The program leading to the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Environmental and Earth Sciences is designed primarily to prepare doctoral-level students for research careers in industry, government or academic institutions. Students carry out independent research and acquire practical knowledge of the type of research conducted and the constraints (both practical and philosophical) under which such research is conducted. The areas of research are interdisciplinary using the Earth's environment, interpreted broadly, as the theme. Research normally comes from the disciplines of Geoscience, Biology, Chemistry and Engineering, but contributions from other disciplines are welcome. The program is designed to provide graduate students an integrated, multidisciplinary education, requiring a breadth of understanding and mastery of a spectrum of scientific and engineering principles. Among the goals is to provide students who have earned engineering or science undergraduate degrees a common ground for interdisciplinary communication, an understanding of the environment, and competence in a research area that will enable them to evaluate complex environmental problems.