Dec 02, 2024  
2019-2020 Graduate Catalog 
    
2019-2020 Graduate Catalog [Not Current Academic Year. Consult with Your Academic Advisor for Your Catalog Year]

Atmospheric Sciences, PhD


Return to {$returnto_text} Return to: Graduate and Professional Fields of Study Listed Alphabetically

College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics  > Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences  > Atmospheric Sciences, PhD

The Department of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences offers a wide range of courses leading to the Degree of PhD in Atmospheric Sciences. The Department will provide all its students with educational programs that encompass the fundamental principles of the atmospheric sciences and the body of knowledge associated with the application of these principles to the study of the atmosphere. PhD students will receive advanced, research-intensive instruction that concentrates upon the acquisition of new knowledge, innovative approaches to problem-solving and the dissemination of research results. Students successfully completing the PhD program will be prepared for a career as a researcher, educator, or professional atmospheric scientist.

For further information, please visit: http://www.uh.edu/nsm/earth-atmospheric/.

Admission Requirements


A doctoral applicant will have earned a Bachelor’s or a Master’s degree, and submitted scores from the General GRE examination taken in the last 5 years (verbal, quantitative, and analytical writing; advanced GRE is recommended but optional). An application fee is required for international applicants. TOEFL or IELTS scores must be provided by applicants who did not earn a prior degree from a US institution or a country where English is the medium of instruction (see list in the General Admission Policy ). 
Visit http://www.uh.edu/graduate-school/international-students/ to learn more.

The admissions committee and the department chair will evaluate the credentials of each applicant for the PhD program, considering a broad range of criteria, including

  1. Content of the undergraduate program and, if applicable, graduate programs and grades earned, particularly in the areas of Meteorology, Geosciences, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, or related natural/physical sciences.
  2. Letters of recommendation from three (3) individuals (preferably faculty members), who are able to judge the candidate’s academic abilities and potential for scholarly research.
  3. GRE scores (see above).
  4. English proficiency test scores, when applicable.
  5. Scientific, professional, technical publications, and a Master’s Thesis (if applicable).

In addition to these requirements, graduate admission may also be contingent upon a faculty advisor agreeing to supervise the applicant. Therefore, prospective students are strongly encouraged to contact faculty members in the applicant’s field of interest prior to the application deadline.

Prerequisite courses

Candidates entering the Atmospheric Science PhD program must demonstrate general proficiency in mathematics, physics, and chemistry (when atmospheric chemistry is the chosen area of specialty). Some graduate courses explicitly require prerequisite courses, or their equivalent at other institutions, as listed below:

  • MATH 2331 (Linear Algebra)
  • MATH 2433 (Calculus III)
  • MATH 3363 (Intro. to Partial Differential Equations)
  • GEOL 1302 (Introduction to Global Climate Change)
  • GEOL 1350 (Introduction to Meteorology)
  • GEOL 3342 (Principles of Air Pollution)
  • GEOL 3378 (Principles of Atmospheric Science)

The department will determine what deficiencies - if any - are present, and the acceptable means of removing those deficiencies (e.g. course work within and/or outside the Department, directed study, research papers). Substitution of courses equivalent to those listed above as well as waivers of requirements will be considered on an individual basis. Applicants with a few deficiencies can satisfy those requirements while also taking graduate courses at the University of Houston.  It is normally recommended that a student with 6 or more deficiency courses, e.g., those whose Bachelor’s degree is in another discipline, consider working toward a second Bachelor’s degree in Geology prior to graduate work.

Degree Requirements


  • All doctoral students must have a minimum of one continuous academic year (two terms (Fall, Spring)) as a full‐time student which consists of 9.0 Credit Hours per term.
  • A student working on a dissertation must be continuously enrolled in a minimum of 3.0 Credit Hours of doctoral research each Fall and Spring term, and in a minimum of 3.0 Credit Hours of doctoral dissertation in their final term.
  • Up to 6.0 Credit Hours of courses taken outside the department, but relevant to the degree program, can apply to the degree with prior approval from the Atmospheric Science Graduate Faculty Advisor.

Sequence and Timing


First year in program:

  1. Appropriate course work
  2. Removal of all deficiencies
  3. Establishment of PhD Research Committee

Second year in program:

  1. Candidacy exam
  2. Presenting Research and Dissertation Proposals
  3. Completion of all formal course work
  4. Initiation of research

Third and successive years: 

  1. Conduct the proposed research
  2. Submit and revise papers
  3. Completion and defense of dissertation

Course Requirements


Credit hours required for this degree: 54.0

a) PhD students entering with a MS degree


  • Formal EAS courses Credit Hours: 18.0
  • Dissertation Credit Hours: 6.0
  • Selections of Coursework or Doctoral Research Credit Hours: 30.0

b) PhD students entering with a Bachelor’s degree


  • Formal EAS courses Credit Hours: 15.0
  • EAS Core Category Course Selections Credit Hours: 9.0
  • Dissertation Credit Hours: 3.0 - 12.0
  • Selections of Coursework or Doctoral Research Credit Hours: 27.0
Core Categories

9.0 Credit Hours comprised of 3.0 Credit Hours from each category

Category 1 (Atmospheric Dynamics and Physics)

Category 2 (Atmospheric Chemistry)

Category 3 (Atmospheric Measurement and Modeling)

Department/Program Policies


Scholastic Requirement

Graduate students must maintain a minimum grade point average of 3.0 in all course work to be considered in good standing. Students not in good standing cannot receive a graduate degree and can be declared ineligible for support with a graduate assistantship (IA, TA or RA).

Research (Dissertation) Advisor/Research Committee

  • PhD applicants are encouraged to formulate their dissertation committee promptly in order to ensure proper guidance throughout their research.
  • Doctoral students’ dissertation committees must be comprised of a minimum of four members to include
    • three faculty members who have their primary appointment within EAS and
    • one approved member external to the major department from industry or academia who is acceptable to the department and approved by the college.
    • A faculty member with a joint appointment in EAS is considered as an outside member unless he/she chairs the committee. In this case, an additional external member outside the major department is required.
    • After these minimum requirements for committee members are satisfied, additional committee members may be approved from industry or academia, but at least 50% of the committee must be tenured/tenure‐track faculty at the University of Houston.
    • Research faculty or instructional faculty may serve on dissertation committees, but not chair the committees. However, a research professor may serve as a co‐advisor with a tenured/ tenure‐track faculty.
  • Candidates must specify a dissertation committee and have the names on file in the NSM Office of Academic Affairs at least one term prior to their graduation.

Candidacy

To become a candidate for the doctoral degree a student must meet a set of requirements established by the EAS Department. For all EAS doctoral aspirants, there are two options available to attain candidacy. It is the responsibility of the dissertation advisor to notify the department academic advisor and applicable graduate advisor which path to candidacy the graduate student will undertake by the end of the term preceding the candidacy exam or paper submission (Candidacy Options 1 and 2, respectively. See below).

  1. Candidacy Option 1 - Oral Exam and Proposal: 
    • A five-member examining committee will administer a written exam, approximately four hours in length, given during the seventh to eighth week of each term.
    • It will test the breadth of the candidate’s knowledge within their discipline.
    • The student must pass the candidacy examination before proceeding to the dissertation proposal.
      • Approval by a majority of the members of the examining committee is required for the student to pass the examination.
      • At the discretion of the examining committee, a student who fails the general examination can be permitted to re‐take it; however, the exam cannot be taken more than twice by the applicant.
      • Re‐examination will take place within one (1) month of the initial examination.
    • All candidacy and proposal requirements must be completed by the end of the fourth term in the program.
  2. Candidacy Option 2 - Manuscript Submission and Proposal: 
    • Submission of a manuscript to an Institute for Scientific Information (ISI)‐indexed, peer‐reviewed journal by the sixth week of the fourth term in the program and approval of an oral and written PhD proposal.
    • Research work for the manuscript must have been completed at UH. This timing implies that the student is full‐ time and supported as a Research Assistant (RA) or Teaching Assistant (TA).
    • In order to proceed along this pathway for the PhD, the dissertation advisor and research committee must agree that the candidate has produced a publishable manuscript capable of passing a rigorous external peer review for a scientific journal and has completed and successfully defended a research proposal.
    • Prior to the presentation of the dissertation proposal, the manuscript must be submitted to a peer‐reviewed journal.
    • The oral proposal of the dissertation must be presented before the end of the fourth term.

Dissertation Proposal

The oral dissertation proposal will be given during the term in which the candidacy exam has been successfully completed (Candidacy Option 1) or the manuscript has been submitted to an approved peer‐reviewed journal (i.e. before the end of the fourth term) (Candidacy Option 2).

  • Scheduling for Presentation of Proposal
    • PhD proposals can take place Monday‐Friday, with starting times between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., during the Fall and Spring terms.
    • The proposal must be presented by the first Monday in November in the Fall term, or the first Monday in April in the Spring term.
    • Proposals cannot be presented during Summer terms, vacations, reading days, weekends, or final examination periods (nor over spring break or inter‐term breaks).
    • A minimum of two hours should be allocated for the dissertation proposal presentation and questions.
  • Preparation for Presentation
    • Proposal presentations are preceded by the distribution of a research committee approved 5 to 10 page (10 page maximum for text) written description of the dissertation project.
    • A one-page abstract must be posted and distributed to all faculty members at least seven calendar days prior to presentation and a copy of the full proposal filed with the department academic advisor at that time.
    • The proposal abstract must contain the title, time and place of the proposal, and the names of the committee members.
    • The dissertation advisor and at least one other member of the committee must initial the abstract prior to posting, thus indicating that they approve of the presentation of the proposal.
  • Presentation
    • The oral presentation, approximately 30 to 45 minutes long, will be followed by a period during which all present can ask questions of the student related to the suitability and feasibility of the project, as well as the student’s ability to perform the research.
    • All faculty present can participate in the deliberations.
  • Proposal Decisions
    • All EAS faculty, as well as other committee members present, may vote on the success or failure of the student’s performance in the dissertation proposal.
    • Approval by a majority of those voting is needed to pass the proposal. Upon successful presentation of the dissertation proposal, the student will be granted PhD candidacy status.
    • Upon successful presentation of the proposal, a copy of the complete proposal with the dissertation advisor’s signature indicating approval of the proposal as originally presented or modified must be placed in the student’s permanent academic file.
    • The examining committee, at their discretion, can allow a student who failed the dissertation proposal to re‐propose, this, however, can be done no more than once.
      • The second presentation must take place within 30 calendar days of the initial presentation.

Dissertation Defense

A public oral defense of the completed dissertation research will be presented to the faculty-at-large and may be attended by any other interested parties.

  • Format of Dissertation
    • The format of the dissertation must follow NSM guidelines.
    • Questions pertaining to specific requirements should be addressed to the appropriate advisor.
  • Prior to Defense of the dissertation,
    • the student will submit at least one (1) completed manuscript, based on the dissertation research, to a peer‐reviewed journal.
    • This manuscript must have been judged publication‐ready by the dissertation advisor and at least one other faculty member on the dissertation committee prior to submission.
    • For the defense, an abstract, which lists the time and place of the defense, must be distributed to the EAS faculty and posted publicly at least seven calendar days prior to the scheduled date for the defense.
    • The dissertation advisor and at least one other committee member must initial the notice of defense, indicating approval of the defense.
    • An unbound copy of the final draft of the dissertation, including all illustrations, must be made available in the EAS department office at least seven calendar days prior to the defense date for inspection by the EAS faculty.
  • Scheduling for Defense
    • PhD defenses can be given Monday‐Friday during the Fall, Spring, and Summer terms with starting times between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.
    • Defenses cannot be given during vacations, reading days, weekends, or final examination periods (nor over spring break or inter‐term breaks).
    • Scheduling of defenses is done through the department academic advisor.
  • Defense Decisions
    • A positive vote by a majority of the dissertation committee is required for successful defense of the dissertation.
    • If the student does not complete and successfully defend the PhD dissertation within five years after passing the candidacy examination, retaking of the candidacy examination may be required.
    • Once approved by the committee, the dissertation must be submitted to the NSM Office of Academic Affairs no later than the deadline posted on the College website each term.

Return to {$returnto_text} Return to: Graduate and Professional Fields of Study Listed Alphabetically