBIO 7220 Applied Generalized Linear Models in Public Health (3 crhrs)
PUBHBIO 7225 Survey Sampling Methods (3 crhrs)
PUBHBIO 7240 Applied Statistical Analysis of Missing Data (3 crhrs)

Electives (9 credits)

With advisor’s guidance and approval, select from the list of approved ESGP Public Health courses in Appendix II and/or from list of CPH-EPH course in Appendix I.

Dissertation Research (27 credits)

PUBHLTH 8998 Pre-Candidacy Research Hours
PUBHLTH 8999 Post-Candidacy Research Hours

In addition to the general Graduate School requirements of a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher, students must meet specific college policies regarding grades in courses.

Water Issues Specialization

Research on Earth’s water is interdisciplinary, requires ability to bridge the social and natural sciences and engineering. Water Specialization research areas include:

Water in global change
Water quantity, hydrologic forecasting and remote sensing
Water quality, the role of water in biogeochemical cycles
Consequences of human activities to aquatic ecosystem services
Consequences of aquatic ecosystem conditions to public health
Water rights in coupled human-natural systems
Water contaminant fate and ecotoxicity
Collaborative watershed planning
Transboundary water governance

Contact Michael Durand for more information for more information about the specialization.

ENV SCI MS Required Courses (20 credits)

ENV SCI 7899 ESGP Seminar (1 crhr)
ENV SCI 7899 ESGP Seminar (1 crhr)
ENV SCI 7899 ESGP Seminar (1 crhr)

ENV SCI 5170 Sustainability and Pollution Prevention Practices (3 crhrs)

Biological Sciences Foundational Knowledge (3 crhrs) (choose from approved courses on ESGP website)

Physical Sciences Foundational Knowledge (3 crhrs) (choose from approved courses on ESGP website)

Social Sciences/Policy Foundational Knowledge (3 crhrs) (choose from approved courses on ESGP website)

Entomology 7920 Presentation Skills for Interdisciplinary Scientists (2 crhrs)

Water Issues MS Required Courses (4 credits)

ENR 8890.02 Ecological Restoration Seminar (1 crhr)

Elective (with advisor’s guidance and approval, select from the following list of ESGP courses) (3 crhrs):
ENR 5280               Stream Ecology (4 crhrs)
ENR 5345               Methods in Aquatic Ecology (4 crhrs)
ENR 5355               Aquacultures (3 crhrs)
ENR 7700               Watershed Ecology and Restoration (3 crhrs)
CIVILEN 5230         Transport Phenomena in Water Resources Engineering (3 crhrs)
CIVILEN 5420         Remote Sensing of Environment (3 crhrs)
CIVILEN 6230         Numerical Models in Water Resources Engineering (3 crhrs)
ENVENG 5120        Advanced Environmental Biotechnology (3 crhrs)
ENVENG 6210       Environmental Engineering Unit Operations (3 crhrs)
EARTHSC 5206      Advanced Oceanography (3 crhrs)
EARTHSC 5655      Land Surface Hydrology (3 crhrs)
EARTHSC 5751      Quantitative Ground-Water Flow Modeling (4 crhrs)
EARTHSC 5752      Contaminants in Aqueous Systems (4 crhrs)
FABENG 5730        Design of Agricultural Water Management Systems (3 crhrs)
FABENG 5750        Stream Geomorphology and Watershed Hydrology (3 crhrs)

Remaining credits are a combination of research hours in your advisor’s home department and courses planned between you and your advisor. Total credit hours must be 30 to earn the MS

In addition to the general Graduate School requirements of a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher, students must meet specific college policies regarding grades in courses.

ENV SCI PhD Course Requirement Courses (21-24 credits)

ENV SCI 7899 ESGP Seminar (1 crhr)
ENV SCI 7899 ESGP Seminar (1 crhr)
ENV SCI 7899 ESGP Seminar (1 crhr)

ENV SCI 5170 Sustainability and Pollution Prevention Practices (3 crhrs)

Biological Sciences Foundational Knowledge (3 crhrs) (choose from approved courses on ESGP website)

Physical Sciences Foundational Knowledge (3 crhrs) (choose from approved courses on ESGP website)

Social Sciences/Policy Foundational Knowledge (3 crhrs) (choose from approved courses on ESGP website)

Entomology 7920 Presentation Skills for Interdisciplinary Scientists (2 crhrs)

Water Issues PhD Required Courses (7 credits)

ENR 8890.02 Ecological Restoration Seminar (1 crhr)

Research Hours in Advisor’s home department (43-48 credits without a Master’s degree; 13-18 credits with a 30 credit hour Master’s degree)

Remaining credits are a combination of research hours in your advisor’s home department and courses planned between you and your advisor. Total credit hours must be at least 80 to earn the PhD.

In addition to the general Graduate School requirements of a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher, students must meet specific college policies regarding grades in courses.

Clarification: ESGP Specializations are not OSU Graduate Minors or Interdisciplinary Specializations

The specializations listed above apply only to ESGP students. Once an ESGP student completes the requirements for an ESGP specialization, the accomplishment is written onto the student’s official university transcript as a note under the degree program.

By contrast, there are other graduate minors and interdisciplinary specializations available at the university level that are open to any graduate students, including ESGP students. These are like “mini-degrees” outside of any one student’s graduate program. More information about these university-wide graduate minors/specializations can be found at the Graduate School.

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