Departmental Unit № 1
School of Geosciences & Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
PhD in Geosciences (Geography / Environmental Science) / PhD in Environmental Engineering
100% Full Funding Guaranteed (Teaching/Research Assistantship)
Funding Package: Full tuition waiver + 9-month living stipend (~$22,500–$26,000/yr + summer support) + health insurance subsidy covered via Graduate Assistantships (GA).
Fall Priority Deadline: January 15 (Fall Priority)
GRE Policy: Not required / Waived
English Minimums: TOEFL iBT 79 or IELTS 6.5
MS in Geography / MS in Environmental Engineering (Thesis Track)
Eligible for GTA/GRA Tuition Waivers and Stipends
Funding Reality: USF Geosciences routinely offers GTA positions covering full tuition and stipends to qualified MS thesis applicants.
Application Deadline: January 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 (2 Profiles)
Prof. Joni Downs Firat
Professor and Director, School of Geosciences
In Plain Terms · What This Scholar Does:
School Director who invents new computer mapping algorithms to track moving GPS animal and water trajectories, showing how urban coastal sprawl is destroying critical wildlife migration paths.
Core Research Topics: Geographic information science, spatio-temporal modeling, trajectory data analysis, wildlife habitat tracking, coastal environmental analytics.
Recent 2024–2026 Works & Grants: Developing novel spatio-temporal trajectory algorithms to analyze high-frequency GPS movement tracks of coastal species and assess environmental habitat fragmentation and shoreline change along Florida's coastal wetlands (Florida Fish and Wildlife / NSF 2024–2026).
Laboratory Instruments & Methods: R, Python, ArcGIS Pro, spatio-temporal point pattern analysis, GPS telemetry, spatial network modeling.
Recruiting Context: Director of the School of Geosciences; leader in spatio-temporal trajectory analytics and GIScience.
Candidate Match:
GISSpatial StatisticsRemote SensingEnvironmental Monitoring
Tailored Cold-Email Opening Hook:
"Discussing your interest in spatio-temporal trajectory modeling, GIS spatial analysis, and coastal habitat tracking in the School of Geosciences."
Prof. Jeffrey A. Cunningham
Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering
In Plain Terms · What This Scholar Does:
He models how poisonous chemical spills migrate through underground sand and aquifer layers, testing custom magnetic clays that can soak up 'forever chemicals' out of drinking aquifers.
Core Research Topics: Contaminant transport in groundwater, hazardous waste remediation, PFAS sorptive removal, carbon capture and geological sequestration, physical-chemical water treatment.
Recent 2024–2026 Works & Grants: Developing reactive transport models and column experiments to evaluate how novel bio-adsorbents and polymer-clay composites immobilize poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in porous aquifer sands under varying groundwater geochemistry (NSF / Water Research Foundation 2024–2026).
Laboratory Instruments & Methods: Reactive transport modeling, column breakthrough testing, HPLC-MS, batch sorption isotherms, geochemical speciation modeling (PHREEQC).
Recruiting Context: Expert in physical-chemical hydrogeology and reactive transport modeling.
Candidate Match:
Environmental PollutionWater QualityHydrologyWet Lab Environmental Testing
Tailored Cold-Email Opening Hook:
"Discussing your interest in groundwater reactive transport modeling, PFAS aquifer remediation, and sorption column testing in the Cunningham Group."