COSAM » News » Journey » Journey 2018 » Getting Down to Earth

Getting Down to Earth

Training the next generation of Earth system scientists

Launched fall 2018, a new doctor of philosophy degree program in Earth system science at Auburn University integrates scientific disciplines from five participating colleges and 10 academic departments. Earth system science involves the linkage of the physical, chemical, biological, and social sciences to the understanding of the interaction of earth-system processes and humans.

Students in the program can choose from a variety of focus areas, such as climate and earth systems, geological sciences and energy, environmental biogeochemistry, water resources and hydrology, coastal processes, ecosystem and food security, coupled natural and human systems, geospatial sciences, big data science, and more.

“The new PhD program thus represents an important milestone in Auburn’s efforts to implement its strategic plan as a land-grant university,” said Ming-Kuo Lee, the Robert B. Cook Professor in the Department of Geosciences. “We expect more universities to adopt this interdisciplinary approach as the basis for PhD education in earth and environmental science.”

Earth system-based advanced training, which incorporates the elements of natural and social sciences, offers an effective way to train the next-generation professionals that Alabama and the nation require.

“The Earth system science degree program is designed to train students to study the world’s water, land, energy, and life as an interconnected system,” Lee said. “Students pursuing a PhD can choose among various areas of academic specialization, providing for a curriculum of unusual richness and breadth. We believe that science will enable the society to understand, predict, and solve the pressing issues of global environmental change and the consequences of food, water, and energy shortage.”

Students are engaged in all aspects of research and mentored by a strong cross-disciplinary faculty group, including new faculty hires from the climate, human, and Earth system science (CHESS) cluster initiative.

Colleges and programs affiliated with the degree are COSAM, the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, the College of Agriculture, the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering, the College of Liberal Arts, and the International Center for Climate and Global Change Research.

Last Updated: 10/12/2018