The College of Arts and Sciences offers graduate degrees in natural and physical sciences, social sciences, and the humanities. Every department has a Chair of the Graduate Committee (Graduate Adviser) who will assist students interested in pursuing graduate study in that department. Students should consult the individual department’s listing in the Graduate Studies Bulletin for the name of the Chair and members of the Graduate Committee. Students should check specific departmental guidelines concerning options offered for each degree. Criteria for admission (i.e. Graduate Record Examination) are variable and are described in the specific departmental sections of this Bulletin.

[edit] Natural and Physical Sciences

The School of Biological Sciences offers the MS and PhD degrees through two major divisions: I. The Section of Ecology and Organismal Biology; and II. The Section of Genetics, Cellular and Molecular Biology. Affiliated faculty from the departments of Agronomy, Biochemistry, Chemistry, Plant Pathology, and Psychology; the School of Natural Resources Sciences; and the State Museum are actively involved in the graduate program. Students have opportunities to develop course work and diverse research interactions through graduate research emphasis groups.

The Department of Chemistry offers the MS and PhD degrees in all of the traditional areas of chemistry (analytical, bio-, inorganic, organic, and physical) as well as in a number of more specialized and/or interdisciplinary areas, including: catalysis, materials chemistry, nanoscience, structural biology, molecular recognition, surface science, materials, polymers, solid state, organometallics, mechanism-based enzyme inhibition, natural products synthesis, biophysical, bioanalytical, environmental science, clinical chemistry, mass spectrometry, and molecular biology. A high priority is placed on treating each student as an individual while providing an environment for maximum professional development.

The Department of Computer Science and Engineering offers the MS and PhD degrees. Computer engineering is available as a specialization under the MS program and as a doctor of philosophy program under the unified engineering PhD program. The computer science MS and PhD programs provide an optional bioinformatics specialization. A cooperative PhD program is also offered with the Department of Mathematics.

The Department of Geosciences offers the MS and PhD degrees in many sub-disciplines of the earth and atmospheric sciences, but with emphasis in meteorology/climatology, hydrological science, sedimentary geology, Quaternary geology, paleoclimatology, geochemistry, geomorphology, structural geology, micropaleontology and vertebrate paleontology. The department houses the ANDRILL (Antarctic Drilling) management office and actively cooperates with the State Museum and the School of Natural Resources, the latter of which includes the State Geological Survey and the UNL Water Center.

The Department of Mathematics offers the MA, MS, MAT, and PhD, and has nationally recognized faculty in algebra, analysis, coding theory, discrete mathematics, differential equations, applied mathematics, and mathematical biology. The department prides itself in teaching, mentoring, and training its graduate students and placing them in the positions they desire. In this regard, the department has been especially successful with women students, receiving the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring in recognition of its accomplishments.

The Department of Physics and Astronomy offers the MS and PhD degrees in physics, with strong programs in atomic, molecular, optical and plasma physics (experiment and theory), in condensed matter/materials physics (experiment and theory, emphasis on nanoscale materials), and in high energy physics (experiment). Among unique facilities, the department hosts several central facilities of the Nebraska Center for Materials and Nanoscience, the new Diocles Extreme Light Laboratory, and is allied with the Research Computing Facility which jointly operates the most powerful computer in the state for physics simulations and data analysis (the CMS Tier-2 Facility). Students in atomic, molecular, optical and plasma physics work in strong-field physics, quantum optics, laser-plasma physics and relativistic optics, optical vortices, quantum information, photoionization processes, and polarized electron phenomena, with some research being carried out at the Advanced Light Source. Students in condensed matter/materials physics fabricate and study novel nanoscale materials and structures, including surface phase transitions, electronic and magnetic structures, “smart” materials, materials for information storage, and multiferroics, using state-of-the-art in-house apparatus and at national facilities such as the Advanced Photon Source and the Center for Advanced Micro Devices. Students in experimental high-energy physics carry out their research on fundamental particles and interactions at Fermilab (Dzero experiment), at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (CMS experiment), with opportunities in particle astrophysics (Pierre Auger Observatory)) and non-accelerator physics (Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory).

The Department of Statistics offers the MS and PhD degrees in statistics. The department has dedicated itself to “turning data into knowledge to solve real world problems.” It has a long history of collaboration with other disciplines throughout the university, developing statistical theory and methods that advance statistics while also enabling progress in allied fields as well. Graduate students are intimately involved in these collaborations, allowing them to receive practical experience in addition to theoretical training. Students can tailor their program to their interests and position themselves to take advantage of statistics’ many and varied career opportunities. The department values excellence in teaching, with nationally recognized faculty in design of experiments, survey statistics, generalized mixed linear and nonlinear models, categorical data, decision analysis, spatial statistics, and statistical genomics. Sports statistics and bioinformatics are emerging sub-disciplines.

[edit] Social Sciences

The Department of Anthropology offers the MA in anthropology, which offers a science-based course of study, emphasizing preparation for a career in anthropology or for entrance into a doctoral program. Anthropology programs feature Plains archaeology and ethnology, historic and cultural resource management archaeology, applied and development anthropology, and behavioral, ecological and evolutionary approaches to human behavior.

The Department of Communication Studies offers the MA and the PhD degrees in four areas of concentration: instructional communication, interpersonal and family communication, organizational communication, and rhetoric and culture. The department also offers an interdisciplinary MA specialization in marketing, communication studies and advertising.

The department’s graduate degree programs are designed to provide an advanced understanding of the scholarly traditions in communication studies; to train students in both social-scientific and humanistic research approaches in order to create proficiency in historical/critical, quantitative, and interpretive/qualitative methods; to develop competent investigators capable of producing communication scholarship of the highest quality; and to foster the creation of teacher-scholars and practitioner-researchers who respect the discipline’s pluralism and follow the highest standards of ethical conduct.

The Department of Geography offers the MA and PhD degrees which emphasize environmental geography, geographic information analysis (GIS, remote sensing, cartography), historical-cultural geography, regional geography, person-environment behavior and relations, and a doctoral specialization in community and regional planning. The Department sponsors internships, and offers teaching and research assistantships.

The Department of Political Science offers the MA and PhD in the following areas of concentration: American politics, comparative politics, international relations, public administration, and public policy. The department also offers a graduate certificate program in public policy analysis, and a joint MA/JD program in cooperation with the College of Law.

The Department of Psychology offers PhD work in biopsychology, clinical psychology, cognitive psychology, developmental psychology, law-psychology, and social/personality psychology. Well-qualified students, whose goal is the PhD, are recruited; students desiring only an MA are not accepted.

The Department of Sociology offers the MA and PhD. The Department provides training in pure and applied research. At the MA level, students study methods and theory and pursue a broad course of study before writing a thesis. Doctoral candidates develop two specialities, choosing from approximately twenty substantive areas. The department offers especially strong programs in family, health, mental health, substance use, and social inequality (race, class and gender).

[edit] Humanities

The Department of Classics and Religious Studies offers the MA degree with concentration in either Greek or Latin. An undergraduate major in Greek or Latin is normally required. While currently admitted students may complete their programs, the department is not accepting new applications at this time.

The Department of English offers the MA and PhD in the major areas of British and American literatures, especially Medieval and Renaissance; 19th century; Great Plains; multicultural and women’s literature; and creative writing, composition, and rhetoric.

The Department of History prepares students for careers in research and teaching through its MA and PhD degrees. Every effort is made to provide the creative environment to sustain a community of scholars. Carefully structured and individualized graduate programs afford maximum personal contact and consultation between graduate students and professors in seminars, directed individual readings, lecture courses, and supervised thesis research and writing.

The Department of Modern Languages and Literatures offers the MA and PhD degrees in French, German, and Spanish. Programs consist of advanced work in the student’s primary language, courses in literature, criticism and linguistics, interdisciplinary work in other fields or languages, and independent study and research.

The Department of Philosophy offers the MA and PhD degrees with a primarily analytic orientation, providing the opportunity to pursue advanced research in all the major areas of philosophy, including the history of philosophy.