Anthropology and Environmental Policy (Ph.D.)

About

The PhD program in Anthropology and Environmental Policy centers on understanding human society and culture in cross-cultural perspective and their pivotal role in implementing successful environmental policy. The program engages students in a multi-disciplinary framework bridging environmental sciences and policy while focusing on the sociocultural impacts of, and responses to, local and global environmental change.

Students engage with faculty in cutting-edge research on the way social relations, human organization, cultural perceptions, and ecological behavior affect both the causes and consequences of local, national, and global environmental change. Students analyze social and cultural dimensions of policy that mitigate negative environmental consequences of this change while safeguarding or promoting human well-being. Areas of environmental policy and research include global climate change, energy resources, marine resources, eco-tourism, forestry resources, land-use, water management, environmental justice, and pollution control.

Requirements

For students entering with a Bachelor’s degree, the PhD program requires completion of 60 credit hours of graduate coursework. For those entering the program with a relevant Master’s degree, the PhD program requires completion of 36 credit hours of graduate coursework. All students must complete 12 hours of core requirements, with the remaining courses tailored to each student’s background, environmental focus area, and national or international environmental policy interest. Students enrolled in the PhD program can apply to have their MA degree conferred once coursework requirements for the Master’s degree are completed.

Program Learning Outcomes

  • Integrate and persuasively defend the important methodological and theoretical contributions of anthropological knowledge and complementary expertise of and for environmental policy, while recognizing the influence of culture and history on contemporary environmental issues
  • Effectively communicate complex issues of anthropology and environmental policy through the construction of oral presentations and/or written work
  • Demonstrate responsible and ethical practice, as well as a critical awareness of structural inequities in their communities of practice by engaging with diverse cultural perspectives, knowledge-systems, and priorities and working to redress them 
  • Demonstrate original thought and the development of new insights and/ or transformative concepts through successful proposal, execution, and publication of novel research

At a Glance

College of Liberal Arts & Sciences

Anthropology


Degree Level

Doctoral

Degree Earned

Doctor of Philosophy in Anthropology and Environmental Policy

Mode of Study

In-Person

Application Deadline

January 1 (Fall only)

Tests Required

None

Time to Complete Degree

36 Credits with related Master’s, 60 without

Accelerated Pathway Available?

No

College of Liberal Arts & Sciences

Anthropology


Degree Level

Doctoral

Degree Earned

Doctor of Philosophy in Anthropology and Environmental Policy

Mode of Study

In-Person

Application Deadline

January 1 (Fall only)

Tests Required

None

Time to Complete Degree

36 Credits with related Master’s, 60 without

Accelerated Pathway Available?

No

Contact

Anthropology

Christine Beitl

5773 S. Stevens Hall

umaine.edu/las/anthropology

P

207.581.1894

F

207.581.1823

Admissions

Graduate

5775 Stodder Hall

umaine.edu/graduate/apply/

P

207.581.3291