phd thesis on environmental management

The requested URL was rejected.

Scholars' Bank

Environmental studies theses and dissertations.

• By Issue Date

Search within this collection:

Recent Submissions

• Vulnerability in the Avalanche Capital: The Human Dimensions of Avalanche and Landslide Hazard in Juneau, Alaska  Provant, Zachary ( University of Oregon , 2024-08-07 ) In the United States, climate disasters kill thousands of people and cost billions of dollars each year. In 2023, the United States experienced 28 environmental disasters that cost more than one billion dollars each—the ...
• Ecological Intensification of Oregon Hazelnut Orchards: Restoring Native Plant Communities in Shared Ecosystems  Lane-Massee, Marissa ( University of Oregon , 2024-08-07 ) The rapidly expanding Oregon hazelnut industry offers a unique opportunity for restoring ecosystem services to private lands that were historically oak-prairie dominated habitats. With typical orchard management consisting ...
• Forward-looking approaches to rangeland restoration in a variable world  Batas, Lina ( University of Oregon , 2024-08-07 ) Ecological restoration is a powerful tool for repairing degraded ecosystems and promoting biodiversity and ecosystem functions. As global change drivers shift baseline conditions, forward-looking restoration approaches aim ...
• AN ACCUMULATION OF CATASTROPHE: A POLITICAL ECONOMY OF WILDFIRE IN THE WESTERN UNITED STATES  Dockstader, Sue ( University of Oregon , 2024-03-25 ) This dissertation is an environmental sociological study of wildland fire in what is now the western United States. It examines wildfire management from roughly the 1900s to the present time employing a Marxist historical ...
• Managing Life's Future: Species Essentialism and Evolutionary Normativity in Conservation Policy, Practice, and Imaginaries  Maggiulli, Katrina ( University of Oregon , 2024-01-10 ) Folk essentialist and normative understandings of species are not only prevalent in popular layperson communities, but also end up undergirding United States conservation policy and practice due to the simplistic clarity ...
• Unsettled Ecologies: Alienated Species, Indigenous Restoration, and U.S. Empire in a Time of Climate Chaos  Fink, Lisa ( University of Oregon , 2024-01-10 ) This dissertation traces environmental thinking about invasive species from Western-colonial, diasporic settlers of color, and Indigenous perspectives within U.S. settler colonialism. Considering environmental discourses ...
• Futuremaking in a Disaster Zone: Everyday Climate Change Adaptation amongst Quechua Women in the Peruvian Cordillera Blanca  Moulton, Holly ( University of Oregon , 2024-01-10 ) Indigenous women in Peru are often labeled “triply vulnerable” to climate change due to race, gender, and economic marginalization. Despite Peru’s focus on gender, Indigeneity, and intersectionality in national adaptation ...
• Land Acts: Land's Agency in American Literature, Law, and History from the Colonial Period to Removal  Keeler, Kyle ( University of Oregon , 2024-01-10 ) This dissertation examines land’s agency and relationships to land in the places now known as the United States as these relationships appear in literature and law from early colonization to the removal period. Land Acts ...
• PALEOTEMPERATURE, VEGETATION CHANGE, FIRE HISTORY, AND LAKE PRODUCTIVITY FOR THE LAST 14,500 YEARS AT GOLD LAKE, PACIFIC NORTHWEST, USA  Baig, Jamila ( University of Oregon , 2024-01-09 ) The postglacial history of vegetation, wildfire, and climate in the Cascade Range (Oregon) is only partly understood. This study uses high-resolution analysis from a 13-meter, 14,500-year sediment core from Gold Lake to ...
• On Western Juniper Climate Relations  Reis, Schyler ( University of Oregon , 2022-10-26 ) Western juniper woodlands are highly sensitive to climate in terms of tree-ring growth, seedling establishment and range distribution. Understanding the dynamics of western juniper woodlands to changes in precipitation, ...
• Stories We Tell, Stories We Eat: Mexican Foodways, Cultural Identity, and Ideological Struggle in Netflix’s Taco Chronicles  Sanchez, Bela ( University of Oregon , 2022-10-26 ) Food is a biological necessity imbued with numerous social, cultural, and economic implications for identity production and everyday meaning-making. Food television is a unique medium for the meanings of food and foodways ...
• Soil Nutrient Additions Shift Orthopteran Herbivory and Invertebrate Community Composition  Altmire, Gabriella ( University of Oregon , 2022-10-26 ) Anthropogenic alterations to global pools of nitrogen and phosphorus are driving declines in plant diversity across grasslands. As such, concern over biodiversity loss has precipitated a host of studies investigating how ...
• Multispecies Memoir: Self, Genre, and Species Justice in Contemporary Culture  Otjen, Nathaniel ( University of Oregon , 2022-10-04 ) Liberal humanism articulates an individual, rational, autonomous, universal, and singularly human subject that possesses various rights and freedoms. Although the imagined subject at the heart of liberal humanist philosophy ...
• Understanding How Changes in Disturbance Regimes and Long-Term Climate Shape Ecosystem and Landscape Structure and Function  Wright, Jamie ( University of Oregon , 2022-10-04 ) Long-term and anthropic climatic change intersecting with disturbances alters ecosystem structure and function across spatiotemporal scales. Quantifying ecosystem responses can be convoluted, therefore utilizing multiproxy ...
• Ikpíkyav (To Fix Again): Drawing From Karuk World Renewal To Contest Settler Discourses Of Vulnerability  Vinyeta, Kirsten ( University of Oregon , 2022-10-04 ) The Klamath River Basin of Northern California has historically been replete with fire-adapted ecosystems and Indigenous communities. For the Karuk Tribe, fire has been an indispensable tool for both spiritual practice and ...
• Grassland Restoration in Heterogeneous, Changing, and Human Dominated Systems  Brambila, Alejandro ( University of Oregon , 2022-10-04 ) Ecological restoration is a powerful tool to promote biodiversity and ecosystem function. Understanding underlying system variability and directional change can help predict outcomes of restoration interventions. Spatial ...
• Restoring What? And for Whom? Listening to Karuk Ecocultural Revitalization Practitioners and Uncovering Settler Logics in Ecological Restoration.  Worl, Sara ( University of Oregon , 2022-05-10 ) What does it mean to restore a landscape degraded by settler colonialism? How might a well intentionedprocess like ecological restoration end up causing harm from underlying settler colonial logics? This thesis explores ...
• Instigating Communities of Solidarity: An Exploration of Participatory, Informal, Temporary Urbanisms  Meier, Briana ( University of Oregon , 2021-11-23 ) This dissertationexamines the potential for participatory, informal urbanisms to buildcollaborative relations across ontological, cultural, and political difference. This research contributes to thefield of urban, environmental ...
• The Holy Oak School of Art and Ecology: A Proposal for Arts-Based Environmental Education Programming  Best, Krysta ( University of Oregon , 2021-11-23 ) The following is a proposal for arts-based environmental education programming in elementary schools, after-school programs, and day-camp programs, entitled the Holy School of Art and Ecology. Ecophenomenological, arts-based ...
• Settler Colonial Listening and the Silence of Wilderness in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area  Hilgren, Bailey ( University of Oregon , 2021-11-23 ) The Boundary Waters Canoe Area soundscape in northern Minnesota has a long and contested history but is most often characterized today as a pristine and distinctly silent wilderness. This thesis traces the construction and ...

View more submissions

Search Scholars' Bank

All of scholars' bank, this collection.

• Dockstader, Sue (2)
• Maggiulli, Katrina (2)
• Shtob, Daniel (2)
• Vinyeta, Kirsten (2)
• Altmire, Gabriella (1)
• Au, Lokyee (1)
• Bacon, J. (1)
• Baig, Jamila (1)
• Batas, Lina (1)
• Belanger, Kevin M., 1985- (1)
• ... View More
• Climate change (12)
• Environmental justice (8)
• Conservation (3)
• Environmental Justice (3)
• Environmental studies (3)
• Pacific Northwest (3)
• Restoration (3)
• Tourism (3)
• Agriculture (2)

Date Issued

• 2020 - 2024 (27)
• 2010 - 2019 (51)
• 2003 - 2009 (11)

Has File(s)

• Most Popular Items
• Statistics by Country
• Most Popular Authors

University of California, Santa Barbara

Completed PhD Dissertations

PhD in Environmental Science and Management graduates become leaders in their fields, advancing their academic disciplines and becoming dynamic change-makers in the corporate, public, and non-profit sectors. Their dissertation work combines theory with application, often producing new strategies, insights, and plans to solve environmental problems. 

The archive on this page dates back to 2015. To inquire about a dissertation project prior to 2015, please contact [email protected].

Degrees Conferred 2023

Violaine Desgens-Martin : Assessing Ecological Risks of Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products in Central and Southern California Aquatic Environments using Modeling

Albert Garcia : Evaluating Impacts of Forests and Forest Policy: Methods and Applications using Satellite Data

Jacob Gellman : Essays in the Economics of Wildfire

Christopher Heckman : On the Importance of Roots to Eco-hydrology: The Effect of Plant Accessible Water Storage Capacity on Evapotranspiration 

Timnit Kefela : (Micro)plastics in Solid Environmental Matrices

Seonghoon Kim : Collective Reputations and Business Sustainability

Vincent Thivierge : Evaluating the Efficiency and Effectiveness of Environmental Policies for Global and Local Air Pollutants

Erin Winslow : Post-disturbance Dynamics of Branching Corals and Their Predators

Degrees Conferred 2022

William Burke : Modeling the Interconnected Effects of Fuel Treatments on Forests, Water, and Fire

Marina Feraud : N treatment in stormwater biofilters: Relationships between sequestered pollutants, environmental conditions, and N cycling soil bacteria

Qian Gao : Novel disinfection system with recyclable magnetic nanoparticles and metal ions: Evaluation with bacteria, algae, and virus

Niklas Griessbaum : Towards the Twilight of File-Centricity

Patrick Hunnicutt : Comparative Analyses of Environmental Deprivation and Political Mobilization

Jason Maier : Essays on Consumer Behavior and the Environment

Casey O'Hara : Cataloguing and mapping cumulative human impacts on marine biological and functional diversity to inform conservation management

Yang Qiu : Economic and Environmental Implications of Low-Carbon Transition in the Energy System: Case Studies on Lighting Technologies, Electricity System, and Direct Air Capture

K Rahul Sharma : Non-Financial Incentives for Pro-Social and Pro-Environmental Behaviour

Juan Carlos Villaseñor Derbez : Essays on Environmental Markets and Marine Conservation

Degrees Conferred 2021

Jiajia Zheng : Assessment of Decarbonizing Rapidly-Growing Technological Systems with a Life-Cycle Perspective

Jessica Couture : Sustainable Aquaculture for a Resource Limited Future

Samuel Collie : Social Efficiency of Natural Resource Management

Alice Lépissier : A Methodological Toolkit to Understand Complex Policy Problems: Applications to Climate Change and Illicit Finance

Jade Sainz : Incorporating Climate Variability and Change into Marine Spatial Planning for Aquaculture in the Southern California Bight

Degrees Conferred 2020

Alexa Fredston-Hermann: Causes and Consequences of Species Range Edge Shifts in a Warming Ocean

Elizabeth Hiroyasu: The Social and Ecological Dimensions of Vertebrate Management: Reintroductions and Invasions

Molly Wilson : Understanding Fish and Fisher Behavior in Coral Reef Ecosystems

Degrees Conferred 2019

W. Tyler Brandt: A Solution to One of Mountain Hydrology's Principal Mysteries: The Spatial Distribution of Snowfall

Sean Fitzgerald: Enhancing Small-Scale Fisheries Management through Data-Limited Assessment and Collaboration

Molly Lassiter: Essays in Ecological Economics

Owen Liu: Confronting Complexity in Marine Population Dynamics and Management

Joseph Palazzo: Methodological Developments in Consequential Life Cycle Assessment

Runsheng Song: Machine Learning for Addressing Data Deficiencies in Life Cycle Assessment

Timbo Stillinger: Observing Snow from Space: Snow/Cloud Discrimination & Opportunities in Water Supply Forecasting

Mengya Tao: Spatial Heterogeneity in Modeling Environmental and Human Health Impacts of Chemicals

Laura Urbisci: Uncertainty Analysis in Fisheries Science: An Interdisciplinary Approach

Caroline Vignardi: Ecological implications of copper-based nanoparticles in aquatic complex matrices: Fate, behavior, and toxicity assessment

Ying Wang: Engineered Carbonaceous Nanomaterials in Legume Agroecosystems: Potential Effects and Fates

Degrees Conferred 2018

Andrew Ayres: The Common Pool, Extraction Restrictions, and the Costs of Collective Action: Three Essays on the Economics of Groundwater Management

Patrick Callery: The Role of Information and Incentives in Voluntary Corporate Provision of Public Goods

Dan Ovando: Of Fish and Fishermen: Using Human Behavior to Improve Marine Resource Management

Jessica Perkins: Improving the Usefulness of Environmental Information for Decision Making in Organizations

Yuwei Qin: Characterizing Uncertainties in Life Cycle Assessment

Daniel Viana: Management and Design of Marine Reserves and Rights-Based Management Systems in Small-Scale Fisheries

Degrees Conferred 2017

Erendira Aceves: Designing spatially explicit property rights for moving fish

Xioli Chen: Factors affecting the streamflow and in-stream nitrate concentration in semi-arid areas: sub-surface flow-generation, vertical distribution of soil nitrate and drainage properties, and the connectivity of impervious areas

Alex DeGolia: Choosing Green: Explaining motivations across different environmental behaviors

Matthew Fienup: Unintended Consequences of Environmental Policies: The Case of Urban Growth Controls

Rebecca Gentry: Marine Aquaculture Development: Spatial Management, Conservation Opportunities, and Production Potential

Ian McCullough: Exposure and sensitivity of ponderosa pine to climate change in mountainous western North American landscapes

Matthew Meyers: Fluvial Processes Affecting the Texture of a Gravel Bed with an Emphasis on Salmon Spawning Habitat

Oliver Soong: Vegetation Establishment Following Floodplain Restoration in Mediterranean-climate California

Sarah Valencia: Integrating Marine Reserves into Data-Poor Fisheries Management: Challenges and Opportunities

Degrees Conferred 2016

Darcy Bradley: Improving the management of marine top predators: population characteristics, behavior, and extinction risk

Kendra Garner: Fate, transport, exposure and environmental implications of engineered nanomaterials

Julia Glenday: Assessing hydrologic impacts of watershed degradation and restoration at different landscape positions in a semi-arid, mountainous water-supply catchment

Yuxiong Huang: Novel magnetic nanoparticle adsorbents for organic and inorganic contaminants

Bryan Leonard: The role of transactions costs in shaping the emergence and persistence of property rights regimes and their subsequent implications for sustainable resource use and environmental markets

Kyongho Son: The importance of sub-watershed variability on predicting ecohydrologic response to inter-annual climate variability and climate warming in the Sierra Nevada watersheds

Sara Sutherland: The economics of political participation and distribution in fisheries management

Degrees Conferred 2015

Adeyemi Adeleye: Influence of microorganisms and extracellular polymeric substances on the fate of engineered nanomaterials in natural aquatic systems

Joe Bergesen: Technological change in the life cycle assessment of rapidly expanding greenhouse gas mitigation technologies: case studies on thin-film photovoltaics and LED lighting

Jon Conway: Fate, transport, and implications of engineered nanomaterials in the terrestrial environment

Laura Dee:Managing ecosystem services in the face of uncertainty: what is the role of biodiversity?

Eric Fournier: The life cycle energy-water usage efficiency of artificial groundwater recharge via the reuse of treated wastewater

Steve Miller: Adaptations to changes in environmental conditions and policies

Lindsey Peavey: Uncovering the ecology of a cryptic oceanic consumer: the olive ridley sea turtle

Yi Yang: Life cycle assessment of agricultural systems with an emphasis on marginal changes, technological advances, and regional characteristics

School of Resource & Environmental Management

• Prospective Students
• Graduate Programs
• Doctorate Program (PhD)
• Postdoctoral Fellows
• Co-op Positions
• Faculty Positions
• Sessional Positions
• Teaching Assistant Positions
• Research Positions
• Lecturer Positions
• Bachelor of Environment in REM
• REM Honours Thesis
• Bachelor of Environment in REM Planning
• Sustainable Business Joint Major
• Certificates and Minors
• REM Major Student Stories
• Master's of Resource Management
• Master's of Resource Management Planning
• Graduate Admissions
• Undergraduate Resources
• Mentor Biographies
• Undergraduate
• Wolfgang Haider Memorial Book Award
• Student Research
• Published Papers
• Thesis Defenses
• Curriculum Vitae
• Research Accomplishments
• Research Aims
• Research Philosophy
• Our Projects
• Activity Calculator
• ADME-B(ioaccumulation) Calculator
• San Francisco Bay
• Publications
• Undergraduate program
• Graduate program
• Current Students
• Program Accreditation
• Professional Associations and Memberships
• Cooperative Resource Management Institute
• Layered Histories Archival and Website Project
• Intertidal Community Day 2023
• Cultural Burning Ceremony 2023
• Tla'amin Oct 2022
• Summer 2022 Recap
• Archaeological Field Work Aug 2022
• Plague Event July 2022
• Settlement Visits
• Intertidal Community Day August 2021
• Coast Salish Ancient Burial Practices
• Obsidian and Ancient Trade Relations on Xwe'etay
• Douglas Firs CMTs
• Ancient Sea Levels
• Obsidian and Trade Ancient Relations
• Clam Gardens
• The Island in the Middle of Everywhere
• Heritage Policies
• Community Planning Report
• Conservation Webinar
• Heritage Webinar
• 1944 Field Journal
• Xwe’etay/Lasqueti Indigenous Heritage Survey
• Xwe'etay Origin Story
• Dana Lepofsky
• Sean Markey
• Faren Wolfe
• Peter Johnston
• Kim Recalma-Clutesi
• Christine Roberts
• Chief Michael Recalma
• Nicole Norris
• Drew Blaney
• Jesse Morin
• Kaya Fraser
• Madeleine MacLean
• Owen Wilson
• Vlad Krakov
• Katie Dierks
• Julia Woldmo
• Morgan Ritchie
• Dana Kluchinski
• In the News
• About the Kearl Treatment Wetland
• Research aims and scope
• Treatment wetland model
• Meet the Team

doctorate program (PhD)

Program overview.

The PhD program in Resource and Environmental Management encourages students to pursue high-level research and interdisciplinary education in natural resources and environmental management. As a truly interdisciplinary research degree, students develop core knowledge of environmental science, ecological economics and environmental policy and then embed these fundamentals into their doctoral research areas.

Students normally complete at least one course in each of the three core areas (environmental sciences, resource and environmental policy and planning, and environmental economics) during their first year in the program.

Required Courses

REM 698-5: Field Resource Management Workshop  — This is a mandatory multi-day workshop held at the start of the fall term for new REM students. It provides an introduction to the current research happening in resource management as well as a chance for new students to connect across lab reasearch areas.

REM 611-5: Population and Community Ecology

REM 621-5: Ecological Economics

REM 644-5: Public Policy Analysis and Administration

Elective courses may be completed outside of the School of Resource and Environmental Management.

REM 898 Thesis Proposal Defense

By the end of their fifth term, students will sit an oral defense of their thesis proposal.  

REM 899 Thesis Defense

Doctoral students are expected to complete their thesis defense no later than the end of their 18th term (six years).

Ready to apply?

View graduate admission infomation

• Graduate Resources

• Environment @ UCSB
• Graduate Programs

Master and PhD in Environmental Science and Management

The Bren School at UCSB plays a leading role in researching environmental issues, identifying and solving environmental problems, and training research scientists and environmental management professionals. The Bren School offers two degree programs: Master of Environmental Science and Management (MESM) and PhD of Environmental Science and Management.

Master of Environmental Science and Management (MESM)

The Master of Environmental Science and Management (MESM) is a 2-year professional program focused on interdisciplinary collaborative solutions to environmental problems. Each MESM cohort is approximately 80 students; the total number of MESM students is 160. MESM students come from across the U.S. and around the world. MESM students develop breadth through courses in natural and social sciences, build depth through courses in a specialization, and participate in a year-long collaborative capstone project, either working as part of a Master's Group Project or Eco-Entrepreneurship (Eco-E) Project. For Master's Group Projects, students work together in groups of 4 or 5 with a faculty advisor to solve an environmental problem for a real client, such as a business, government agency, or non-governmental organization. For Eco-E Projects, students work together in groups of 2-5 to develop a business model for a new venture that addresses both a consumer and an environmental challenge. MESM graduates pursue practical, scalable, and scientifically-based environmental solutions that are relevant for careers in business, consulting, non-governmental organizations, government agencies, and academic and research institutions.

Bren Master's Program

PhD in Environmental Science and Management

The PhD in Environmental Science and Management is designed to develop broad knowledge, analytical powers, technical skills, and creative thinking demanded of environmental leaders. Each PhD cohort is approximately 10 students; the total number of PhD students is 50. Bren PhD students conduct innovative original research, typically over 5 years, with guidance from a faculty advisor and committee. Bren PhD training differs from a conventional discliplinary department by focusing on a wide variety of environmental issues, being multidiscilinary in nature, and individualized in implementation. Bren PhD alumni are leaders in academia, research, and business.

Bren PhD Program

We have 122 environmental management PhD Projects, Programmes & Scholarships

All disciplines

All locations

Institution

All Institutions

All PhD Types

All Funding

environmental management PhD Projects, Programmes & Scholarships

Domestic phd scholarship – social science and on-ground implementation of natural flood management, phd research project.

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

This project has funding attached, subject to eligibility criteria. Applications for the project are welcome from all suitably qualified candidates, but its funding may be restricted to a limited set of nationalities. You should check the project and department details for more information.

A Smart Ecosystem Monitoring Platform for Long-term, Multifunctional Landscape Climate Adaptation Research

Self-funded phd students only.

This project does not have funding attached. You will need to have your own means of paying fees and living costs and / or seek separate funding from student finance, charities or trusts.

International PhD scholarship – Geomorphology and hydrology of Natural Flood Management

International phd scholarship – hydrological modelling and simulation for natural flood management, domestic phd scholarship – geomorphology of floodplains and wetlands for natural flood management, terrestrial robotic solutions for high-resolution environmental monitoring, competition funded phd project (students worldwide).

This project is in competition for funding with other projects. Usually the project which receives the best applicant will be successful. Unsuccessful projects may still go ahead as self-funded opportunities. Applications for the project are welcome from all suitably qualified candidates, but potential funding may be restricted to a limited set of nationalities. You should check the project and department details for more information.

Develop high-accuracy prediction models with small datasets and uncertainty of one-sided information in the free-market system PhD

Building social-ecological resilience to human-wildlife conflict in western ethiopia, developing scalable measures of environmental outcomes, algae feedstock for energy security, esg practice, firm performance and risk management in the context of sustainable development, graph networks meets multi-modal remote sensing data for environmental sustainability [self-funded students only], doctoral researcher: towards a paradigm shift for real estate valuation, valuing green and blue urban landscapes, investigating the economic and environmental sustainability of using nanoparticle-reinforced recycled building materials.

FindAPhD. Copyright 2005-2024 All rights reserved.

Unknown    ( change )

Have you got time to answer some quick questions about PhD study?

Select your nearest city

You haven’t completed your profile yet. To get the most out of FindAPhD, finish your profile and receive these benefits:

• Monthly chance to win one of ten £10 Amazon vouchers ; winners will be notified every month.*
• The latest PhD projects delivered straight to your inbox
• Access to our £6,000 scholarship competition
• Weekly newsletter with funding opportunities, research proposal tips and much more
• Early access to our physical and virtual postgraduate study fairs

Or begin browsing FindAPhD.com

or begin browsing FindAPhD.com

*Offer only available for the duration of your active subscription, and subject to change. You MUST claim your prize within 72 hours, if not we will redraw.

Do you want hassle-free information and advice?

Create your FindAPhD account and sign up to our newsletter:

• Find out about funding opportunities and application tips
• Receive weekly advice, student stories and the latest PhD news
• Hear about our upcoming study fairs
• Save your favourite projects, track enquiries and get personalised subject updates

Create your account

Looking to list your PhD opportunities? Log in here .

Filtering Results

Jump to navigation

• Current Students
• Department Services

Search form

• Designated Emphasis in Science & Technology Studies
• Certificate in Geospatial Information Science & Technology
• Courses at Berkeley Law
• Master of Forestry
• Master of Science in Rangeland and Wildlife Management
• Graduate Funding
• Undergraduate
• Equity+Inclusion
• News+Events

Photo by Claire Willing

The Ph.D. Program

Graduate student Lisa Marrack studies collects samples from one of over 450 groundwater fed brackish anchialine pools surveyed on the Island of Hawaii as part of her dissertation work. Photo courtesy of Lisa Marrack.

Rules and procedures of the program are outlined below, and also reviewed in the student ESPM Department Handbook.

The ESPM Ph.D. program incorporates two general approaches: 

• broadly based interdisciplinary education, and
• disciplinary education in relevant fields supplemented with exposure to cross-disciplinary communication and problem solving.

QUICK LINKS:

Program of Study

Course requirements, the guiding committee.

• The Qualifying Examination  

Advancement to Candidacy

• Annual Review

Normative Time to Degree

The dissertation.

• Lapsing Candidacy

In Absentia Registration

The Ph.D. program consists of four interrelated components: disciplinary emphasis , an area of specialization , research methods , and breadth requirement. The course work program is developed by the Guiding Committee in conjunction with the student’s needs and interests and approved by the Head Graduate Advisor to assure that it provides preparation for the qualifying examination and the research program.

• Disciplinary Emphasis. The disciplinary emphasis focuses on the broadest academic area from ESPM’s three divisions -- Ecosystem Sciences, Organisms & Environment, Society & Environment —that encompasses the student’s interests. A student pursuing a strongly interdisciplinary program may include in-depth study of more than one of these disciplines.
• Area of Specialization . The area of specialization is a narrower field within the disciplinary emphasis. Some examples might be: Microbial Community Ecology, Ecosystem Function, American Environmental History & Policy, International Forest Management, Biogeochemistry, Mediterranean Grassland Ecosystems, Remote Sensing, and Forest Management
• Research Methods . Candidates for the Ph.D. must demonstrate competence in research techniques appropriate for both the disciplinary emphasis and area of specialization. Preparation in this field must include experimental design, sampling design, estimation, and hypothesis testing.
• Breadth Requirement. Each student’s program must include course work addressing human and ecosystem processes and the relationship between them. All students must complete the required core courses listed below. While in residence, doctoral students in the natural sciences must also complete one additional course in the application of social science to environmental problems; doctoral students in the social sciences must complete one additional course in the biological or physical sciences. The Guiding Committee will determine the level of the additional course based on the student’s background and experience. The course must be a minimum of two graduate units or three upper division undergraduate units and taken for a letter grade unless offered on an S/U or P/F basis only.

ESPM 201 Series:

Each doctoral student in ESPM will be required to take  core courses.

• ESPM 201A: Research Approaches in Environmental Science, Policy, and Management (3 units).
• ESPM 201C: Environmental Forum (seminar, 1 unit) To be completed or in progress at the time the Ph.D. oral qualifying exam is held.

Area of Specialization Courses:

Doctoral students will also be required to complete a minimum of six units in their Area of Specialization. The Guiding Committee and the student’s Graduate Advisor will approve the selection of appropriate courses to meet this requirement.

Breadth Course:

Graduate students are required to take a breadth course. The course must be a minimum of two graduate units or three upper division undergraduate units at Berkeley, and must be taken for a letter grade unless it is offered on an S/U basis only. Final approval of a student’s choice of breadth requirement rests with the student’s Graduate Advisor, but the student should also consult with their Guiding Professor and Guiding Committee. Please seek approval by emailing the [email protected] and cc the [email protected] prior to enrolling in the course. 

A list of breadth classes may be found here.  All breadth must be approved by the HGA. 

Research Methods Course:

Each student must demonstrate competence in research techniques appropriate for both the disciplinary emphasis and area of specialization. Preparation in this field must include experimental design, sampling design, estimation, and hypothesis testing. The methods classs must be approved by the Guiding Committee and submitted to the Head Graduate Advisor.

Doctoral students are strongly encouraged to present the results of their research in an appropriate seminar setting in ESPM, the Rausser College of Natural Resources, or a closely related department on campus.  

The Graduate Advisor in consultation with the student establishes the three-member Guiding Committee in the first semester of study. The Guiding Committee is usually chaired by the student's guiding professor, whose interests closely relate to those of the student. Other committee members are faculty whose interests represent the specific fields of emphasis for the student’s program. If appropriate, a fourth faculty member may also serve on the committee. Students should obtain a Pre Qualifying Exam Form and complete it once a semester. The Guiding Committee’s role is to counsel the student throughout the period of study leading to the Oral Qualifying Examination. The specific functions of the Committee: (a) to help define the disciplinary emphasis which will best serve the student's academic interests, (b) to review the student's program proposals, (c) to recommend a specific academic program. The Guiding Committee should meet at least once a semester with each doctoral student until the Oral Qualifying Examination is held. At the time of the annual meeting, the student’s Pre Qualifying Exam Form should be filled out. This form records core requirements and the student’s proposed courses and kept in the student’s file.  

Qualifying Examination

The purpose of the qualifying exam is to ascertain the breadth of a student’s knowledge and preparation. The examination is conducted by a four-member committee appointed by the Graduate Division. A member of the ESPM faculty serves as chairperson. All committee members should be UC Academic Senate. Please contact the HGA and GSAOs with requests for exceptions to the UC Senate rule. The Guiding Professor may attend the exam but does not serve on the committee or participate in its deliberations. The student is expected to demonstrate a broad knowledge in the program of study. In-depth questions will test the student's ability to integrate the various elements of the program. During the first part of the exam (approximately 30 minutes) the student will present and discuss their intended dissertation research project. The qualifying exam is usually three hours in length.  

Ph.D. students should use CalCentral to complete a higher degree committee eform for their Application for Candidacy.  Students are expected to complete all work necessary for formal advancement to candidacy within three months after the completion of the Qualifying Examination. A dissertation title and proposed committee must be submitted for approval at the time of advancement to candidacy. In consultation with the Guiding Professor, the student will select a dissertation title and identify at least two additional dissertation committee members. One of these must be a member of the Berkeley Academic Senate from outside ESPM. Obtain the necessary signatures and submit your committee on CalCentral. The eform should be filed no later than the beginning of the semester following the one in which the student passed the qualifying examination. 

Annual Review of Doctoral Candidates

The Graduate Division requires that all doctoral students who have been advanced to candidacy meet annually with at least two members of the Dissertation Committee. The student must complete the online Academic Progress Report annual to collect data on what progress he/she has made toward the degree and what remains to be completed. An electronic copy of the Academic Progress Report is submitted to the Guiding Professor and Graduate Division and must be on file for each year the student has advanced.  

Normative Time is the calendar time, in semesters, recognized by the Graduate Division as the length of time normally needed for completion of the doctoral degree. Normative Time for the ESPM program has been set at ten semesters and is calculated for each student from the first semester of enrollment as a graduate student. Following successful completion of the Qualifying Exams, graduate students with parenting demands will be granted an extension of up to one extra year toward Normative Time completion. Extensions for parent considerations cannot exceed two years overall, no matter the number of children involved.  

The dissertation is an extensive, original work based on the student’s independent research. In developing the dissertation problem, keep in mind that each member of the Dissertation Committee is required to make an independent evaluation of the quality and adequacy of the work. Though working most closely with the chairperson, the candidate is responsible for keeping the other members of the committee fully informed as to the nature and progress of the research. The Graduate Division requires an annual online Academic Progress Report be submitted by the student and a member of the Dissertation Committee. The final draft of the dissertation must be prepared and submitted in accordance with the Graduate Division instructions. (see: Dissertation Filing Guidelines )  

An essay students might wish to review while framing their dissertation can be found:  https://dusk.geo.orst.edu/prosem/PDFs/InPursuitofPhD.pdf

Filing Fee status is used in lieu of registration for the semester in which you either file your dissertation or thesis, or take a comprehensive exam. Filing Fee is a non-registered status, which means you are not allowed to use University facilities. The amount of Filing Fee is one-half of the Student Services Fee (formerly the University Registration Fee. The deadline to apply for Filing Fee is the last day of the first week of instruction for the semester you wish to file. Filing Fee period lasts until the last day of the semester. For more information, see Graduate Division web site, Frequently Asked Questions .  

Lapsing of Candidacy

Candidacy for the doctorate is of limited duration. When students are advanced to candidacy, the Graduate Division informs them of the number of semesters that they are eligible to be candidates, based on their major’s Normative Time. Lapsing is a probationary status, usually lasting two years, for students who are not completing the final degree requirements at an adequate rate. The Head Graduate Adviser may request an extension of a student’s candidacy if the student is otherwise making adequate progress and if the delay can be attributed to factors largely beyond the student’s control.  

In absentia registration is available when you are a full-time regularly enrolled and registered student who has an academic need to conduct research outside of Califonia for a period of up to one year. The student must have advanced to candidacy by the time the inabsentia status begins. The student will pay 15% of the tuition and 100% of health insurance, non-resident tuition, and professional degree fees.

• Admin Login
•   Home
• Theses and Dissertations

Administrators

Local links, sustainable water resource and environmental management in developing countries.

Affiliation

Description, collections.

entitlement

Export search results

The export option will allow you to export the current search results of the entered query to a file. Different formats are available for download. To export the items, click on the button corresponding with the preferred download format.

By default, clicking on the export buttons will result in a download of the allowed maximum amount of items.

To select a subset of the search results, click "Selective Export" button and make a selection of the items you want to export. The amount of items that can be exported at once is similarly restricted as the full export.

After making a selection, click one of the export format buttons. The amount of items that will be exported is indicated in the bubble next to export format.

Finished/defended and running PhD theses

• Ahsan, Mehedi (2022 est): Title tbc. University of Potsdam.
• Glockmann, Manon (2021 est.): Title tbc. University of Potsdam
• Krummenauer, Linda (2021 est.) A global assessment of heat-mortality relationships impacting urban population. University of Potsdam.
• Li, Yunfei (2021 est.) : Modeling urban climate in view of past and future urbanization as well as mono- and polycentrism , University of Potsdam.
• Landholm-Haight, David Milan (2021 est.) : Climate change mitigation potential through land use change . Humboldt University Berlin.
• Khadak Singh Mahata (2020): Spatiotemporal Variations of Key Air Pollutants and Greenhouse Gases in the Himalayan Foothills. University of Potsdam, Dept. Geo- and Environmental Sciences.
• Ford, Alistair Christian (2019): Integrated Land-use Transport Models for Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation . Newcastle University/Faculty of Engineering Sciences.
• Sterzel, Till (2019): Analyzing global typologies of socio-ecological vulnerability: The cases of human security in drylands, and rapid coastal urbanization . University of Potsdam/Dept. of Environ. Sciences and Geography, [ Access ].
• Becker, Stefanie Lyn (2018): From regimes to grassroots innovations: a framework for understanding the causes and barriers to community-based initiatives and their impacts on transitions . University of Potsdam/Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences [ Access ].
• Gudipudi, Ramana Venkata (2017): Cities and Global Sustainability: Insights from emission and ecological efficiency . University of Potsdam/Dept. Geo- & Environmental Science, [ Access ] .
• Bin Zhou (2017): On the Assessment of Surface Urban Heat Islands: size, urban form, and seasonality . University of Potsdam/Dept. Geo- & Environmental Science, [ Access ] .
• Prahl, Boris (2017): On damage functions for the estimation of storm loss and their generalization for climate related hazards , Free University of Berlin/Dept. of Geosciences, [ Access ].
• Olonscheck, Mady (2017): Climate change impacts on electricity and residential energy demand , University of Potsdam/Dept. Geo- & Environmental Science, [ Access ].
• Gutsch, Martin (2016): Model based analysis of climate change impacts on the productivity of oak-pine forests in Brandenburg , University of Potsdam/Dept. Geo- & Environmental Science, [ Access ]
• Böttle, Markus (2016): Coastal Floods in View of Sea Level Rise: Assessing Damage Costs and Adaptation Measures , University of Potsdam/Dept. Geo- & Environmental Science, [ Access ].
• Pradhan, Prajal (2015): Food Demand and Supply under Global Change , University of Potsdam/Dept. Geo- & Environmental Science, [ Access ].
• Lissner, Tabea (2014): Limitations to human livelihoods and well-being in the context of climate change , Humboldt University Berlin/Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, [ Access ].
• Kit, Oleksandr (2014): Automated identification of slums in Hyderabad using high resolution satellite imagery , Humboldt University Berlin/Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, [ Access] .
• Costa, Luis (2013): Adaptation to Climate Change and its Costs in a Carbon Constrained World , University of Greifswald, [ Access ].
• Tekken, Vera (2013): Socioeconomic vulnerability to climate change: a regional assessment in the context of water stress and tourism development in north-eastern Morocco , University of Greifswald, [ Access ].
• Holsten, Anne (2013): Climate Change vulnerability Assessments in the Regional Context , University of Potsdam/Dept. Geo- & Environmental Science, [ Access ].
• Sietz, Diana (2011): Dryland vulnerability – Typical patterns and dynamics in support of vulnerability reduction efforts , University of Potsdam/Dept. Geo- & Environmental Science, [ Access ].
• Reckien, Diana (2007): Intraregional migration in old industrialised regions - Qualitative Modelling of household location decisions as an input to policy and plan making in Leipzig/Germany and Wirral/Liverpool/UK , University of Marburg, [ Access ].
• Kallache, Malaak (2007): Trends and Extreme Values of River Discharge Time Series , University of Bayreuth/Faculty of Biology, Chemistry and Earth Sciences, [ Access ].
• Rust, Henning (2007): Detection of long-range dependence: application in climate and hydrology . University of Potsdam/Dept. of Physics, [ Access ].
• Eisenack, Klaus (2006): Model Ensembles for Natural Resource Management , Free University Berlin/Faculty of Mathematiks and Information Sciences, [ Access ].

Finished master theses

• Thapa, Pratibha (2020): Monitoring Sustainable Development Goals: How selection of indicator matters?” , MBA International Management of Resources and Environment, Technical University of Bergakademie Freiberg.
• Foong, Adrian (2019): Evolution of consumption-based agricultural emissions in the last decades , MSc. Environmental Sciences, University Koblenz-Landau.
• Garcia Chavez, Oscar Jesus (2019): Influence of vegetation and water bodies on urban cool island intensity in the biggest clusters of Mexico , MSc. Global Change Management, Eberswalde University of Sustainable Development.
• Putra, Panji (2019): Water, energy and food security nexus under climate change in South Asia , MSc. Environmental and Resource Management, Brandenburgische Technische Universität Cottbus–Senftenberg.
• Seydewitz , Tobias (2019): Global assessment of deforestation drivers across the tropics: impacts on carbon stocks and ecosystem service , MSc. Forest Information Technology, Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development.
• Warchold, Anne (2019): Categorization of sustainable development goal (SDG) interactions at regional and global scale , M.Sc. Management Science, University of Leipzig.
• Reitemeyer, Fabian (2019): Erstellung einer Treibhausgasbilanz für Bezirke und Vergleich mit einer verbraucherbasierten Treibhausgasbilanz mit direkten und indirekten Emissionen , MSc. Geoecology, University Potsdam.
• Ganzenmüller, Raphael (2018): Exploration of Sectoral Greenhouse Gas Emission Dynamics and Sustainable Low-Carbon Pathways . MSc. Sustainability, Society and the Environment, Christian Albrecht University Kiel.
• Schägg, Elena (2018): Political rationalities and visions of change of repair cafés in Berlin , MSc. Integrated Natural Resource Management, Humboldt University.
• Zenina, Evetta (2017): Environmental and Technical efficiency of agricultural production: a global study on the influence of trade liberalization, MSc. Integrated Natural Resource Management, Humboldt University Berlin
• Akuraju, Vamsidhar (2017): Sustainability of cities: Urban scaling and Sustainable Development Goal 11 indicators , MSc. Environmental and Resource Management, BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg.
• Wu, Kai-Ti (2017): Probabilistic Elementary and Game of Life Cellular Automata Models applied to Urban Spatiotemporal Patterns - Case Study from China as an example , Technical University Berlin.
• Askew, Stefan (2015): Governance Innovations in the Transition towards Sustainability: A Case Study of the Freiland Project in Potsdam , University Graz, Austria
• Gogoi, Pratiksha (2015): Challenges of the groundwater supply system in Khulna city, Bangladesh, and foreseeable consequences of climate change , MSc. Urban Management, Technical University Berlin.
• Haussmann, Sarah (2015): Network and organizational structure of sustainability initiatives in Germany , Universität Freiburg.
• Ceren Hiç (2014): An Estimation of Food Waste and its Implications on Food Security and Environment , MSc. Agricultural Economics, Humboldt University Berlin.
• Natalie Ward (2014): The case for green space: Berlin's urban gardening initiatives and their contribution to ecosystem services , MSc. Global Change Management, Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development.
• Linda Krummenauer (2013): Deriving impact functions for heat related mortality in cities . MSc. Geography, University of Bonn.
• Steffen Kriewald (2012): A dynamical couples model for a sustainable urban-bio-region . MSc. Physics, University Potsdam.
• Franziska Kaiser (2012): Über die Phasenstatistik phänologischer Daten und den Einfluss des Klimawandels , MSc. in Physics, University Potsdam.
• Iya I. Lowe (2012): Managing the Climate in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Sahel Syndrome in the Sahel Region , MSc. in Public Management, University Potsdam.
• Bin Zhou (2012): Urban Heat Islands: A study based on a vast number of urban agglomerations , MSc. in Geography of Global Change, University of Freiburg.
• Julia Marusczyk (2012): Climate Change Adaptation as a Process: Cost Implications for India's Agriculture , MSc. Global Change Management, Eberswalde University of Sustainable Development.
• Mohamed Moustafa Fawzy (2012): Transitioning to Green Growth Economy: How to ensure the green economy models of development are sustainable for growth , MSc. Public Management, University Potsdam.
• Sawako Tada (2012): The Role of Science in Risk Policy Making: The Case of the Nuclear Power Plant Accident in Fukushima , MSc. Public Management, University Potsdam
• Jingjing He (2012): Mainstreaming Climate Change Adaptation into Poverty Reduction Planning in China , MSc. Public Management, University Potsdam.
• Anto Dominic Raphael (2011): Evaluation of meteorological fire risk indices for German states , MSc. in Forest Information and Technology, Eberswalde University.
• Martin Budde (2011): Klimaprojektionen und deren Unsicherheiten für die Region Hyderabad (Indien) auf der Basis der IPCC AR4 Rechnungen und lokaler Beobachtungsdaten , University Potsdam.
• Dennis Möller (2011): Einfluss von Grosswetterlagen auf das Sturmflutverhalten in der Ostsee , MSc. Geography, University of Bonn.
• Protze Nele (2010): Die räumliche Ausprägung der Hitzevulnerabilität städtischer Bevölkerung im Rahmen des globalen Klimawandels - Beispiel Berlin , MSc. Geography, Free University Berlin.
• Mady Olonschek (2010): Development of the Future Heating and Cooling Energy Demand of Households in Germany under Climate Change , MSc. Geography.
• Tabea Lissner (2008): Vulnerability Analysis for North-Rhine Westphalia - Climate Impacts on Human Health , MSc. Geography, Humboldt University.
• Carsten Walther (2007): Multiregression-Clustering for classification of human-environment systems , MSc. in Physics, University Potsdam.
• Dirk Rommeney (2006): A cellular automaton model for the simulation of urban land use , MSc. Geoecology, University Potsdam.
• Jaime Rojas Hernandez (2006): Consumption dynamics of interdependent lifestyle groups , MSc. in Physics, University Potsdam.
• Datenschutz
• Barrierefreiheit

PhD thesis proposal

You’ve successfully completed the comprehensive process and are now ready to finalize your proposal. What does that involve? The academic calendar provides important context for this process and outlines timelines and committee structure .

Normally, PhD candidates submit a dissertation proposal to the committee in time to ‘defend’ it by the end of the second year (sixth term) in the program. There is no formal defense but there is an expectation that PhD candidates will present their proposal to the advisory committee, and to revise the proposal to address all concerns and issues raised. Once the committee is satisfied with the proposal it can be approved and the milestone form completed.

Expectations regarding proposal content and structure vary. You are strongly recommended to discuss with your supervisor and committee the final content and structure of your proposal. However, there are some common proposal elements that can be used to prepare a draft and that can be modified as needed. A general proposal structure (and approximate single-space length estimates) is outlined below:

General Proposal Structure and Content

• Table of contents (provide a list of tables and figures as appropriate)
• 1.0 Introduction and problem context (1-2 pages): Outline the scholarly and practical/social relevance of your project. Explain the core sustainability challenge or problem, and indicate how your work can address this challenge (i.e., the ‘so what’).
• 2.0 Research questions/objectives or hypothesis (1 page): Outline your core research questions and/or objectives or hypothesis. Align questions/objectives/hypothesis with the core problem articulated above. Ensure subsequent sections of the proposal (literature review, methodology) refer back to and address these questions/objectives/hypothesis.
• 3.0 Literature review and conceptual framework (3-5 pages): Situate your research within the relevant scholarly literature; identify key gaps and limitations and set the foundation to justify your topic and your methodological approach. Work to develop of a clear theoretical or conceptual framework for your research.
• 4.0 Methodology and methods (i.e., research design) (3-5 pages): Establish the philosophical and epistemological foundations for your work and situate your choices about methods and tools for data collection, analysis and synthesis. Clearly outline specific methods, highlighting their strengths and limitations with regard to your research specifically. Indicate the relationship among your data collection and analysis plans and your research objectives/hypotheses, and any assumptions you are making in the process.
• 5.0 Expected outcomes and contributions (1-2 pages): Identify and discuss the expected outcomes and novel contributions you hope to make – these can be theoretical, empirical and/or focused on applied or policy contexts. If you are planning to follow a dissertation by manuscript format (see guidelines below), tentatively outline the expected focus of the three main manuscripts.
• 6.0 Schedule of activities (1 page): Provide an expected schedule of tasks and activities starting with proposal approval and ethics clearance, through to expected timelines for first drafts and proposed defense date.
• 7.0 Budget (as necessary) (1 page)
• 8.0 References (as required)
• Appendices (as necessary) : Consider including as needed such information as interview questionnaire/questions or other protocols and information as appropriate; details on methods or analytical tools that don’t need to be in the main body of the proposal, etc.

Dissertation by manuscript*

SERS PhD students may in consultation with their supervisor and committee decide to follow a dissertation by manuscript format. In the manuscript option, the thesis will comprise the following:

• An introductory chapter(s) that outlines the problem context for the work, establishes its purpose and objectives, situates the work in the broader literature, and explains how the manuscripts presented in the body address the purpose and objectives. Typically, an integrated overview of the methodological approach and methods will also be included (however a standalone methods chapter or standalone literature review may be permitted to avoid excessive chapter length)
• Manuscripts (at least three for which the PhD candidate is first author; and possibly others for which the PhD candidate is not first author) that present research findings/contributions. Typically these will be manuscripts for refereed journals, but other formats, such as book chapters, may be appropriate. The manuscripts may submitted, in press, or published.
• A concluding chapter that outlines the principal findings and contributions of the total research effort.
• References cited in each manuscript, and in the introductory and concluding chapters, are normally consolidated at the end of the thesis.
• Appendixes may also be included as part of the thesis.

The entire thesis must be formatted according to the requirements of the GSPA. All chapters, including those presenting previously published work, must use a consistent format, and must be continuously paginated.

The following are other requirements for the manuscript thesis option:

• An important principle that must be followed in developing the manuscript thesis is that the entire document will comprise a conceptual "whole". Thus, the manuscripts should relate to the overall purpose of the PhD research program and its objectives. It is not acceptable for a student and his or her advisor to work on separate "projects" during, or outside of, the PhD program, and then submit manuscripts relating to these projects for the thesis. It is also not acceptable to include manuscripts completed prior to the commencement of the PhD program.
• The first-authored manuscripts must be dominated by the intellectual effort of the student, and these manuscripts must be written by the student.
• Where multiple authorship occurs, there must be a preface statement in the thesis outlining the roles of the respective authors, and clarifying the extent and nature of the contribution of the thesis author. Co-authors must sign the statement to indicate that they are in agreement with the evaluation of the roles and contributions of the various authors.
• In no case can a co-author serve as an external examiner for the thesis.
• When previously published, or in press, work is reproduced in the thesis, waivers from copyright holders are normally required. These should be included as an appendix.

* Adopted from the Waterloo-Laurier Joint Program in Geography .

Global environmental change in the Anthropocene: challenges for terrestrial biodiversity and sustainability

The biosphere is experiencing an unprecedented loss of all life forms as a result of anthropogenic climate and land-use change. Biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation are now non-negotiable, strategic, and socially imperative investments. This thesis presents a series of studies combining extensive environmental and socio-economic datasets to address questions about the dynamic biophysical, geopolitical, and social contexts of implementing these imperatives. Interrogating datasets within these contexts allow quantification of pressures on biodiversity and can inform conservation policy and actions. First, using the projected velocity of future climate and land-use change, I map areas where species need to track climate conditions by shifting distributions rapidly and the degree of land-use instability they may encounter—a vast majority of which overlap areas of conservation importance (global protected areas and Earth’s remaining wilderness). Specifically, I show that the biodiversity contained within more than one-quarter (~27%) of the world’s protected areas (PAs)— ~7% of which are under restrictive management—may experience high rates of both climate and land-use change by 2050. PAs located in high conservation value regions of moist biomes and that are within less-restrictive management categories are most exposed. Moreover, locations within wilderness most vulnerable to high rates of both of these stressors are those of enormous uniqueness for biodiversity conservation that are least protected. Furthermore, ii more than half (53%) of the global wilderness areas may undergo climate shifts by 2050, undermining their capacity to shelter species from climate change impacts and successful biodiversity conservation outcomes. The magnitude of the effect of climate and land-use changes differed between the alternative scenarios and showed considerable biogeographic heterogeneity, requiring a mix of actions at local, national, and transnational scales. Notably, I find that using mixed actions as part of nations’ internationally determined contributions to climate change mitigation (including increasing protection, managing outside reserves areas, and restoration actions needed to enhance species adaptation) are constrained by environmental and socioeconomic factors such as development aid, food insecurity, and population growth. Worryingly, the positive role of development aid on mitigation attenuated for poorly-governed regions with food insecurity. Overall, I show that, in addition to global emission reduction efforts, more local land-use change actions are required to enhance biodiversity conservation. Findings can inform countries seeking to implement nationally determined contributions to carefully consider food security safeguards and adopt sustainable restoration and afforestation efforts. They also elucidate a need for stronger coordination among local-level and international bodies in developing effective tools for addressing biodiversity loss and climate change.

Table of Contents

Awarding institution, degree type, department, centre or school, year of award, principal supervisor, additional supervisor 1, usage metrics.

• Other education not elsewhere classified

Visit the Health Advisories website for the latest vaccination and mask information and to Report a Case.

Environmental Studies Department

Our Mission

To help solve local and global environmental challenges through interdisciplinary teaching and research in support of environmental sustainability and justice. To do so, we strive to embrace an anti-racist, multicultural curriculum and to develop greater diversity among our faculty, students and staff than has been represented in the field historically. San José State University is on the unceded land of the Muwekma Ohlone People, and the department respectfully acknowledges that they have stewarded these lands for generations.

The Department of Environment Studies is multi-disciplinary comprising policy, law, human ecology, economics, environmental planning, chemistry, physics, biology, and environmental resources management and impact analysis. 

Undergraduate Program

The BA and BS degrees are designed to prepare students for advanced degree programs and environmental-related career opportunities including BA in Preparation for Teaching degrees. 

Graduate Program

The Environmental Studies Master of Science program is designed to prepare students for careers as environmental professionals or to pursue further academic training in Ph.D. and other advanced degree programs.

Career Opportunities

Embark journey to contribute to environmental sustainability and provide solutions to environmental changes. 

Environmental Resource Center

The Environmental Resource Center (ERC) was established in 1967 and became the student activist wing of the Environmental Studies Department, with a prideful legacy.

ENVS Undergraduate and Graduate Career Trends

Many SJSU ENVS graduates continue pursuing successful environmentally-focused careers in public administration, teaching, and the private sector. Based on a 2022 Department survey, 60-88% of grads obtain jobs in the environmental field, and 90-95% are in environmental or other skilled career paths such as tech, education, or healthcare.

Environmental Studies Professor testifies before Congress on critical minerals

Professor Dustin Mulvaney testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Minerals Subcommittee in September and the Science, Science and Space Committee again in November on the impacts of mining on land and communities, and benefits recycling and a circular economy in critical minerals. He was interviewed about the experience by the SJSU Newsroom. Read more about it in the article above.

ENVS Student Featured in One Day One Action Climate Change Project

SJSU Environmental Studies Major, Roger Bumgarner, was featured in July on the City of San Jose's One Day One Action Climate Change community education campaign. One Day One Action is a socially engaged public art project that reframes how we can all contribute to climate action, one day at a time, now and into the future. 

ENVS Alum Megan Fluke Receives Recognition of Service Award

ENVS alum, Megan Fluke, accepts an award from the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority for her 10 years of service as Executive Director of Green Foothills. Congratulations, Megan!

ENVS Alum Richard Tejeda receives the Bay Nature Community Hero Award

Richard Tejeda is honored to share his Bay Nature Community Hero Award with you. Give a shoutout and support our organization, which has impacted 1,847 community members with guided hikes, virtual nature experiences for 3,563 individuals facing challenges, hikes for 326 seniors, and inspired 754 at-promise-youth through Summer Science Project and Alive Outside Adventure Series since 2019.

ENVS students & faculty at SJSU Celebration of Research

San Jose State University’s Celebration of Research was an event recognizing and highlighting student work, start-up innovation showcases, research competitions, and more. Especially, we're proud of our students and faculty at EnvS who had a chance to represent the department and introduce their scientific research to everyone on campus. 

Join Our ENVS Communities

We have ENVS communities for both current and alumni Environmental Studies students at San José State University. Join to be updated on job postings, internship opportunities, and news from ENVS at SJSU.

• Campus Maps
• Campus Tours
• People Directory
• New Students
• Current Students
• Faculty and Staff
• Brightspace
• Get help with your login
• Faculty & Staff

Explore Programs

Find your program here.

Explore the diverse array of undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs supporting over 200 degrees in 13 faculties at Dalhousie University.

View the glossary for help with language on this page.

Already decided on a program? Learn how to apply .