The department offers two doctoral degrees in Earth and Environmental Engineering: the Eng.Sc.D. and the Ph.D.

Doctoral Program

The Eng.Sc.D. degree is administered by the Columbia Engineering's Graduate Student Affairs. The Ph.D. degree is administered by the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. The qualifying examinations and all other intellectual and performance requirements for these degrees are the same.

EEE doctoral candidates must already hold a master's degree in a related engineering or science discipline. Therefore, students with a Bachelor's degree can apply for the M.S./.Ph.D., in which they complete a M.S.-E.R.E. before pursuing either a Ph.D. or Eng.Sc.D. degree, without having to reapply.

The EEE doctoral program is by its very nature interdisciplinary as it seeks to bridge the divide between natural systems and engineered systems. Thus, instead of a single advisor, a doctoral student may have an advisory committee, chaired by his/her principal advisor and including up to three other faculty from other departments and schools. Also, student advisors ensure that students are linked to other disciplines by means of taking courses and including faculty of other departments in the advisory team.

All graduate students admitted to the doctoral degree program (both MS/PhD and PhD) must satisfy the equivalent of two semesters’ experience in teaching (generally in Year 2). This may include supervising and assisting students in laboratory experiments, grading, and preparing lecture materials to support the teaching mission of the department.

 

 

Core Scientific Directions of EEE Research

Doctoral research may be conducted in any of the areas of current foci of research in the department.

Graduate Student Affairs

For more information on admissions and policies for the Eng.Sc.D. Degree, please refer to the Graduate Student Affairs website.

Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

For more information graduate admissions and policies for the Ph.D. degree, please refer to the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences website.