Student Opportunities

Graduate Studies

ESRC graduate students collaborate closely with ESRC faculty in pursuit of a Master's degree or a Ph.D. ESRC graduate students are expected to fully engage in ESRC research projects, most of which are funded by grants from federal agencies such as the National Science Foundation, NASA, and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration. In addition to writing a thesis, ESRC graduate students routinely publish their research findings in high-impact scientific journals.

Students pursing a Master's degree with ERSC faculty mentors have several options. Our Master's students commonly enroll in the graduate program in the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment  or the Department of Earth Sciences. The Department of Natural Resources and the Environment provides degree specializations in Environmental Conservation, Environmental EconomicsForestrySoil and Water Resource Management, and Wildlife and Conservation Biology. The Department of Earth Sciences offers Master of Science degrees in Geology, Hydrology, Oceanography, Ocean Mapping, and Geochemical Systems

Students pursuing a Ph.D. degree with ESRC faculty mentors enroll in the Natural Resources and Earth Systems Science (NRESS) Ph.D. Program (one of the largest Ph.D. program at UNH with approximately 60 Ph.D. students enrolled at any given time) and choose a degree in Natural Resources and Environmental Studies (NRES) or Earth and Environmental Sciences (EES). 

Undergraduate Opportunities

Undergraduate students are engaged in research projects working collaboratively with ESRC graduate students and faculty. If you are interested in enhancing your education by joining an active research project, please peruse our current research projects and contact one of research team members. You can also submit a proposal to the Hamel Center for Undergraduate Research requesting funds to support your research project.  Most of our undergraduate researchers also present their results at the UNH Undergraduate Research Conference.

  • Eunsang standing next to NASA logo sign inside building.
    Civil and Environmental Engineering Ph.D. '20
    Eunsang is a Postdoctoral Research Scientist at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) and University of Maryland, College Park. He is currently working on developing model simulations to assess the benefits of a future satellite mission concept.
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  • Sampling snow in a clean suit at Summit Station in Greenland in June 2010.
    Earth and Environmental Science Ph.D. '14
    Chelsea is currently an Assistant Professor of Environmental Science at Springfield College in Springfield, MA. While her primary focus is teaching, she also engages in research through both collaborations with other institutions and on local projects involving Springfield College undergraduates. 
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  • James collecting a water column sample with an undergraduate helper for routine analyses.
    Earth System Sciences M.S. '16
    Currently James is the Laboratory Manager for the Water Science and Engineering Laboratory at UW-Madison managing facility maintenance, renovation, lab spaces, research operations, safety and operations, instrumentation, and training in the Core for Advanced Water Analysis.
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  • Group of students standing outside with blue sky.
    Earth Sciences M.S. '10
    Claire is currently a Research Group Leader in the Permafrost Research Section at Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research in Potsdam, Germany investigating greenhouse gas emissions from northern ecosystems, including tundra, wetlands, and permafrost ecosystems.
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  • Sophia Burke, a graduate student with the Earth Systems Research Center.
    Methane (CH4) Flux Dynamics in Subarctic Peatland Thaw Ponds Using Field and Remote Sensing Techniques
    Sophie's research involves the monitoring of CH4 emissions (focusing on ebullitive flux) from thaw ponds at Stordalen Mire in Northern Sweden. Her goals are to understand how CH4 emissions from these ponds are changing over time and to compare them to those of other sub-ecosystems within the whole mire landscape (i.e. intact peat and lakes). She is also interested in…
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