Advertiser's description (via NYU):
Humans, animals, and the environment are facing a multitude of planetary crises – from climate change and biodiversity loss, to air, soil, and water pollution. We urgently need to better understand their drivers and impacts, and the range of potential responses for mitigation and adaptation. We need to tackle these problems in a holistic, integrative, and transdisciplinary manner, aiming to provide actionable insights for policymakers and stakeholders. This vision is at the heart of the mission of NYU’s Department of Environmental Studies and is a fundamental aspect of our new PhD program.
At the core of the program are three research themes that encompass faculty research and form the basis of the PhD program: Food and Land Use Systems, Ecological Systems, and Governance Systems. Across these themes is a deep integration of human, animal, and environmental issues, reflecting our expansive and innovative focus on both Animal Studies and Environmental Studies.
The PhD program foresees its alumni following a range of career paths – from academia to government, civil society to the private sector. The PhD program will prepare graduates for whichever paths they choose.
We will be admitting our first cohort of students to start in Fall 2025, and expect to welcome diverse individuals from around the world to a newly renovated facility overlooking Washington Square Park. These PhD students will benefit from NYU’s dynamic intellectual community and a graduate program designed to train students in basic research while also preparing them to tackle society’s most difficult and urgent environmental challenges. Our faculty, students, staff, and supporters are deeply dedicated to addressing pressing global problems in innovative ways.
Curriculum
The curriculum ensures that all students establish a common foundation in Environmental Studies. All students take seven core courses as well as electives in their chosen theme and specialization. These include:
- Foundations in Environmental Studies: This two-semester course is organized around an in-depth examination of environmental problems from natural science, social science and humanities perspectives.
- Interdisciplinary Environmental Research Design: This course covers the myriad scientific research techniques that underpin Environmental Studies scholarship.
- Research Colloquium in Environmental Studies: This two-semester course is organized around the department research seminar.
- Environmental Studies Research and Writing: This two-semester seminar focuses on helping students develop the range of skills necessary to successfully write, conduct, and communicate research, both within and beyond academia.
Electives: Students will also take at least five electives, including a methods course and a course to satisfy our breadth requirement. Students will be able to take electives offered by the MA in Animal Studies program as well as outside the department and from other NYU schools beyond Arts and Sciences. It is also possible to take courses for credit in other universities that are part of the Inter-University Doctoral Consortium.
See the “Course offerings” tab for more detailed course descriptions.
Specialization
Each Environmental Studies PhD student will choose a specialization – the unique set of competencies and knowledge that the student will require to pursue their planned research – which they will begin developing in the first year of study. Students are encouraged, but not obligated, to develop a specialization which overlaps with one or more of the following departmental research themes:
- Food and Land Use Systems: Food and land use systems are central to how humans and other animals affect the planet. This research theme focuses on understanding the interactions of food and land use systems with humans, animals, and the environment, as well as opportunities for more responsible production and consumption.
- Ecological Systems: Ecological systems are central to how planetary changes affect humans and other animals. This research theme focuses on how these systems - from natural to urban - interact with humans, animals and plants.
- Governance Systems: Governance is central to how humans can improve environmental, human, and non-human wellbeing. This research theme focuses on the values, justice considerations, and policies that underpin how humans address contemporary environmental challenges.
Other Requirements
To advance to PhD candidacy, students must pass qualifying exams and draft a prospectus. To graduate, they must write and defend a dissertation. Starting in their first year of the program, students will draft and regularly update a “PhD vision statement”. This statement will outline their PhD trajectory—specifically, their specialization(s) as they are developed, revised and refined; and the professional skills they plan to develop and how/when they will develop these skills. This statement also provides an opportunity for students to develop their long-term career plans.
