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School of Earth & Sustainability

Email:
SES.Admin​@nau.edu
Call:
928-523-9333
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Graduate Student Research Opportunities

Join the School of Earth & Sustainability for your graduate school experience! Here is a list of projects/research foci available for students starting Fall 2025 in a thesis-based Master’s program (MS Geology or MS Environmental Sciences & Policy) or in our PhD Program in Earth Sciences and Environmental Sustainability.

If you are interested in applying to our graduate programs, visit the program pages listed above for instructions. Most importantly, talk to the specific faculty member(s) you are interested in working with about whether they are accepting new students and whether they have funding available to support you and your research. A big part of preparing for graduate school research is narrowing down your interests to one or two areas you want to spend a lot of time focusing on, so it is important to be able to identify one or two potential advisors. Please do not email all of our faculty with a general inquiry; instead be as specific as possible about your research interests and why you are interested in the research conducted one or two labs.

Some funding is also available via Teaching Assistantships. All funding decisions are made as part of the standard admissions process, which starts after the January 1st deadline. SES is committed to providing funding and support to serve a diverse and inclusive student body in our programs.

To learn more about any of the following projects, follow the link or email the faculty member (PI).

PIMS GLGMS ES&PPhDTopic
ApenxLithosphere formation and evolution
BestxMaintaining aquatic biodiversity across climate gradients
BiggsxCommunity Science and Mobile Technology to address Biodiversity Loss
GahertyxxSeismic imaging of geodynamic processes
HuntzingerxxLand-atmosphere carbon exchange and how the terrestrial carbon cycle impacts and is influenced by climate
JohnsonxxMycorrhizal microbiomes of biofuel sorghum
KaufmanxxxPaleo records of glacier and climate changes inferred from Alaska lakes (PROGLACIAL)
KaufmanxxxTesting amino acid paleo-thermometry in radiocarbon-dated lake sediment
McKay, Kaufman, ErbxCollaborative Research: Patterns and processes of abrupt Arctic warming based on paleoclimate observations and models
PerryxxAdvancing riverine biodiversity conservation through assessing resilience
PorterxSeismic Monitoring of Debris Flow Associated with the Museum Fire
PorterxEarth Analogues of Planetary Geophysical Exploration
PorterxThermal and Compositional State of the Western US from Seismic Imaging
RegallaxxFault slip histories and earthquake hazards in Japan, California, and Arizona (structural geology, geomorphology, paleoseismology, geophysics)
RowexRestoration of degraded lands in the Sonoran desert - saguaros, seed, weeds, and biocrust
SankeyxRemote sensing assessment of forest restoration treatments for hydrological benefits
ShillingtonxxStructure and behavior of the Alaska, Aleutian and Central American subduction zones from active-source imaging integrated with other observations
ShillingtonxxQuantifying synrift sediment properties and fault slip in the Gulf of Corinth
SmithxxLacustrine and fluvial environmental response to climate change in Eocene Wyoming
SmithxxInteractions between onshore tectonics, wave climate, and submarine canyons, coastal California
SoutherxEvaluation of drought and changing climate on a southwestern cultural keystone species
SoutherxEcoevolutionary evaluation of a federally endangered sky island plant species to improve conservation measures
SoutherxEcological and spatial investigation of oak range dynamics to inform restoration in the Southwest
SpringerxxAssessing hydrological responses of land management practices
SpringerxKarst hydrogeology projects in the Greater Grand Canyon region and the Southern Colorado Plateau
SpringerxRestoration, management and sustainability of springs ecosystems
SpringerxxGroundwater recharge under changing climate and land management conditions
TierneyxUsing andesites to investigate the crustal and magmatic evolution of San Juan volcanism
School of Earth & Sustainability
Location
Room A108 Building 11
Ashurst
624 S Knoles Dr
Flagstaff, AZ 86011
Contact Form
Email
SES.Admin@nau.edu
Phone
928-523-9333
Fax
928-523-7423
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