Program Academic Requirements
The EH program of study requires a minimum of 33 semester hours consisting of 27 hours of required graduate coursework plus 6 hours of thesis credit. A maximum of six credit hours may be transferred from another institution. Neither coursework taken to reach proficiency in a language for the MA requirement, nor undergraduate-level courses, nor coursework related to Writing pedagogy may be counted toward the final program of study.
MA & MS Requirements
The primary distinction between the two Master's degrees offered by the Program is that the Master of Arts degree requires standard proficiency in an approved language, while the Masters of Science requires students to complete three research methods courses approved by the Director of Graduate Studies. These methods course span the catalog and allow the student to tailor their program of study according to their interests. Again, please note that courses taken to achieve standard language proficiency do not count toward the Environmental Humanities program of study, (though they do qualify for a tuition benefit for funded students).
Coursework Planning
Students ought to consult the key timelime to plan and monitor their progress in the Program; this plan provides the roadmap for students to graduate in four semesters. We encourage students to take coursework from departments and programs within the College of Humanities during their first year. Coursework in the College provides students with the opportunity to make academic connections with prospective supervisory committee members, and to develop academic relationships with students outside the cohort.
Independent Study classes are limited to 25% of a student's course work.
Required coursework
These courses, including thesis hours* must be successfully completed by all students:
- EHUM 6101 (3) Foundations of Environmental Humanities
- EHUM 6102 (3) Field Methods in Environmental Humanities
- EHUM 6103 (3) Ecology of Residency
- EHUM 6804 (3) Tertulia - 1-credit discussion/reading group for the first three semesters
- EHUM 6970 (6) Thesis Research - For thesis or project research, *not exam preparation
- EHUM 6900 (1) Orientation/Environmental Leadership
Plus at least 9 credits among these 3 repeatable courses and includes EHUM 6850 at least once:
- EHUM 6105 (3) Environmental Humanities Writing Seminar
- EHUM 6850 (3) Issues in the Environmental Humanities Seminar
- EHUM 6860 (3) Practices in Community Engaged Learning
Possible combination examples:
Two EHUM 6850 + (EHUM 6105 or EHUM 6860)
One EHUM 6850 + (EHUM 6105 + EHUM 6860)
Finally, for students that receive funding to do community engaged research:
- EHUM 6805 (3) CEL - 1-credit community engaged learning practice for all four semesters
Expected Standards of Performance
Students must maintain a 3.3 GPA throughout their program. Further, grades lower than a "B-" will not be counted toward degree credit.
All work for the Master's degree must be completed within four consecutive calendar years. In rare cases deserving special consideration, the student's supervisory committee can petition the Dean of the Graduate School for a time extension. Students who take longer than the four-year period will undergo seperate assessment and may be required to take additional course work at the Program Director's discretion.
Advising & the Supervisory Committee
Upon admission to the Environmental Humanities Graduate Program, the Director is assigned as the temporary advisor who mentors students for the first two semesters. By the end of semester two, students should have at least 2/3 of their supervisory committee set including the chair who then becomes the student's advisor.
In assembling a supervisory committee, students should select at least two members from any tenured/tenure-track faculty members of the College of Humanities; exceptions are Angela Robinson (TRANSFORM), Jeff Rose (College of Health) and Brett Clark (CSBS). Students may include one outside member as the third; "outside" can refer to outside the College of Humanities or outside of the University of Utah, entirely. For those members from outside the University, the Graduate School requires a C.V. and a justification letter in order to evaluate and approve that third member. While the Dean of the Graduate School approves each committtee, it is the student's responsibility to communicate with faculty, select and assemble the committee.
Student Assessment
The Program faculty reviews the progress of each graduate student at the end of each spring semester. The purpose of the review is to assess the overall progress of each student in the program, and to identify how faculty might facilitiate student success.
Prior to the review, the rising second year students are responsible to show he/she/they are in good standing in the Program. Student should meet with the Director of EH to discuss particular concerns or areas of difficulty, and to provide information that can be usefully shared with the faculty at large during the review session. Second year funding is not guaranteed without at least the Chair and one member of the supervisory committee appointed by the end of semester two. The entire three-person committee must be set and appointed by the beginning of semester three.
Final Work Requirements
EH expects that students fulfill the requirements for the master’s degree by completing either a thesis or project. An exam option may be available in extenuating circumstances to be approved by the Director of Graduate Studies. Students choose their final requirement option at the time their supervisory committee is set. All students are required to complete and defend a prospectus by the middle of semester three. The goal of the prospectus is to provide an clear overview of the final thesis or project.
- Thesis
The goal of the thesis writer is to contribute to knowledge production, primarily for an academic audience. Students electing the thesis option often are planning to further their academic work after EH. Thesis writers are required to complete a minimum of 27 hours of course work and six hours of thesis credit. Students prepare a thesis prospectus in consultation with his or her adviser and the supervisory committee, and after approval, files appropriate paperwork and a copy of the prospectus with EH. During the final semester, a public presentation and defense of the thesis is required. Once the student has made the revisions suggested by the supervisory committee, students have an additional 6 weeks to submit their properly-formatted thesis to the Thesis Office for their release before graduation. Thesis writers should be very familiar with the Handbook for Theses and Dissertations and thesis submission procedures.
- Project
Project writers use theories, methods, and research in environmental humanities to develop an applied project, e.g., community-based research, multi-media, journalism or writing product for non-academic audiences, or detailed application of theory/method to an ongoing environmental issue. Students who select the project option are required to complete at least 27 hours of course work and six hours of thesis credit and completion of a creative or applied project. Students prepare a project prospectus in consultation with his or her adviser and the supervisory committee, and after approval, files appropriate paperwork and a copy of the prospectus with EH. A public presentation and defense of the project is required in the final semester. Once the student has made the revisions suggested by the supervisory committee, and the project is approved, students must send the graduate adviser an electronic and bound copy of the project.