Biogeochemistry

Dual Title degree Requirements

How to apply

Graduate students with research and educational interests in biogeochemistry may apply to the Biogeochemistry Dual-Title Degree Program after they have been accepted into one of eight approved graduate programs. Students are expected to have strong undergraduate preparation in the basic sciences, with evidence of an interest in multiple disciplines.

College of Earth and Mineral Sciences (Geosciences, Mineral Engineering)
College of Agricultural Sciences (Soil Science, Plant Pathology)
College of Engineering (Environmental Engineering)
Eberly College of Science (Chemistry, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology)
Intercollege Graduate Degree Programs (Ecology).

Biogeochemistry students are required to have two faculty advisors. Before submitting the application essay, it should be reviewed and signed by the primary advisor (who is willing to support dissertation research related to Biogeochemistry) and ideally, by the student’s co-advisor chosen from the Biogeochemistry faculty. In certain cases, applications may be approved without a co-advisor’s signature. However, students are encouraged to seek out a co-advisor early, and the co-advisor should be identified by the time of the candidacy exam.

To apply, students must submit the following to the Biogeochemistry Program Director:

  1. Transcripts of their undergraduate and graduate coursework
  2. A personal essay (no more than two pages), including the following:
    • Indication of interest in Biogeochemistry
    • Academic background
    • How the dissertation research can help advance the field of Biogeochemistry
    • Career goals and how they would be served by attaining a Biogeochemistry dual-title degree
    • Signatures of Student and advisor(s)

Enrollment Prior to Candidacy Exam

Once a student has been accepted to a major program of study, application to the dual-title degree program can occur immediately or at a later time, such as upon matriculation. On receipt and approval of a student’s application materials, the Biogeochemistry Program Director notifies the Graduate School to enroll the student for the Dual-Title Degree.

Enrollment in the dual-title degree program should be completed before the qualifying examination in the major program, which should take place no later than the end of the student’s fourth semester. The Graduate School must enroll the student the dual-title degree program before the candidacy examination takes place. This is because the Graduate School requires that a single candidacy exam be administered for both entrance to the student’s major Ph.D. program and the biogeochemistry program.

Degree requirements

To obtain the dual-title Ph.D. in Biogeochemistry, students must satisfy the requirements of the major graduate program in which they are enrolled. In addition, the dual-title student must:

  1. Be advised by two faculty in separate disciplines
    Co-adviser need not be identified at the time of enrollment but added after qualifying exam, but must be within a field covered by the dual-title program and a member of the Biogeochemistry faculty.
  2. Pass a qualifying examination including an assessment of potential in the field of Biogeochemistry.
  3. Take 15 credits of courses from the Biogeochemistry Curriculum Table (August 2024)
  4. Pass a comprehensive examination that integrates content from the field of Biogeochemistry.
  5. Complete and present a Ph.D. dissertation that contributes fundamentally to the field of Biogeochemistry.

Faculty Advising

All students will be supervised by two faculty advisors from separate disciplines: one individual serving as a primary advisor in their major degree program (i.e., Geosciences, Soil Science, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Material Science & Engineering, Chemistry, Ecology, Environmental Engineering or Plant Pathology) and a secondary advisor in an area within a field covered by the dual-title program and a member of the Biogeochemistry faculty.

The major program advisor normally will also be a member of the Biogeochemistry faculty. The two faculty advisors can represent different academic programs, although this is not required, as faculty from a scientifically diverse department can represent very different areas of expertise. The faculty co-adviser need not be identified at the time of enrollment and can be added after the student’s qualifying exam.)

Coursework

To fulfill the course requirements for the dual-title in Biogeochemistry, students must complete a total of 15 graduate credits chosen in consultation with their advisors from an approved list of courses in six categories:

  • Biogeochemistry
  • Biochemistry and Microbiology
  • Soil Science and Materials Science and Engineering
  • Water Reactions and Transport
  • Plant-Microbe Interactions and Plant Systems
  • Research Tools

Credits must be chosen from at least three categories, with no more than six credits taken from one category. The two-credit course Topics in Biogeochemistry (co-listed as GEOSC/SOILS/CE 536 is highly recommended for all Biogeochemistry students, and the credits from this course can be applied to any of the six categories.

See the following Biogeochemistry curriculum table for a current listing of all applicable courses and categories.

Biogeochemistry Curriculum TableDownload

EXAMINATIONS

Alongside a qualifying exam and comprehensive exam with a biogeochemistry component, a public oral presentation of the dissertation is required, which may be part of the final defense within the major degree program.