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Each Ph.D. student will complete at least 27 credits of didactic courses plus the ECS graduate seminar for 1 credit. The didactic courses will include: 3 core courses (9 credits), UNIV 720 Scientific Integrity, a minimum of 14-15 credits from a chosen track, and 2-3 credits of electives from another track or other NDSU courses numbered 601-689, 691; 700-789, 791 or 800-889, 891. The 15 track credits must be from at least 2 course categories. Two of the three courses must come from outside of the student's chosen track. Of the 27 didactic course credits, a total of 15 must be at the 700-800 level. A total of 90 credits are required.

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
Environmental Social Sciences Track
ECON 681	Natural Resource Economics	3
ECS 770	Environmental Law and Policy	3
HIST 634	Environmental History	3
or HIST 710	Research Seminar in North American History
or HIST 780	Readings in World History
NRM 631	National Environmental Policy Act & Environmental Impact Assessment	3
NRM 702	Natural Resources Management Planning	3
SOC 631	Environmental Sociology	3
Environmental Sciences Track
CE 770	Hazardous Waste Site Remediation	3
GEOL 614	Hydrogeology	3
MICR 652	Microbial Ecology	3
Conservation Biology Track
BIOL 862	Environment and Adaptation	3
BIOL 675	Conservation Biology	3
BIOL 851	Advanced Conservation Biology	3
BIOL 864	Ecological Processes	3

CONSERVATIVE BIOLOGY TRACK - TOTAL 18 CREDITS

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
Biodiversity
Select 3-9 credits of the following:
BIOL 681	Wetland Science
ENT 750	Systematic Entomology
BIOL 650	Invertebrate Zoology
BIOL 652	Ichthyology
BIOL 654	Herpetology
BIOL 658	Mammalogy
Ecology and Evolution
Select 3-9 credits of the following:
BIOL 859	Evolution
BIOL 661	Plant Ecology
BIOL 862	Environment and Adaptation
BIOL 864	Ecological Processes
ENT 770	Writing a Scientific Literature Review
MICR 652	Microbial Ecology
PLSC 631	Intermediate Genetics
PLSC 751	Advanced Plant Genetics
RNG 765	Analysis Of Ecosystems
SOIL 610	Soils and Land Use
SOIL 647	Microclimatology
BIOL 662	Physiological Ecology
BIOL 851	Advanced Conservation Biology
BIOL 860	Evolutionary Ecology
Human Dimensions and Management
Select 3-9 credits of the following:
ANTH 662	Anthropology and the Environment
COMM 783	Advanced Organizational Communication I
CE 678	Water Quality Management
ECON 682	Environmental Economics
POLS 642	Global Policy Issues
POLS 650	Politics of the Developing Countries
RNG 656	Ecological Restoration
BIOL 675	Conservation Biology
BIOL 677	Wildlife and Fisheries Management Techniques
BIOL 676	Wildlife Ecology and Management
BIOL 851	Advanced Conservation Biology
Research Tools
Select 3-9 credits of the following:
CE 677	Applied Hydrology
GIS 655	Introduction to Geographic Information Systems
GIS 656	Advanced Geographic Information Systems
GEOL 660	Biogeochemistry
GEOL 760	Advanced Biogeochemistry
PLSC 724	Field Design I
PSYC 640	Experimental Methods
RNG 650	Range Plants
SOC 701	Quantitative Methods
STAT 661	Applied Regression Models
STAT 662	Introduction to Experimental Design
STAT 663	Nonparametric Statistics
STAT 665	Meta-Analysis Methods
STAT 670	Statistical SAS Programming
STAT 730	Biostatistics
STAT 761	Advanced Regression
STAT 770	Survival Analysis

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES TRACK-TOTAL 17 CREDITS

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
Water Sciences
Select 3-9 credits of the following:
ABEN 664	Resource Conservation and Irrigation Engineering
ABEN 765	Small Watershed Hydrology and Modeling
CE 610	Water & Wastewater Engineering
CE 677	Applied Hydrology
CE 676	Watershed Modeling
CE 678	Water Quality Management
CE 679	Advanced Water and Wastewater Treatment
CE 776	Ground Water and Seepage
CE 779	Watershed Water Quality Modeling
CE 796	Special Topics
Soil and Solid Waste
Select 3-9 credits of the following:
ABEN 696	Special Topics
CE 672	Solid and Hazardous Waste Management
CE 770	Hazardous Waste Site Remediation
SOIL 610	Soils and Land Use
SOIL 633	Soil Ecohydrology and Physics
SOIL 733	Advanced Soil Nutrient Cycling
Environmental Management
Select 3-9 credits of the following:
CE 672	Solid and Hazardous Waste Management
CE 678	Water Quality Management
COMM 783	Advanced Organizational Communication I
RNG 656	Ecological Restoration
BIOL 675	Conservation Biology
BIOL 676	Wildlife Ecology and Management
BIOL 677	Wildlife and Fisheries Management Techniques
Research Tools
Select 3-9 credits of the following:
ABEN 682	Instrumentation & Measurements
ABEN 696	Special Topics
CE 677	Applied Hydrology
GIS 655	Introduction to Geographic Information Systems
GIS 656	Advanced Geographic Information Systems
GEOL 660	Biogeochemistry
GEOL 760	Advanced Biogeochemistry
IMSE 660	Evaluation of Engineering Data
RNG 650	Range Plants
STAT 662	Introduction to Experimental Design
STAT 725	Applied Statistics
STAT 761	Advanced Regression

ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL SCIENCES TRACK-TOTAL 17 CREDITS

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
Social Science Theory
Select 3-9 credits of the following:
AGEC 741	Advanced Microeconomics
ANTH 680	Development of Anthropological Theory
COMM 711	Communication Theory
ECON 640	Game Theory and Strategy
SOC 622	Development Of Social Theory
SOC 723	Social Theory
Cultural and Behavioral Aspects
Select 3-9 credits of the following:
AGEC 711	Applied Risk Analysis I
ANTH 662	Anthropology and the Environment
ANTH 664	Disaster and Culture
ECON 681	Natural Resource Economics
ECON 682	Environmental Economics
HIST 634	Environmental History
POLS 642	Global Policy Issues
POLS 653	Environmental Policy and Politics
SOC 631	Environmental Sociology
SOC 639	Social Change
Management Techniques
Select 3-9 credits of the following:
COMM 783	Advanced Organizational Communication I
GEOL 660	Biogeochemistry
NRM 631	National Environmental Policy Act & Environmental Impact Assessment
NRM 653	Rangeland Resources Watershed Management
NRM 701	Terrestrial Resources Management
NRM 702	Natural Resources Management Planning
RNG 654	Wetland Resources Management
RNG 656	Ecological Restoration
SOC 604	Community Assessment
BIOL 675	Conservation Biology
BIOL 676	Wildlife Ecology and Management
BIOL 851	Advanced Conservation Biology
Research Tools
Select 3-9 credits of the following:
AGEC 701	Research Methods
AGEC 739	Analytical Methods for Applied Economics
COMM 700	Research Methods in Communication
COMM 701	Advanced Research Methods in Communication I
COMM 704	Qualitative Research Methods in Communication
COMM 707	Quantitative Research Methods in Communication
ECON 610	Econometrics
ECON 710	Advanced Econometrics
ENGL 656	Literacy, Culture and Identity
ENGL 758	Topics in Rhetoric, Writing, and Culture
GIS 655	Introduction to Geographic Information Systems
GIS 656	Advanced Geographic Information Systems
PSYC 640	Experimental Methods
RNG 652	Managing Natural and Rangeland Resources using GIS
RNG 765	Analysis Of Ecosystems
SOC 700	Qualitative Methods
SOC 701	Quantitative Methods
STAT 660	Applied Survey Sampling
STAT 661	Applied Regression Models
STAT 662	Introduction to Experimental Design
STAT 663	Nonparametric Statistics
STAT 665	Meta-Analysis Methods
STAT 670	Statistical SAS Programming
STAT 725	Applied Statistics
STAT 726	Applied Regression and Analysis of Variance
STAT 730	Biostatistics
STAT 761	Advanced Regression
STAT 770	Survival Analysis

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Admission and Application Requirements

• Graduate School admission and application requirements are found on the Admission Information page.
• In addition, this program requires applicants to have an ECS affiliated faculty member that has agreed to to admit the applicant to their lab and made arrangements for stipend and research funding. 
  • Using the department website, applicants should contact ECS faculty members who share their research interests