Course Work Requirements
For students entering the program with a master's degree, the Ph.D. in Aquatic Resources and Integrative Biology requires the completion of 20 hours of core courses and 40 hours of elective courses and dissertation (including a minimum of 15 hours of dissertation credit). For students entering the program with a bachelor's degree, the Ph.D. degree requires the completion of 27 hours of core courses and 63 hours of elective courses and dissertation (including a minimum of 15 hours of dissertation credit).
Each Ph.D. student is issued a preliminary degree audit by the Graduate College which should be used to plan the student's course of study. In the first semester of enrollment, students should review and modify the degree audit in consultation with their supervising professor and the Program Director. With approval of the Program Director, a core course beyond the minimum required hours can be counted as an elective course toward the total hours required for the degree.
By March 1 of each year, all students enrolled in the doctoral program must submit a brief annual report to the Program Director that provides evidence of acceptable progress in the program and, if applicable, request renewal of their DIA appointment. Acceptable progress will be determined by evaluation of the annual progress report and will include achieving the following goals by the end of each academic year: Doctoral students are expected to begin core and elective coursework, establish an advisory committee and begin actively planning the dissertation research during their first year. By the end of year 2, core coursework should be completed, a dissertation proposal should be developed, and the student should enter into candidacy. Year 3 should be devoted to continued research activity and the presentation and/or publication of preliminary results. The dissertation should be completed and defended by the end of year 4. Students entering with a bachelor's degree may be given an additional year to achieve these goals.
Core Courses (to be taken before advancement-to-candidacy exams)
BIO 7102 Seminar in Aquatic Resources. (1-0) All students seeking a doctoral degree in Aquatic Resources must enroll in BIO 7102 at least twice.
BIO 7302 Problems in Aquatic Resources. (3-0) Students may not enroll in BIO 7302 more than twice for doctoral credit without the approval of the Ph.D. Program Director.
BIO 7303 Research. (3-3) Pre-candidacy students must enroll in course every semester until admission to Candidacy, although it may not be taken more than three times for doctoral credit without the approval of Ph.D. Program Director.
BIO 7312 Government Policy and Aquatic Resources. (3-0)
BIO 7405 Statistics and Experimental Design I. (3-0)
BIO 7406 Statistics and Experimental Design II. (3-0)
PHIL 7323 Environmental Ethics and Sustainable Aquatic Resources. (3-0)
Elective Courses (other courses might be added after approval by the Ph.D. Program Director)
AG 7310 Agriculture and Sustainable Aquatic Resources. (3-0)
BIO 7100 Professional Development. (1-0) This course does not earn graduate degree credit. Repeatable with different emphasis. Graded on a credit (CR), no-credit (F) basis.
BIO 7114 Collaborative Research. (1-1) (concurrent enrollment allowed)
BIO 7120 Population Biology Seminar. (1-0)
BIO 7214 Collaborative Research. (2-2) (concurrent enrollment allowed)
BIO 7308 History of Vegetation and Climate. (3-1)
BIO 7310 Global Aquatic Resources. (3-0)
BIO 7314 Collaborative Research. (3-3) (concurrent enrollment allowed)
BIO 7322 Scientific Method and Aquatic Resources. (3-0)
BIO 7324 Natural History and Conservation of Large Mammals. (3-0)
BIO 7325 Wildlife and Recreation: Impact and Management (3-0).
BIO 7328 Integrated Waterbird Management. (3-0)
BIO 7336 Evolutionary Ecology. (3-0)
BIO 7346 Conservation Biology. (3-0)
BIO 7348 Aquatic Resources Economics. (3-0)
BIO 7350 Aquatic Resources Law. (3-0)
BIO 7353 Biogeography. (3-1)
BIO 7355 Plant-Water Relations. (3-0)
BIO 7356 Pollution of Aquatic Ecosystems. (3-0)
BIO 7360 Special Topics in Aquatic Resources. (3-0). The course may be repeated for credit, depending on the topic. No more than six hours can be counted for doctoral credit without the approval of the Graduate Program Director.
BIO 7360A Industry and Sustainable Aquatic Resources. (3-0)
BIO 7360B Environmental Linkages and Sustainable Aquatic Resources. (3-0)
BIO 7360N Behavioral Ecology. (3-0)
BIO 7360P Special Topics in Aquatic Resources: Regulation of Plant Growth and Development. (3-0) The course may be repeated for credit, depending on the topic. No more than six hours can be counted for doctoral credit without the approval of the Program Director.
BIO 7360Q Special Topics in Aquatic Resources: Spatial Ecology of Animals. (3-0) The course maybe repeated for credit, depending on the topic. No more than six hours can be counted for doctoral credit without the approval of the Program Director.
BIO 7360R Special Topics in Aquatic Resources: Community and Ecosystem Ecology. (3-0) The course may be repeated for credit, depending on the topic. No more than six hours can be counted for doctoral credit without the approval of the Program Director.
BIO 7362 Environmental Impact Analysis. (3-0)
BIO 7366 Integrated Water Resources Management. (3-0)
BIO 7367 Behavioral Ecology. (3-0)
BIO 7368 Introduction to Ecological Modeling. (3-0)
BIO 7401 Assessment Techniques for Aquatic Resources. (3-3)
BIO 7402 Molecular Field Techniques. (2-3)
BIO 7407 Instrumentation for Water Quality Analysis. (3-3)
BIO 7408 Fish Ecology and Conservation. (3-3)
BIO 7410 Aquatic Microbial Ecology. (3-3)
BIO 7412 Environmental Hydrology. (3-3)
BIO 7415 Ichthyology. (3-3)
BIO 7419 Stream Ecology. (3-3)
BIO 7421 Landscape Dynamics. (3-3)
BIO 7422 Wetlands Ecology. (3-3)
BIO 7424 Phycology. (3-3)
BIO 7426 Ecology and Management of Aquatic Macrophytes. (3-3)
BIO 7427 Principles of Population Biology I. (3-3)
BIO 7428 Principles of Population Biology II. (3-3)
BIO 7433 Population Genetics. (3-2)
BIO 7434 Herpetology. (3-3)
BIO 7440 Aquatic Toxicology. (3-3)
BIO 7447 Microbial Physiology and Genetics. (3-3)
BIO 7466 Phylogenetics. (2-3)
BIO 7468 Groundwater Resources. (3-3)
BIO 7470 Limnology. (3-3)
BIO 7471 Reservoir Ecology. (3-3)
BIO 7475 Restoration of Polluted Aquatic Resources. (3-3)
CHEM 7330 Environmental Chemistry. (3-0)
ENG 7314: Specializations in Professional and Technical Communication Topics: Writing and Communicating about Aquatic Resources Issues. (3-0)
GEO 7316 Remote Sensing and the Environment. (3-0)
GEO 7318 GIS and Environmental Geography. (3-0)
GEO 7334 Geographic Aspects of Water. (3-0)
HR 7375 Aquatic Health Ecology and Human Disease. (3-0)
POSI 7310 Resolution of Disputes Involving Aquatic Resources. (3-0)
Dissertation: 15 hours minimum
BIO 7399A Dissertation. (3-5) While conducting dissertation research and writing, students must be continuously enrolled each semester (including summer) for at least three dissertation hours. Graded on a credit (CR), progress (PR), no credit (F) basis.
BIO 7699A Dissertation. (6-10) While conducting dissertation research and writing, students must be continuously enrolled each semester (including summer) for at least three dissertation hours. Graded on a credit (CR), progress (PR), no credit (F) basis.