Environment and Sustainability

There are two plans of study that lead to the M.S. degree, the capstone and thesis plans, each requiring a total of 9 courses (36 units). At least five of the courses (20 units) must be at the 200-level. In the thesis plan, seven of the nine must be formal 100- or 200-series courses. The remaining two may be 598 courses involving work on the thesis. In the capstone plan, 500-series courses may not be applied toward the nine- course requirement. A minimum 3.0 grade-point average is required in all course work.

Required Courses

Environment 200 A/B

Seminar Requirement: Enrollment in the Environment 290 seminar series every quarter in residence for a minimum of 6 quarters (this course may not be applied toward the 36- unit requirement).

Analytical Tools and Methods Elective (one course): Courses that introduce students to the tools and methods required for interdisciplinary research such as probability and statistics, decision analysis, life cycle analysis, remote sensing, geographical information systems (GIS), numerical analysis and experiment and survey design, archival research, urban planning, architectural design, ethnographic field work, communications studies, media studies, visual and textual analysis and interpretation. Other courses may be approved by petition to satisfy this requirement. One course approved by the student’s graduate committee. The IoES maintains a list of courses approved for this requirement, and students may propose additional courses by petition.

Guided Electives: 24 elective units (6 courses) approved by the student’s graduate committee. These courses can include 8 units of Environment 597 (Masters Thesis Research). Elective courses will be chosen to support the student’s dissertation research by insuring that the student has the substantive knowledge and analytical skills necessary to do publishable original research. Students are strongly encouraged to include in their elective courses a course in culture and values chosen to be appropriate to the dissertation topic. A student’s graduate committee must approve all elective course selections. With the approval of a student’s graduate committee and the Chair of the Ph.D. Program Faculty Advisory Committee, a student may be allowed to substitute previous course work or research experience as elective subjects.

Teaching Experience

There is no uniform teaching experience requirement for the M.S. degree. However, at the discretion of the faculty, a student may be required to gain teaching experience.

Field Experience

There is no uniform field experience requirement for the M.S. degree. However, at the discretion of the faculty, a student may be required to gain field experience.

Capstone Plan

In addition to the course requirements, under the capstone plan, there is a comprehensive written examination covering the subject matter contained in the program of study. The examination is administered by a comprehensive examination committee, which may conduct an oral examination in addition to the written examination. In case of failure, the examination may be repeated once with the consent of the graduate adviser.

Thesis Plan

Every master's degree thesis plan requires the completion of an approved thesis that demonstrates the student's ability to perform original, independent research.

In addition to the course requirements, under the thesis plan students are required to write a thesis on a research topic in environment and sustainability supervised by the student’s graduate advisers. The student’s doctoral committee reviews and approves the thesis.

No oral examination is required.

Time-to-Degree

The normative time to degree for completing the M.S. program is 6 quarters. There is no maximum time to degree for completing the M.S. degree as receipt of this degree is optional for students admitted to the Ph.D. degree..

MAXIMUM TTD

Advising

Upon entry to the program, all students are assigned two co-equal faculty advisers from different UCLA departments and chosen to reflect the students’ expressed areas of interest and to provide complementary disciplinary representation. The faculty advisers assist students with planning their program of study. Students are expected to meet regularly with their faculty advisers. Immediately after entry the students and their advisers will formulate a graduate committee according to the regulations governing doctoral committees. The faculty advisers will serve as co-chairs of the committee. The Ph.D. Program Administrator, the IoES Academic Director, and the Chair of the IoES Ph.D. Program Faculty Advisory Committee provide assistance with policy and procedure and, when necessary, act to resolve any conflicts that arise.

Areas of Study

The IoES Masters and Ph.D. Program in Environment and Sustainability covers a wide variety of areas of study drawing upon multiple disciplines. Students interested in this program should consult the program description at for more information.

Foreign Language Requirement

No foreign language is required for admission to the Ph.D. program, and there is no uniform language requirement for the Ph.D. degree. However, all students are strongly encouraged to obtain a competency in a foreign language and, at the discretion of the faculty, students who pursue certain subspecialties of environment and sustainability may be required to gain proficiency in one or more foreign languages.

Teaching Experience

There is no uniform teaching experience requirement for the Ph.D. degree. However, students are strongly encouraged to obtain teaching experience, and, at the discretion of the faculty, a student may be required to gain teaching experience.

Field Experience

There is no uniform field experience requirement for the Ph.D. degree. However, students are strongly encouraged to obtain field experience and, at the discretion of the faculty, a student may be required to gain field experience.

Course Requirements

Required Courses

Environment 200 A/B

Enrollment in the Environment 290 seminar for a minimum of 6 quarters.

Analytical Tools and Methods Elective (one course): Courses that introduce students to the tools and methods required for interdisciplinary research such as probability and statistics, decision analysis, life cycle analysis, remote sensing, geographical information systems (GIS), numerical analysis and experiment and survey design, archival research, urban planning, architectural design, ethnographic field work, communications studies, media studies, visual and textual analysis and interpretation. Other courses may be approved by petition to satisfy this requirement. One course approved by the student’s graduate committee. The IoES maintains a list of courses approved for this requirement, and students may propose additional courses by petition.

Guided Electives: Students entering without a Master's degree must take 24 elective units (6 courses). Students entering with a Masters degree in one of the program areas must take 16 elective units (4 courses). Elective courses will be chosen to support the student’s dissertation research by insuring that the student has the substantive knowledge and analytical skills necessary to do publishable original research. Students are strongly encouraged to include in their elective courses a course in culture and values chosen to be appropriate to the dissertation topic. A student’s graduate committee must approve all elective course selections. With the approval of a student’s graduate committee and the Chair of the Ph.D. Program Faculty Advisory Committee, a student may be allowed to substitute previous course work or research experience as elective subjects.

Written and Oral Qualifying Examinations

Academic Senate regulations require all doctoral students to complete and pass university written and oral qualifying examinations prior to doctoral advancement to candidacy. Also, under Senate regulations, the University Oral Qualifying Examination is open only to the student and appointed members of the doctoral committee. In addition to university requirements, some graduate programs have other pre-candidacy examination requirements. What follows in this section is how students are required to fulfill all of these requirements for this doctoral program.

All committee nominations and reconstitutions adhere to the Minimum Standards for Doctoral Committee Constitution.

After mastering the body of knowledge defined in the major field, the student takes a written preliminary examination in the major field. This preliminary examination should be completed within the first two years of full-time enrollment in the Ph.D. program.

Students may not take an examination more than twice.

After passing the preliminary examination and substantially completing all minor field course work, the student is eligible to take the University Oral Qualifying Examination. The oral exam will be based upon a presentation of a dissertation prospectus also submitted in written form.

Advancement to Candidacy

Students are advanced to candidacy upon successful completion of the written preliminary and oral qualifying examinations.

Doctoral Dissertation

Every doctoral degree program requires the completion of an approved dissertation that demonstrates the student's ability to perform original, independent research and constitutes a distinct contribution to knowledge in the principal field of study.

Final Oral Examination (Defense of Dissertation)

Required for all students in the program.

Time-to-Degree

The normative time to Advancement to Candidacy is 9 quarters. The normative time to the Ph.D. degree is 15 quarters. The maximum time to degree for completing the Ph.D. degree is 24 quarters.

MAXIMUM TTD

Termination of Graduate Study and Appeal of Termination

University Policy

A student who fails to meet the above requirements may be recommended for termination of graduate study. A graduate student may be disqualified from continuing in the graduate program for a variety of reasons. The most common is failure to maintain the minimum cumulative grade point average (3.00) required by the Academic Senate to remain in good standing (some programs require a higher grade point average). Other examples include failure of examinations, lack of timely progress toward the degree and poor performance in core courses. Probationary students (those with cumulative grade point averages below 3.00) are subject to immediate dismissal upon the recommendation of their department. University guidelines governing termination of graduate students, including the appeal procedure, are outlined in Standards and Procedures for Graduate Study at UCLA.

Special Departmental or Program Policy

The Director of the IoES makes a recommendation for termination after a vote of the Institute’s faculty. Before the recommendation is sent to the Graduate Division, a student is notified in writing and given two weeks to respond in writing to the Director. An appeal is reviewed by the Institute’s faculty, which makes the final recommendation to the Graduate Division.

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