Doctoral program requirements include:

• A first-year qualifying paper
• General examinations:
  1st (disciplinary field)
  2nd (problem-focused field)
• A dissertation proposal accepted by the PhD committee
• A dissertation colloquium
• The defense of the dissertation.

Almost all students enter the doctoral program with a Masters degree. The time prior to thesis work is spent preparing for general examinations. The nature of this preparation is largely dependent upon the candidate’s background and interests. The first two years of doctoral study usually involve participation in advanced courses and tailored research seminars offered by the Environmental Policy and Planning group.

Collaborative Research Projects and Teaching

Doctoral students have played key roles in recent research projects supervised by the Environmental Policy and Planning group faculty including studies of alternative regulatory strategies that will encourage greater investment in new technologies for pollution prevention, pollution control, and remediation.

Doctoral candidates also have opportunities to develop their teaching skills by working with members of the faculty as Instructors. All EPP doctoral students must complete a “second field” general exam in Environmental Policy.