Required Courses

All students enrolled in the Ph.D. program are required to take a minimum of 6 credit units of graduate course work, plus ENVS 990 (seminar) and ENVS 996 (research). Required courses can be selected from anywhere on campus with consultation and approval from a student’s advisory committee.  For a complete listing of courses of available at the University of Saskatchewan, please visit http://www.usask.ca/calendar/coursecat/. Students who have not previously taken an interdisciplinary graduate degree are advised to take one of the following courses. Students are encouraged to enrol in the course containing subject matter that is less familiar to the student.

• ENVS 801.3 – Ecosystem Science and Sustainability - An introduction to how principles and concepts of ecology and ecosystems science are applied to advance environmental sustainability. Students will gain a solid understanding of how natural systems function, how scientists apply their understanding and uncertainties about ecosystems to address environmental management problems and advance environmental sustainability.
• ENVS 802.3 – Human Dimensions of Environmental Change - This course explores the past and present interactions between people and the natural world. It addresses ways that environment has molded human societies and ways that people have altered nature. Contemporary concerns for environmental sustainability are introduced by examining human entanglement with a range of natural and modified systems.

All coursework should be completed in the student’s first year of full-time study. The requirements for ENVS 990 are met by attending and participating in the seminar and presenting the results of the dissertation research. Completion of the research requirement is met when the dissertation is successfully defended.

Students must complete the Ph.D. program within six years, beginning from their first term of registration, excluding any periods of approved leave.