Departmental Unit № 1
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences (EPS)
PhD in Earth Sciences (Hydrogeology & Environmental Science)
100% Full Funding Guaranteed (5 Years)
Funding Package: Full tuition remission + 12-month living stipend (~$35,000–$39,000/yr) + comprehensive health insurance guaranteed for 5 years through Teaching Assistantships (TA), GSR appointments, and Regent's Fellowships.
Fall Priority Deadline: January 5 (Fall Admission)
GRE Policy: Not required / Waived
English Minimums: TOEFL iBT 89 minimum or IELTS 7.0 minimum
MS in Earth Sciences (Thesis Track)
100% Full Funding on Thesis Track!
Funding Reality: UCSC Earth Sciences routinely provides full tuition waivers and TA/GSR stipends to admitted MS thesis students! Excellent funded Master's target.
Application Deadline: January 5
Admissions Advisory: If full funding is required and MS is self-funded, students are strongly advised to apply directly to the PhD track.
Vetted Matched Scholars (1 Profiles)
Prof. Andrew T. Fisher
Distinguished Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences
In Plain Terms · What This Scholar Does:
He designs giant underground water injection basins that catch muddy storm runoff and let it sink into aquifers, creating groundwater bank accounts to protect farming towns from drying up.
Core Research Topics: Hydrogeology, managed aquifer recharge (MAR), groundwater-surface water interactions, heat and solute transport, water quality in recharge basins.
Recent 2024–2026 Works & Grants: World leader in Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) and thermal hydrogeology. Developed the 'Recharge Net Metering' program, incentivizing landowners to capture stormwater runoff and channel it into engineered infiltration basins to replenish depleted coastal aquifers.
Laboratory Instruments & Methods: Thermal hydrogeology modeling (using heat as a groundwater tracer), automated water level recorders, isotopic and geochemical water testing, GIS site suitability analysis.
Recruiting Context: Distinguished Professor with large state and federal grant portfolio in hydrogeology.
Candidate Match:
HydrologyWater QualityLab Water TestingGISGeoscience
Tailored Cold-Email Opening Hook:
"Highlighting your environmental science water testing and GIS mapping background, referencing his pioneering research on managed aquifer recharge and groundwater-surface water interactions."