At the University of New Orleans it is widely recognized that scientific research should be interdisciplinary in nature. Overcoming the global challenges of the 21st Century will require the best minds from all scientific fields working together to generate meaningful solutions. The Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of New Orleans is structured to offer incoming graduate students a wide selection of relevant fields from which to choose. We also provide a professional, interdisciplinary setting in which to pursue challenging research projects. Our longtime foundation in geological sciences allows us to provide expert guidance in fields such as geochemistry, geomorphology, geophysics, marine geology, paleontology, paleoceanography, pegmatite mineralogy, and stratigraphy. Students interested in oil and gas geology have the opportunity to study depositional basins, sedimentology, and mineralogy. Issues involving worldwide pressures on coastal environments can be investigated through the field of coastal sciences. Many of our faculty researchers are experts on local subjects associated with the Louisiana coast such as coastal management, hydrological models, species conservation, restoration science, saltwater intrusion, and barrier island protection. Likewise graduate researchers interested in environmental sciences can choose from fields such as plant ecology, aquatic ecology, floodplain dynamics, invasive species, fisheries conservation, water quality analysis, and natural resource management. Our faculty with expertise in geospatial sciences can bring together all of the information and data generated by these multiple fields to create valuable products such as ecological databases, remotely sensed images, and geographic information systems. The goal of our interdisciplinary approach is to provide our graduate student researchers the greatest diversity of professional experts from which to learn the multiple skills that will be needed to manage the resources and natural environments of the future.