Courses marked with * are available through our Arizona Online M.S. in Environmental Science program.

Career Skills

• ENVS 508 Scientific Writing for Environmental, Agricultural and Life Sciences (3 units)*
• ENVS 696B Inclusive Mentoring or ENVS 697 Graduate Workshop for Professional Development (1 unit)*
• ENVS 595 Colloquium (1 unit - main campus only)
• ENVS 567 Stats with R (3 units - online campus only)*

Environmental Science (9 units)

Select one from each category:

Environmental Biology and Microbiology

• ENVS 525 Environmental Microbiology (3)*
• ENVS 574 Aquatic Plants & the Environment (3)
• ENVS 577 Principles of Ecotoxicology (3)
• WSM 552 Dryland Ecohydrology and Vegetation Dynamics (4)

Environmental and Soil Chemistry

• ENVS 562 Environmental Soil & Water Chemistry (3)*
• ENVS 564 Environmental Organic Chemistry (3)

Environmental Physics and Water Science

• ENVS 520 Environmental Physics (3)*
• ENVS 570 Soil Physics (3)*

Soil and Water Science (12 units)

Select four of the following:

• ENVS 502 Nutrient Dynamics in Soils (3)
• ENVS 525 Environmental Microbiology (3)*
• ENVS 531 Soil Genesis and Classification (4)
• ENVS 562 Environmental Soil & Water Chemistry (3)*
• ENVS 570 Soil Physics (3)*
• ENVS 580 Environmental Assessment for Contaminated Sites (3)* or ENVS 582 Reclamation and Redevelopment of Impacted Lands (3)

Master's program students must have

• Major Professor: faculty member in your area of study who has accepted you into their program
  • You may have a co-director or committee member outside of the department
• Master’s Thesis or Master’s Report Committee: Three members who guide your academic program and examination. For details please see https://grad.arizona.edu/policies/academic-policies/graduate-student-co….

By the end of the second semester you must choose a research topic and develop a Plan of Study, consulting with their your major professor committee and advisor.

If you choose this option:

• Minimum 24 units non-thesis, 15 units in ENVS
• 6 units ENVS 910 Thesis with content equivalent to one peer-reviewed manuscript.
• Presenting research results in a formal Master’s thesis defense to the department and closed door committee examination
• Submission of thesis to Graduate College

You can find information on formatting your thesis on the University of Arizona Graduate College.

You may choose to submit a Master’s report approved by your major professor and Director of graduate Studies, in the field of environmental or soil science in lieu of a thesis.

If you choose this option:

• Minimum 28-29 non-report units, 18 units in ENVS
• 2-3 units ENVS 909 Master's Report that is smaller in scope than an MS thesis
• The report must be read and approved by MS committee ahead of presentation
• Present a seminar to the department in lieu of a Thesis Defense

A final exam for our Master of Science degree involves a defense of the thesis/report to the your committee and departmental submission of the Master’s Completion of Degree Requirements form. If a student fails the final exam, a second exam may be granted no sooner than four months from the date of the first exam.

All requirements for the Master of Science degree must be completed within six years.

Major professors are required to collect program assessment data at the oral presentation of the student. This program assessment does not reflect on a student’s individual performance but rather is aggregated with other assessments to inform program evaluation. Should you have any questions regarding this compliance protocol please contact Dr. Scott Cowell at cowell@arizona.edu who serves as a contact for questions related to graduate oral presentations as part of the ENVS Assessment Committee. The Major Professor should:

1. Print and use the ENVS Graduate Oral Presentation Rubric to record information during the student’s oral presentation (NetID required).
2. After the presentation, enter the results (student information, scores and notes) for the student in Qualtrics (NetID required). To ensure efficacy, equity and efficiency the results for the rubric should be entered on the same day as the presentation; reporting is done online and requires less than 5 minutes to complete.
3. Ensure the student completes their post defense survey within 24 hours of their presentation. An email will have also been sent to the student, however it is the Major Professor's responsibility to ensure that the student completes this brief assessment task as required.