The remaining courses selected with approval of the student’s thesis committee taken at the 5000 level or above; all but  EEES 6930  must be taken for a letter grade (A–F). Additional credit hours will include EEES 6960  Thesis Research and/or  EEES 6990  Independent Study, a maximum of 6 hours of which may be taken for a letter grade, and may also include other DES  or non-DES courses that need not be taken for a letter grade. The student must also prepare a thesis consisting of a written report on original independent research conducted by the student under the supervision of their thesis advisor (or co-advisors) and defend this thesis before their advisory committee.  

Option B (Non-thesis): The non-thesis option for a master’s degree in environmental science differs from the thesis option (above) by requiring 27 hours of formal courses and a maximum of 3 hours of EEES 6960 or EEES 6990; all but EEES 6930 (seminars) must be taken for a letter grade (A–F). The student also must write an original report based on literature research and defend this report before their advisory committee.