Environment and Resources Graduate Degree Program

Email: grad@nelson.wisc.edu

Website: Environment and Resources Graduate Degree Program's website

Phone: 608-262-7996

Address:
70 Science Hall
550 North Park Street
Madison WI 53706-1491

MAIN AREAS OF RESEARCH

Environment and Resources is a research program offering master’s and Ph.D. degrees based on the premise that solutions to environmental challenges require interdisciplinary approaches. Faculty and students are oriented to environmental problems rather than to disciplines. Students are encouraged to explore the specific area that interests them by drawing on the insights and methods of multiple disciplines. The focus is on gaining the knowledge needed to understand the intellectual context of their work and the skills necessary to conduct original research. The program fosters experimentation and innovation, not the mastering of a narrowly defined set of prepackaged competencies. The objective is to produce graduates who are prepared to function comfortably in the complex professional and social communities within which solutions to environmental problems must be found.

PROGRAM FUNDING

In most cases Environment and Resources is unable to guarantee any funding to students. However, many of our students obtain funding through other departments on campus, and we recommend that students contact faculty or departments directly if they have teaching or research skills in specific areas. Individual faculty members occasionally have their own sources of support for research or project assistants, though we strongly urge students not to depend on these as guaranteed sources of funding.

ADMISSIONS REQUIREMENTS

Applicants to the PhD program must have a post-baccalaureate degree (i.e., MS, MA, JD or MBA), or significant comparable experience. Students who apply without post-baccalaureate credentials or equivalent experience must first apply to the MS program; such students may apply for admission to the PhD program once they have made sufficient progress.

All applicants must complete the UW-Madison Graduate School application and include a resume or CV, a personal statement, official transcripts, three letters of recommendations, and an area of interest and advisor questionnaire.