Requirements for the Doctorate

Home Graduate Program Requirements for the Doctorate

The typical duration of the doctoral program is five to six years.

A dissertation in environmental studies is expected to present an original contribution to the understanding of a significant environmental problem or issue. It should demonstrate a clear understanding of the relevant literature, careful and rigorous research design, and effective communication of the results within the context of their area of emphasis.

Other important things to note:

• Students are expected to serve as teaching assistants in undergraduate courses for two quarters, unless they can demonstrate equivalent experience.
• Students have the option of pursuing a “Parenthetical Notation," the equivalent of a graduate minor. They provide a framework for in-depth study in specialized fields in your area, and an opportunity for recognition of particular scholarly expertise. We currently have agreements with Sociology and Latin American and Latino Studies departments, and are pursuing agreements with others.
• We do not offer a terminal master's degree, except in the case of students who have been advanced to candidacy but do not complete the Ph.D. dissertation.

Program Prerequisites

The interdisciplinary nature of the core curriculum requires rigorous preparation at the undergraduate level. Students are expected to have had at least one course in statistical analysis. Calculus is useful in many areas of the program and essential to independent work in some. In addition, all students should have, either from prior course work or independent reading, an advanced upper-division knowledge of: ecology, genetics, and evolutionary biology; macro- and microeconomics, politics, and political economy. However, preparation in these areas is best accomplished by course work.

Committees
On admission to the program, each student is assigned a guidance committee of three faculty: two from his or her general research area and one from a complementary field. Thus, a student whose interests are in conservation biology will have two committee members who are natural scientists and one who is a social scientist; similarly, a student whose interests are in the political economy of agriculture will have a natural scientist on the guidance committee.

Though the membership of the committee may change as the student forms relationships with particular faculty and begins to define the dissertation research, subsequent committees will always include one environmental studies faculty member from the "other" metadiscipline to ensure that the student takes fully into account the interdisciplinary implications of his or her training and research.

Under the guidance of an interdisciplinary faculty committee, students are expected to begin to define and plan their further education and research. For some students, this may involve closely focused preparation and additional course work in particular fields (such as ecology, economics, or politics), guided by environmental studies faculty and other campus and UC faculty. Depending on the student's background, interests, and intentions, his or her advisers may suggest or require additional course work, including courses from other departments.

The guidance committees work with students throughout the first two years to ensure that their preparation is individually designed to meet particular needs and interests. At the same time, the various research seminar formats are intended to encourage students to work collaboratively in reading and research preparation.

Courses

In the first year, core courses ENVS 201 A and B introduce students to basic concepts in ecology and the social sciences, and their applications in environmental studies. These conceptual foundations are complemented by three courses, one quarter each, in research methods (ENVS 201M), research design (ENVS 201N) and quantitative techniques.

In fall and winter quarters of the second year, students are required to take a minimum of two Area Specialization courses (one of which must be in the natural sciences and one in the social sciences):

• 210 Political Ecological Thought and the Environment
• 220 Conservation Biology
• 230 Agroecology and Sustainable Agriculture
• 240 Public Policy and Conservation

These courses are designed to ensure that students acquire disciplinary depth in their chosen research fields, gain experience of their research communities, and refine the research skills necessary to perform successfully in the professional arena.

Throughout their career, students are encouraged to participate in ENVS 291 - Interdisciplinary and disciplinary topical readings courses in areas of interest.

In addition, every quarter before advancement to candidacy, all students are required to participate in:

• 290 Departmental Interdisciplinary Research Seminar (2 credits)
• 290L Graduate Research Seminar (2 credits)
• 292 Topics in Research in Environmental Studies (2 credits).

Pre- and Qualifying Exams

During the second year students will prepare for the Pre-Qualifying Examinations, which must be taken no-later than winter quarter of the third year. The Qualifying Examination for advancement to candidacy will normally take place by the end of the spring quarter of the third year (the University requires that the Qualifying Exam be completed no-later than the end of the fourth year). 

If the venue of a student's research is in a non-English-speaking country, a language exam testing for reading and speaking competence in the language of that country must be passed before advancement to candidacy.