Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

For students who have a desire to move into higher education or become highly proficient within a narrow field of expertise, a doctor of philosophy degree may be the best choice. Warnell's graduates go on to work in research and specialist positions, or as university faculty. Areas of discipline available to Ph.D. candidates are:

• Community Forestry and Arboriculture*
• Environmental Education*
• Fisheries Science*
• Forest Biology*
• Forest Business
• Forestry
• Geospatial Information Science (GIS)*
• Parks, Recreation and Tourism*
• Policy and Sustainability
• Water and Soil Resources
• Wildlife Sciences*

_{*can be declared as official area of emphasis}

Curriculum

The PhD requires a dissertation and a minimum of 30 hours of consecutive course work, but additional courses may be required by the student’s Advisory Committee.

¹PhD students are required to take 1 hour of Forestry and Natural Resources Seminar Series (FANR 8060).

²Fisheries and Wildlife students only: 1 hour of graduate seminar (e.g., WILD(FISH) 8300, ECOL 8220, CBIO 8490, etc.) is required.

³FANR 9990 (Supervised Teaching Practicum in Forestry and Natural Resources) must be taken for one credit hour if student does not enroll in FANR 8900 (University Teaching in Forestry and Natural Resources).

⁴PhD students without an MS degree must take an additional 4 hours in courses open only to graduate students.

Note: Students matriculating in fall 2022 or later are required to take a GradFIRST (GRSC 7001) seminar during their first or second semester. The faculty-led seminars provide first-year graduate students with foundational training in research, scholarship, and professional development. More GradFIRST seminars are scheduled for fall semesters than spring (no summer offerings). This requirement must be included on the program of study as a “University Requirement” but is in addition to the courses required for degree completion.

Learn More about GradFIRST