The Department of Education at the Gevirtz School has added the Climate Sciences and Climate Change interdisciplinary emphasis as an option for its doctoral students. The addition of this option reflects a growing need for research and teaching in the field and a demand for the subject area from doctoral candidates studying science education.
The Interdepartmental Ph.D. Emphasis in Climate Sciences and Climate Change provides UC Santa Barbara doctoral students a broader understanding of the physical principles governing climate on Earth, climate changes associated with natural variability and anthropogenic forcings, and the impacts of climate change on the environment and society. The Ph.D. emphasis provides graduate students with both core-training opportunities to gain access to methodological expertise across UCSB as well as to interact with faculty, researchers, and graduate students in disciplines other than their own. Furthermore, the Ph.D. Emphasis provides graduate students opportunities to learn how to effectively teach Climate Sciences and Climate Change. The Emphasis is administered in the Department of Geography. The Ph.D. Emphasis formally acknowledges and builds upon existing collaborations among the departments of Earth Science, Economics, Education, Geography, the Interdepartmental Graduate Program in Marine Science, and the Bren School of Environmental Science.
At this time three courses in Education are part of the electives students in the emphasis may enroll in: Technology and Educational Contexts, Informal STEM Education, and Design-based Research and Research-based Design. Associate Professor Diana Arya, Professor and Associate Dean Danielle Harlow, and Assistant Teaching Professor Karin Lohwasser are the Department of Education faculty related to the emphasis.