Course Work:

The minimum course requirements for completion of the DE in Environmental Humanities include the foundation course, EVH 200, and two relevant four-unit courses approved for the Environmental Humanities DE. A list of approved elective courses is available on our website or from the DE Chair. For retrospective or prospective approval of an elective not included on this list, please submit the syllabus and the reading list to the DE Chair. With it, please also append a brief statement (100 words) clarifying its relation to the environmental humanities. For credit towards the DE, a course must engage in substantial ways with the environment as a category of analysis. Because of the way most humanities programs at Davis structure their graduate curriculum, electives will be approved by topic rather than course number. Examples of courses that would count for elective credit include Phi 220--Environmental Ethics, CRD 243--Critical Env. Justice Studies and CRD 251--Critical Social Science of the Environment. Recent examples of other courses that would qualify as electives include “English 254 -- Empire and Environment in British Literature 1900-1940” and “History 202H -- Place, Space, Race: Environmental Histories in American Expansion.” In the case of a petition by a student for retrospective approval of a course as an elective, the Chair of the DE may request a sample of written work from the course. The Chair will review the documents to ensure that they focus on environmental topics.

Qualifing Examination Requirements:

The Qualifying Examination assesses the student’s level of knowledge within the environmental humanities. All three of the required courses for the DE (the foundation course and 2 electives) must be completed before the Qualifying Examination. Students in the program are also expected to incorporate the environmental humanities as a central category of analysis in their Qualifying Examination lists and dissertation topics. One member of the Qualifying Examination committee must be an affiliate of the DE.

Your Qualifying Examination Application form must be signed by the DE Chair in addition to the Graduate Advisor. When approaching the DE Chair for approval, please demonstrate the completion of the required courses, and specify the committee member who will represent the DE.

After you have passed your Qualifying Exam, your "Candidacy for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy" form also needs to be signed by the DE Chair. This form is where you declare your dissertation committee, including the DE representative, as required by Graduate Studies. You should file this form with Graduate Studies right after the Qualifying Examination.

If a student fails the Qualifying Examination, the Executive Committee will follow the procedures of the student’s home department in determining if it is possible for the student to take the exam again.

Dissertation Requirements

The dissertation research must have some component related to the environmental humanities. The student’s Dissertation Committee shall be selected in accordance with the regulations of the PhD program, but must include at least one member of the DE.

Degree Conferral Process

When you have completed all the degree requirements in your home department, the "Designated Emphasis Report Form Final Verification" must be approved by the Chair before filing the dissertation with Graduate Studies.

The degree you will receive after fulfilling these requirements will be a Ph.D. in your discipline "with a designated emphasis in Environmental Humanities."

Student Advising

The Chair of the DE will be available to students for consultation about their progress in the DE. The DE Chair will confirm to Graduate Studies and the student’s PhD program that the student has fulfilled all the DE requirements prior to graduation by signing the DE Final Verification Report Form.