Program Details
Program Details | Courses | GC Minor Flyer
GC Minor Eligibility
Global Change (GC) Minor students are interested in acquiring a broader environmental and earth system science perspective. To enter the program students must be pursuing a PhD at the University of Arizona in any major field. Current students in the program come from a wide range of fields, including science, engineering, and social science.
GC Minor Requirements
Five courses, for a total of 13 units (B grade or better), are required for the GC PhD Minor. Seven units come from a required list of core courses, with the remaining six units selected from the list of electives with approval of PhD Minor faculty on the student's committee.
Students who have previously taken one or more of these core classes (e.g. as part of a major) must consult a member of their PhD Minor Committee Faculty to identify appropriate substitute courses from the list of electives, and to receive formal approval from the minor representative(s). This arrangement is then formalized by a letter from the minor representative(s) to the Executive Committee.
Graduate Committee Members
Students should identify and contact two GC faculty members to serve as minor representatives on their preliminary examination and final dissertation defense committees. These faculty should be identified early in the student's program, so they can serve as resources during the student's studies.
Program Administration
The GC Minor's Committee on Global Change consists of more than 50 faculty from a number of academic disciplines. A smaller group of faculty serve on the Executive Committee, which directs the program.
The GC Minor curriculum is supplemented by many research and educational activities of the University of Arizona's Institute for Study of Planet Earth (ISPE). Faculty and students associated with ISPE are involved in interdisciplinary research that spans much of the breadth of the U.S. Global Change Research Program. ISPE offers travel grants and competitive awards to GC Minor and other graduate students on campus. The Institute also sponsors global change visitors and interdisciplinary seminars.