Environmental Social Science (Complex Adaptive Systems Science), PhD

The Doctor of Philosophy program in environmental social science is one of the few doctoral degree programs in the U.S. that draws on the premise that reducing human impacts and developing more sustainable environmental practices is difficult, if not impossible, to achieve without a focus on the social dynamics of environmental issues using critical social science perspectives. The program is organized around theoretically based conceptual domains: culture and the environment, environmental hazards and vulnerability, environmental justice, human environment impacts, political ecology and science and technology studies.

Applicants must fulfill the requirements of both the Graduate College and The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.Applicants are eligible to apply to the program if they have earned a bachelor's or master's degree from a regionally accredited institution. Undergraduate coursework in the social sciences (e.g., geography, political science, sociology, anthropology, planning or history) is not a prerequisite for admission but is generally advisable. Students may be admitted without such a background and may be required to acquire knowledge of the social sciences in a manner to be specified at the time of admission.Applicants must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 (scale is 4.00 = "A") in the last 60 hours of their first bachelor's degree program or a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 (scale is 4.00 = "A") in an applicable master's degree program.