About PhD Program,
UCLA’s PhD program in Environment and Sustainability seeks to recruit a diverse class of students who are keen to do path-breaking research to advance understanding and capacity for effective action on high-stakes societal challenges related to environment and sustainability. As a newly established doctoral program with a deep commitment to supporting studies that are innovative and interdisciplinary, we seek students who are ambitious, confident, and entrepreneurial. While we expect that the most successful candidates will have strong grounding in one or more of the research or scholarly disciplines relevant to environment and sustainability challenges, this program is most suited for students whose ambitions are too broad or too novel to be effectively addressed within a conventional disciplinary PhD program.
We expect to admit 4 to 5 students each fall.
PhD Program Degree Eligibility with GPA,
- A research oriented program
- Newly established, with the inaugural class starting in Fall 2018
- Emphasizes interdisciplinarity and innovation in research to understand paramount environment and sustainability challenges
- Students have two advisors, from distinct disciplinary backgrounds
- Students develop an individualized program of courses in consultation with their advisors, including a small number of core courses plus additional courses that develop the foundation of knowledge and skills to support the student’s research aims, in their dissertation and their subsequent career.
- Students are typically in residence through the entire program.
- The program will prepare students for a wide range of academic and research careers, as well as careers in environment and sustainability in the public, private, and non-profit sectors.
If you are unsure which program is right for you, we are happy to discuss it with you – or to help you transfer your application between programs.
PhD Funding Coverage,
It is our expectation that all students making satisfactory progress in the program will be fully funded (tuition, fees and salary) for the duration of their studies. We will help you secure this funding through a variety of sources including faculty research grants, fellowships, teaching assistantships or other sources.
To enhance accessibility, UCLA and IoES provide substantial financial support to recruit outstanding students and ensure their success. Entering and continuing students may receive fellowships, trainee-ships and employment-based opportunities to support their studies and enhance their academic, research and training portfolios.
Please visit https://grad.ucla.edu/funding to search for graduate funding, and the UCLA Financial Aid website for more funding options for graduate students.
Application Requirement,
Applications to the PhD program in Environment and Sustainability must be submitted online via the general application form for admission to graduate study at UCLA.
In addition to the general application requirements specified on that form, applicants to the PhD program in Environment and Sustainability are requested to submit the following. The general application form provides instructions how to submit letters of recommendation, as well as instructions how to upload additional materials as files.
- Please scroll to the bottom of this page for more information regarding transcripts
- For applicants whose native language is not English, scores from either the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or International English Language Testing System (IELTS) examinations.
- Three letters of recommendation, with letters from faculty members preferred.
- GRE Optional: Students are not required to take the GRE or submit a GRE score report as part of their application package. However, students may voluntarily submit GRE test scores and they will be reviewed as part of the holistic application consideration. The applications with GRE scores will not be given greater weight than those that do not include scores.
- Personal Statement and Statement of Purpose. In your responses to the “Statement of Purpose” and “Personal Statement” on the general graduate application, please make sure to address the following points of particular interest to the Environment and Sustainability PhD program, in addition to whatever else you wish to include:
- First, briefly tell us about your engagement with research: for example, your research experience, research ambitions for your doctoral studies, and how you think you might pursue them (note: We recognize that your present plans may be preliminary and exploratory).
- Second, this program is committed to interdisciplinarity in research and scholarship. To help us assess the fit of your ambitions for this program, please identify what disciplinary fields of study are most relevant to your aims – and also tell us why you think the Environment and Sustainability PhD is a better fit for you than a disciplinary graduate program in one of these fields.
- Finally, please identify any UCLA faculty you have communicated with as potential advisors.
Application Deadline,
Dec 01, 2024
Application Fee,
The $135.00 (for U.S. citizens and Permanent Residents) or $155.00 (for all other applicants) application fee must be submitted online by credit or debit card before the application can be processed.
