Overview

A Ph.D. degree for a student whose highest prior degree is a B.S. requires 84 credit hours of approved study beyond the B.S. degree.

Features

These requirements translate to a minimum of 39 credit hours of organized course work (thirteen 3-credit non-research courses) beyond the Bachelor's Degree plus 45 hours of Ph.D. research, dissertation and unrestricted electives.

A maximum of 100 credit hours as a Geosensing Systems Engineering and Sciences Ph.D. student at University of Houston also applies. After 100 hours, the student is no longer eligible for the lower, Texas-Resident Tuition.

Programme Structure

Curriculum

After completing the research and writing the dissertation, the candidate defends the dissertation in a public meeting of the committee, interested faculty, staff, and students. The result is pass or fail with a pass usually being accompanied by recommended changes to the final draft.

Full-time students receiving financial support must register for 12 credit hours each Fall and Spring semester until they pass the Ph.D. qualifying exam, then students register for 9 credit hours each Fall and Spring and 6 hours each summer semester.

All graduate students must maintain a "B" average (GPA 3.0). Any graduate student who earns three "C" grades in graduate courses will be dropped from the Program. Doctoral students who fail to complete their dissertation within five years after completion of the comprehensive examination must retake the exam.

Key information

Duration

Full-time
- 120 months

Start dates & application deadlines

Starting 2026-08-24 00:00:00
- Apply before 2026-05-15 00:00:00
Starting 2027-01-19 00:00:00
- Apply before 2026-10-15 00:00:00

Language

English

Duolingo English Test

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TOEFL^® IBT

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IELTS

6.5

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Credits

84 SCH

Delivered

On Campus

Campus Location

Houston, United States

Disciplines

Geology Geographical Information Systems (GIS) View 66 other PhDs in Geology in United States

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Academic requirements

GPA

English requirements

Duolingo English Test

105

Take A Free Practice Test!

TOEFL^® IBT

Schedule TOEFL®

PTE Academic

Schedule a PTE test!

IELTS

6.5

Prepare for Your English Test

Cathoven AI IELTS Preparation

Learn your IELTS Score

AI-powered IELTS feedback. Clear, actionable, and tailored to boost your writing & speaking score. No credit card or upfront payment required.

Trusted by 300k learners
98 accuracy using real exam data
4.9/5 student rating

Other requirements

General requirements

A B.S. degree in engineering or in a science related to engineering from an accredited college or university or the foreign equivalent of an accredited American B.S. or M.S. degree in engineering. Non-engineers with degrees in related fields may be considered for admission after certain prerequisite courses are completed.

A minimum grade point average (GPA) of "B", i.e., 3.0 on a 4.0 scale on the last 60 hours of course work attempted.

Satisfactory scores on the General Aptitude test of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). The GRE advanced test (engineering) need not be taken. Old scores are valid, provided ETS can provide official copies to us.

Submission of three letters of recommendation is required. The letters are submitted electronically in CollegeNet by the recommenders once their names and contact information is provided.

Tuition Fees

Tuition fees are shown in and the most likely applicable fee is shown based on your nationality.

International Applies to you

Applies to you

Non-residents

7837 USD / year

≈ 7837 USD / year
Out-of-State

7837 USD / year

≈ 7837 USD / year
Domestic

Applies to you

In-State

3595 USD / year

≈ 3595 USD / year

Living costs

Houston

United States

1067 - 1950 USD / month

The living costs include the total expenses per month, covering accommodation, public transportation, utilities (electricity, internet), books and groceries.

About

Overview

Features

Programme Structure

Key information

Duration

Start dates & application deadlines

Language

Prepare for Your English Test

Credits

Delivered

Campus Location

Disciplines

What students do after studying

Academic requirements

English requirements

Prepare for Your English Test

Other requirements

General requirements

Tuition Fees

International Applies to you

Domestic

Living costs

Houston

Funding

Scholarships Information

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