MS & PhD Degrees

The Environmental Science and Engineering Division (ESE) offers graduate programs leading to M.S. and Ph.D. degrees. The programs of study are interdisciplinary in scope and designed to prepare students to investigate and analyze environmental systems as well as evaluate and design natural and engineered solutions to protect, preserve, and benefit from the earth's resources. Students in ESE have varied backgrounds encompassing the physical and life sciences and most engineering disciplines, and they come to ESE from across the U.S. and abroad. ESE prides itself in the diversity of faculty, staff, and students within the Program and the strong interaction that occurs among them encompassing both intellectual and social aspects of the university educational experience. The ESE M.S. and Ph.D. degrees have been admitted to the Western Regional Graduate Program, a recognition that designates this curriculum as unique within the Western U.S. An important benefit of this designation is that students from 13 other western states are granted the tuition status of Colorado residents.

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M.S. Thesis Option. Full-time students may elect the thesis option, which requires completion of a total of 30 credit hours. This program of study includes 24 credits of coursework including ESE core and elective courses along with attendance at ESE seminars and 6 credits of research that is incorporated into the curriculum under the guidance of a faculty advisor. This M.S. thesis option requires the student to prepare a written thesis describing his/her research and to present the work during a public seminar and to successfully defend it before a Thesis Committee. M.S. Thesis students are also expected to publish the results of their research in a journal or conference proceedings.
MS pdf

M.S. Non-Thesis Option. Full-time students may elect the Non-Thesis option, which also requires completion of a total of 30 credit hours. However, the program of study includes 27 credit hours of ESE core and elective coursework, attendance at ESE seminars, but in lieu of preparing a thesis, non-thesis M.S. students are required to complete a research or design experience (at least 3 credits but not more than 6 credits) taken as a special problem or independent study.
MS pdf

M.S. Executive Program. For working professionals or part-time students, an Executive Program is offered, in which an evening-based curriculum leads to a Non-Thesis M.S. degree. All students in this program are required to complete 30 credit hours, including a research or design experience (at least 3 credits but not more than 6 credits) taken as a special problem or independent study. Additional information regarding the M.S. Executive Program is provided in separate document.
Exec Program pdf

B.S./M.S. Combined Option. The combined B.S./M.S. option offers CSM undergraduate students the opportunity to begin work on a M.S. degree while completing the requirements for their B.S. degree. Students may apply for early admission to the Combined Graduate Program any time after completing the first semester of their sophomore year at CSM. For more information see: http://www.mines.edu/academic/envsci/ucombine.html.

PhD Degree. The Ph.D. degree builds upon the Masters degree but emphasizes independent research. The degree requires 72 credit hours of coursework and research combined, beyond the Bachelor degree. At least 24 credit hours must be research credits earned under the supervision of the student's CSM faculty advisor. Students must also successfully complete written and oral qualifying examinations, prepare and present a dissertation proposal, and write and defend a doctoral dissertation. PhD students are also expected to submit the dissertation work for publication in scholarly journals.
PhD Degree pdf

ESE Program Areas of Emphasis
The ESE Program offers Areas of Emphasis for students that correspond to areas of career opportunities as well as areas in which members of the ESE faculty have expertise and active research programs. These areas currently include:

Each area of emphasis is designed to give students a rigorous, in-depth background in the subject matter of the area while allowing opportunity, through electives, for exploration of related areas.

graduate school