Prospective Graduate Students
PhD Opportunity in Regional Water Quality Modeling
The Integrated Systems Hydrology Lab at the University of South Carolina is seeking a funded PhD student to join the School of the Earth, Ocean & Environment (SEOE) starting Fall 2026.
We welcome highly motivated students interested in interdisciplinary computational hydrology. Research topics are flexible but should align with the lab’s focus on community-driven mechanistic and machine learning models for studying water quality at state and national scales.
Preferred background & skills
- Strong quantitative skills
- Experience (or strong interest in developing expertise) in:
- Machine learning
- Python programming
- Hydrologic modeling
About SEOE & Research Opportunities
The SEOE is a multidisciplinary unit within the College of Arts and Sciences, supporting research and degree programs in geological sciences, marine sciences, and environmental social and natural sciences. Students will also have the opportunity to collaborate with the Institute for Clean Water, a partnership between USC and the South Carolina Department of Environmental Services, focused on advancing scientific and socioeconomic water quality research.
Contact Us
If interested, please email Dr. Dylan Blaskey (dblaskey@sc.edu). In your email, explain what research topics excite you and why. If your interests differ from your previous work, let me know what draws you to this new area. Professors receive many inquiries (sometimes over 100) about graduate opportunities, so a thoughtful, personalized message will help you stand out. Please also attach your CV so there is no need for an extensive discussion of your background in the email.
Please write your message yourself. AI tools can be helpful for editing and polishing, but they shouldn’t generate the content for you. AI emails are impersonal because they do not contain genuine personalization, so they are easy to spot. If you put time and energy into your message, I will do the same in replying. Otherwise, your message may not receive a response.
We look forward to hearing from you!
