Departmental Unit № 1
Department of Geography
PhD in Geography
100% Full Funding Guaranteed (5 Years)
Funding Package: Full tuition + stipend (~$37,000–$40,000/yr) + health insurance guaranteed via Graduate Student Instructor (GSI) or Graduate Student Researcher (GSR) appointments.
Fall Priority Deadline: December 3
GRE Policy: Not required / Waived
English Minimums: TOEFL iBT 90 minimum or IELTS 7.0 minimum
MA in Geography (En route to PhD)
Funded on PhD Track
Funding Reality: Admitted directly into the PhD program, earning MA along the way with full funding.
Application Deadline: December 3
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 (2 Profiles)
Prof. Jeffrey Q. Chambers
Professor of Geography
In Plain Terms · What This Scholar Does:
He uses orbital satellites to watch the Amazon and global forests, tracking how severe droughts and mega-storms are damaging trees and altering regional rainfall cycles.
Core Research Topics: Biogeography, satellite remote sensing, forest disturbance, extreme droughts, tropical forest resilience, spatial landscape ecology.
Recent 2024–2026 Works & Grants: Director of the TREE (Terrestrial Research on Ecosystem Ecology) Lab and US Dept of Energy NGEE-Tropics projects. Uses satellite time series (Landsat, Sentinel, LiDAR) to quantify massive forest die-offs from extreme drought and windstorms.
Laboratory Instruments & Methods: Satellite optical & LiDAR imagery, Google Earth Engine, spatial clustering analysis, field forest inventory plots.
Recruiting Context: Premier geographer bridging satellite remote sensing and environmental change. Direct fit for a BSc in Geography & Environmental Science.
Candidate Match:
Remote SensingGISGeographyEnvironmental Science
Tailored Cold-Email Opening Hook:
"Connecting your BSc in Geography and Environmental Science with his satellite-based tree mortality and forest disturbance mapping."
Prof. Laurel Larsen
Professor of Geography and Civil & Environmental Engineering
In Plain Terms · What This Scholar Does:
She investigates how flowing water naturally designs wetlands and river deltas, helping engineers restore lost swamps to protect cities from catastrophic storm surges.
Core Research Topics: Hydroecology, environmental fluid dynamics, landscape evolution, wetland restoration flow dynamics, complex water systems, flood pulse modeling.
Recent 2024–2026 Works & Grants: Directs Environmental Systems Dynamics Laboratory. Investigates the Everglades wetland restoration, flood connectivity in river-floodplain systems, and complex water flow networks.
Laboratory Instruments & Methods: Hydrodynamic numerical modeling, cellular automata, tracer experiments, GIS spatial network analysis, acoustic velocimetry.
Recruiting Context: Joint appointment in Geography and Civil Engineering. Exceptional match for candidates interested in water and spatial modeling.
Candidate Match:
HydrologyFlood ModelingGISWater Resources
Tailored Cold-Email Opening Hook:
"Highlighting your interest in hydroecological feedbacks, wetland flow modeling, and GIS-based environmental dynamics."
Departmental Unit № 2
Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management (ESPM)
PhD in Environmental Science, Policy, and Management
100% Full Funding Guaranteed (5 Years)
Funding Package: Guaranteed 5-year full funding package (tuition remission + ~$38,000/yr stipend + health coverage) via GSR/GSI appointments.
Fall Priority Deadline: December 1
GRE Policy: Not required
English Minimums: TOEFL iBT 90 or IELTS 7.0
Master of Science in Range Management / Forestry (Funded Thesis)
Thesis MS Frequently Funded via GSR
Funding Reality: Thesis MS students funded if supported by faculty research grant.
Application Deadline: December 1
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 (2 Profiles)
Prof. Manuela Girotto
Associate Professor of ESPM
In Plain Terms · What This Scholar Does:
She feeds satellite images of snow and soil into giant computer simulations to accurately predict how much drinking and irrigation water will be available after the winter melt.
Core Research Topics: Land surface remote sensing, hydrological data assimilation, snow hydrology, Earth observation multi-sensor integration, water cycle modeling.
Recent 2024–2026 Works & Grants: Leads the Girotto Hydro-Remote Sensing Lab. Merges satellite observations (GRACE, SMAP, Sentinel) with physics-based hydrologic models to track mountain snowpack water storage and groundwater depletion across the western US.
Laboratory Instruments & Methods: Ensemble Kalman filtering (data assimilation), satellite gravimetry (GRACE-FO), radiometry, Python/Fortran hydrological models.
Recruiting Context: Actively recruiting graduate students in satellite hydrology and land surface modeling.
Candidate Match:
Remote SensingHydrologyGISPython
Tailored Cold-Email Opening Hook:
"Expressing enthusiasm for satellite multi-sensor data assimilation and snow/soil water cycle modeling, pitching your GIS and remote sensing coursework."
Prof. Iryna Dronova
Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture & Environmental Planning and ESPM
In Plain Terms · What This Scholar Does:
She uses drone photography and satellite mapping to evaluate whether reconstructed wetlands and marshes are actually thriving and protecting coastlines from floods.
Core Research Topics: Wetlands remote sensing, GIS & spatial analysis, object-based image analysis (OBIA), landscape ecology, Earth observation.
Recent 2024–2026 Works & Grants: Investigates wetland vegetation structure, tidal marsh restoration monitoring, and urban landscape greenness using satellite, airborne hyperspectral, and UAV drone imagery.
Laboratory Instruments & Methods: Object-Based Image Analysis (eCognition), Google Earth Engine, UAV drone multispectral processing, GIS spatial statistics.
Recruiting Context: World leader in wetland remote sensing. Direct alignment with GIS and environmental science graduates.
Candidate Match:
Remote SensingGISGeographySpatial Analysis
Tailored Cold-Email Opening Hook:
"Highlighting your GIS, remote sensing, and environmental mapping skills applied to wetland ecosystem monitoring and spatial analysis."
Departmental Unit № 3
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)
PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering
100% Full Funding Guaranteed (5 Years)
Funding Package: Tuition remission + stipend (~$39,000/yr) + health insurance for 5 years via GSR/GSI.
Fall Priority Deadline: December 15
GRE Policy: Not required
English Minimums: TOEFL iBT 90 or IELTS 7.0
MS in Environmental Engineering
GSR / GSI Eligible for Research Track
Funding Reality: Research students can receive tuition remission and salary as GSRs.
Application Deadline: December 15
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. Cynthia Gerlein-Safdi
Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering
In Plain Terms · What This Scholar Does:
She uses bouncing GPS signals from satellites in space like a giant radar to detect hidden floodwaters and wetlands concealed underneath thick jungle and tree canopies.
Core Research Topics: Ecohydrology, surface water hydrology, satellite remote sensing (GNSS reflectometry), wetland inundation dynamics, radar remote sensing.
Recent 2024–2026 Works & Grants: Tenure-track Assistant Professor! Directs Gerlein-Safdi Lab. Pioneer in using GPS/GNSS satellite signals bouncing off the Earth's surface (GNSS reflectometry via CYGNSS satellite constellation) to detect hidden water inundation beneath dense vegetation canopy.
Laboratory Instruments & Methods: CYGNSS satellite reflectometry, Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), microwave radiometry, spatial hydrology modeling, Python geospatial scripts.
Recruiting Context: Tenure-track Assistant Professor with high hiring priority and active grants! Ideal opportunity for graduate applicants.
Candidate Match:
Remote SensingHydrologyFlood ModelingGIS
Tailored Cold-Email Opening Hook:
"Referencing her pioneering work in GNSS reflectometry and microwave remote sensing for mapping inundation dynamics and wetland ecohydrology."