PhD Environmental Social Science at Arizona State University

Programme overview

The Doctor of Philosophy program in environmental social science is one of the few doctoral programs in the U.S. that draw on the premise that reducing human impacts and developing more sustainable environmental practices is difficult or impossible to achieve without a focus on the social dynamics of environmental issues using critical social science perspectives.

What you will study

84 credit hours, a written comprehensive exam, an oral comprehensive exam, a prospectus and a dissertation Required Core (3 credit hours) ASB 530/ESS 530/SOS 553 Changing Human-nature Relationships (3) Other Requirements (18 credit hours) ASB 500 Topic: Ethnographic Research Methods (3) ASB 500 Topic: Social Survey Research (3) ASB 500 Topic: Qualitative Data Analysis (3) ASB 501 Professionalism (3) ASM 579 Proposal Writing (3) BIO 517 Uncertainty and Decision Making (3) BIO 527 Environmental Ethics and Policy Goals (3) CHM 501 Topic: Science Policy for Scientists and Engineers (1-2) ESS 502 Political Ecology: Theory and Research (3) ESS 510 Urban Environments (4) ESS 514 Urban and Environmental Health (4) ESS 591 Topic: Decisions, Risk and the Environment (3) ESS 591 Topic: Water and Social Theory (3) GCU 585 Geographic Research Design and Proposal Writing (3) SOS 532 Sustainable Urban Dynamics (3) Electives (39 credit hours) Research (12 credit hours) ESS 792 Research (12) Culminating Experience (12 credit hours) ESS 799 Dissertation (12) Additional Curriculum Information For electives, students should see the academic unit for a course list approved by the chair.

Career pathways

The program trains students to move into teaching and research positions or to assume leadership roles in government, industry or nongovernmental organizations. There is a demand in the job market for individuals with keen thinking skills who can manage, evaluate and interpret large amounts of data.

Official programme page

Application information

Entry requirements

Applicants must fulfill the requirements of the Graduate College and The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Applicants are eligible to apply to the program if they have earned a bachelor's or master's degree from a regionally accredited institution. Undergraduate coursework in the social sciences (e.g., geography, political science, sociology, anthropology, planning or history) is not a prerequisite for admission but is generally advisable. Students may be admitted without such a background and may be required to acquire knowledge of the social sciences in a manner to be specified at the time of admission. Applicants must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 (scale is 4.00 = "A") in the last 60 hours of their first bachelor's degree program or a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 (scale is 4.00 = "A") in an applicable master's degree program.

Domestic applicants: USD 13,327 a year (2026-27). Arizona resident tuition. Tuition only for the graduate on-campus (Tempe/Downtown Phoenix/Polytechnic/West Valley) rate band in the ASU tuition estimator, 2026-27: Fall 2026 plus Spring 2027 term tuition summed (full-time flat rate; part-time credit loads Source

International applicants: USD 24,780 a year (2026-27). International tuition. Tuition only for the graduate on-campus (Tempe/Downtown Phoenix/Polytechnic/West Valley) rate band in the ASU tuition estimator, 2026-27: Fall 2026 plus Spring 2027 term tuition summed (full-time flat rate; part-time credit loads ar Source

Entry terms: Fall, Spring and Summer; the terms available for each programme are listed in Degree Search.

Graduate application deadlines are set by each programme office and listed in Degree Search. The nonrefundable application fee is $75 for U.S. citizens, permanent residents, DACA and international online students outside the U.S., and $120 for international students on a nonimmigrant visa studying in the U.S.

Apply through the official page: https://admission.asu.edu/apply/graduate/admission

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