A candidate for the doctoral degree must complete a minimum of 24 hours of graduate course work beyond the master’s degree. Candidates not having a master’s degree must complete a minimum of 48 hours of graduate course work beyond the baccalaureate degree, 24 hours of which must be numbered 503 or higher. A minimum of 12 of the 24 hours, or 30 of the 48 hours, must be graded A-F. At least 9 hours of the student’s coursework must be from outside the environmental and soil sciences concentration and a minimum of 6 hours of courses numbered 601 or higher, excluding ESS 603, must be taken at University of Tennessee, Knoxville. In addition, 24 hours of course ESS 600 Doctoral Research and Dissertation are required. Satisfactory preparation of a written dissertation proposal and an oral defense to the student’s committee are required. These must be completed during the first two semesters of graduate study and before enrollment in 600. ESS 603 must be taken three times during the course of the program, the last of which must be in the student’s final semester before graduation.
Satisfactory preparation of a written dissertation proposal and an oral defense to the student’s committee are required. These must be completed during the first two semesters of graduate study and before enrollment in ESS 600.
Both written and oral sections of the comprehensive examination must be passed. The candidate will be tested on his/her knowledge of the proposed dissertation and related fields. The student is expected to be conversant in the wide area of soil and environmental sciences.
Preparation of a written dissertation and its oral defense to the student’s doctoral committee are required.