Applications areas include porous media systems, surface water systems, indoor air systems, atmospheric systems, coupled systems, exposure analysis, and integrated exposure-health effects analysis. Those specializing in environmental modeling should have on entry mathematics through ordinary differential equations, calculus-based physics, general chemistry, undergraduate fluid mechanics, and some background in probability and statistics, numerical methods, and computer science. Suitable courses exist at UNC to obtain this background if deficiencies need to be made up. Consultation with prospective faculty advisors or the EM Program Director is strongly advised, especially for doctoral level applicants. Applicants should then complete the Graduate School Application Form and arrange for GRE scores, transcripts, and recommendations to be sent.
Earlier applicants tend to benefit from a wider range of financial support options.
The requirements for the MS degree include a minimum of 30 hours of graduate-level credits, including 3 credit hours of research resulting in the preparation and defense of a thesis. Of these 30 credit hours, a minimum of 15 hours must be taken in courses offered by EM, which includes courses cross-listed with other departments. The PhD written examination requires a background in fluid dynamics, transport and reaction phenomena, mathematical and computational methods, and stochastic analysis. These curriculum categories are summarized below. Sufficient courses exist, including courses currently offered and new courses proposed, such that many possible combinations of course selections are possible.