Graduate training in the School of Social Ecology is organized around the study of contemporary problems in the social and physical environment. Emphasis is placed primarily upon theory and research that have implications for policy and intervention. Problems are investigated from the complementary perspectives of a multidisciplinary faculty that includes specialists in social, developmental, clinical, environmental, and health psychology; urban and regional planning and architecture; urban sociology; law; criminology; and environmental health.
Among issues of long-standing interest in the School are crime and justice in society, social influences on health and human development over the life course, and the effects of the physical environment on health and human behavior. The graduate curriculum emphasizes an interdisciplinary orientation, training students to draw upon the knowledge offered by several of the traditional academic fields in order to examine important social, legal, and environmental problems from a perspective of breadth as well as depth.
Programs of study leading to the M.A., M.S., M.U.R.P., and Ph.D. degrees are offered. Doctoral students have the opportunity to pursue an individualized course of study in the principles and methods of social ecology, leading to the Ph.D. in Social Ecology, or a specialized course of study that leads to the Ph.D. in Social Ecology with a concentration in Environmental Analysis and Design. Additional programs lead to one of the following degrees: Ph.D. in Criminology, Law and Society; Ph.D. in Environmental Health Science and Policy; Ph.D. in Health Psychology; Ph.D. in Human Development; or Ph.D. in Urban and Regional Planning. Master's degree students may elect a course of study that leads to the M.A. in Social Ecology, the M.S. in Environmental Health Science and Policy, or the Master of Urban and Regional Planning.
Social Ecology faculty members apply diverse methods of scientific inquiry to social and environmental problems. Evaluation research, legal research, questionnaire and survey methods, field research, naturalistic observation, and quasi-experimental techniques receive emphasis along with laboratory experimentation. Collaborative research with faculty members is an important component of graduate education in the School.
A sampling of faculty research and teaching interests includes human stress, health promotion, biobehavioral bases of health and illness, program evaluation, economic change and behavioral disorders, atypical child development, adaptive aging, violence and aggression, use of deadly force by police, legal sanctions and deterrence, white-collar and organized crime, transitions to parenthood, personality and psychopathology, effects of social environments on early child development, urban growth management and policies, transportation policies, poverty and homelessness, water quality, air quality, biotechnology, epidemiology, the use of scientific information in public policy formation and litigation, the health impacts of work environments, and processes involved in environmental regulation.
Students should submit their application by January 15 to receive full consideration for fellowship and assistantship awards. The deadline by which the application file must be completed, including the application form, transcripts, three letters of recommendation, and Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores, is February 1. Additional information is available from the Social Ecology Graduate Counselor; telephone (714) 824-5917, 824-5918.
Graduates enjoy a wide variety of career opportunities and have succeeded in obtaining positions in academic institutions such as Stanford University; Rutgers University; The Johns Hopkins University; Temple University; University of California, Los Angeles; University of California, San Diego; University of Colorado; University of Kansas; University of Minnesota; the University of Oregon; the University of Wisconsin; Indiana University; Carnegie Mellon University; and the City University of New York. Other graduates have established research and administrative careers in government agencies and private firms throughout the United States and Canada, including the National Institutes of Health, the Toronto Department of Public Health, The United Cerebral Palsy Foundation, The Philadelphia Geriatric Center, The New Mexico Tumor Registry, Orange County Superior Court, Southern California Metropolitan Water District, and in marketing and research firms such as the Yankelovich Group.
The Master's program offers advanced training that prepares students for a variety of positions. Many recent M.A. graduates are now employed in federal, state, county, city, and private agencies in such areas as planning, mental health and welfare, environmental regulation, and probation and parole. In addition, a number of students with the Master's degree in Social Ecology have entered Ph.D. programs at other universities.
Each incoming Master's degree student is assigned a faculty advisor with whom the student discusses an individual program of education. The program leading to the M.A. degree requires a thesis and satisfactory completion of seven approved courses (28 units), including the Seminar in Social Ecology (Social Ecology 200), Research Methods (Social Ecology 201), and at least one additional approved course in statistics or methodology. Other courses should be selected with regard to the student's academic and career objectives, and must be approved by the faculty advisor. The seven required courses must include at least five graduate courses and must be exclusive of any directed study, independent study, or thesis courses (Social Ecology 298, 299, or 295). A grade of B or better must be achieved in all courses. Students are advanced to candidacy for the M.A. degree, and a thesis committee is appointed, after a review of their graduate work and thesis plans by a faculty committee. All M.A. students who have been in the M.A. program for three or more years will be formally evaluated by the Social Ecology faculty at the end of each academic year. At that time the faculty may recommend that the student continue toward the M.A. or cease study in the School. One year of academic residence is required, but completion of all M.A. requirements, including a thesis approved by the student's committee, ordinarily takes two years.
The Master of Science (M.S.) in Environmental Health Science and Policy (EHSP) trains environmental professionals for applied analytical and administrative positions in government, commerce, and the nonprofit sector. In common with the doctoral program in EHSP, training focuses on the integration of natural and social science knowledge for the promotion of human health within a sustainable ecosystem. M.S. students must complete a core of five required courses: Environmental Health Science (EHS) I, II, III; Data Analysis, Part A (Social Ecology 264A); and Data Analysis, Part B (Social Ecology 264B) or Ecological Modeling (Social Ecology 252); and three electives. Students must also complete a field study of about six months in duration, resulting in a defended Master's thesis and degree completion within two to three years.
The Master of Urban and Regional Planning (M.U.R.P.) program seeks to train researchers and professionals in contemporary methods of planning and policy analysis. Students gain familiarity with planning problems and practices through a series of courses on the growth and development of metropolitan areas, and the environmental, economic, and social challenges that modern communities face. This program views planners as mediators between the market-driven forces of metropolitan change and the environmental, economic, and social impacts of such change.
Some of the specific planning issues addressed include the environmental, social, health, and economic impacts of urban and regional development; regional growth management; state and municipal fiscal policy; poverty-related concerns; urban design; the operation of housing and land markets; land-use law and regulation; transportation planning; and planning for urban development in newly industrialized countries. Students are provided not only with a rigorous foundation in the tools that public and private sector planners use, but also with the intellectual wherewithal to use them effectively in addressing these concerns. Participation in faculty research is encouraged as part of the program, as are field placements in local planning agencies and private planning and development firms.
The range of employment opportunities for professional planners in the public and private sectors is expanding due to rapid metropolitan growth, rising concerns over health and environmental issues, and the continuing need for redevelopment and social services in older communities. Career paths exist in government agencies dealing with urban planning, economic development, transportation planning, regional growth management, air quality and water treatment, public utilities, health care organizations and public health agencies, and conservation organizations and agencies. Many employment possibilities also exist with private consulting firms specializing in environmental impact assessment, with residential and commercial development firms, and many engineering and architectural firms.
The program leads to the M.U.R.P. degree--Master of Urban and Regional Planning. Students are required to complete 72 units, distributed between core and elective courses. Master's degree specializations include community attitudes and social policy, economics and public policy, land use and growth management, transportation policy, community health planning, and urban design and behavior. In addition, a written comprehensive examination or a professional report is required during the last quarter of residency in the program. A total of four units of independent study in preparation for the examination or the professional report also is recommended. Successful completion of the examination or professional report is required before the degree can be awarded. A thesis is not required.
The doctoral programs offered by the School of Social Ecology prepare students for academic careers in research and teaching. Graduates also are well qualified for employment in private or government agencies, where they can bring advanced academic training, strong methodological and statistical skills, and special expertise to such issues as environmental health and design, urban and regional planning, criminal justice, and social policies affecting mental and physical health across the life course. Students who enter with the normal academic preparation and pursue a full-time program of study ordinarily should be able to earn the Ph.D. in four to five years of study beyond the baccalaureate.
Each incoming Ph.D. student is assigned a faculty advisor with whom the student should meet at least once every quarter to discuss an individualized program of graduate education. The following core courses are required of all Ph.D. students except those enrolled in the Environmental Health Science and Policy doctoral program and the Urban and Regional Planning doctoral program: Seminar in Social Ecology (Social Ecology 200), Research Methods (Social Ecology 201), two approved quarters of graduate-level statistics, and one additional approved research methods course.
In addition to these five required core courses, doctoral students take additional required and elective courses, as summarized in subsequent sections that describe the individual Ph.D. programs. This additional course work is exclusive of any field study, directed study, independent study, or dissertation research courses (Social Ecology 297, 298, 299, or 296).
School faculty believe that Ph.D. students should become involved in research very early in their graduate careers. To encourage such involvement, doctoral students are required to complete a research project before advancement to candidacy for the Ph.D. degree. The method of research may include experiments, questionnaire and interview studies, systematic field observation, secondary analysis, computer simulations, legal research, and other methods. It is expected that students will begin their project during the first year in residence and will complete it during the second year. The written report of the project may be equivalent to a Master's thesis and may be submitted as such if the student's committee approves.
Before being officially advanced to candidacy for the Ph.D. degree, doctoral students must demonstrate mastery of a broad base of knowledge within their area of study. This is accomplished through successful completion of either a written comprehensive examination or a breadth requirement (see individual program descriptions for specific requirements). The breadth requirement can be completed by submitting a major paper or series of papers that intensively examine specific substantive problems and bodies of research. Preferably, the perspective taken should be multidisciplinary, but a single disciplinary approach is acceptable if it is more congruent with the student's educational goals and is acceptable to the student's committee. Each student's plans for completing the breadth requirement are developed in collaboration with a committee of three Social Ecology faculty members. Students are encouraged to meet with this committee as early as possible during their graduate career and are required to do so by no later than the third quarter of their second year. Once the student's plans have been approved and implemented, the examining committee will determine whether the breadth requirement was successfully completed, and will recommend additional academic work if it is deemed necessary.
A student may be formally advanced to candidacy for the Ph.D. degree when all requirements except the dissertation have been completed, and when the student's dissertation plan has been approved by the candidacy committee appointed by the School of Social Ecology, on behalf of the Dean of Graduate Studies and the Graduate Council. The student will appear before this committee for an oral examination. The dissertation plan will include a thorough examination of the history of the problem being proposed for investigation, its current status, the way in which the proposed research will further knowledge, a detailed specification of the proposed method of investigating the problem, and a description of the planned methods for analyzing the data collected. It is strongly recommended that students advance to candidacy during their third year of study. In no case will students be allowed to advance to candidacy after the end of their fifth year of study.
Formal advancement to candidacy for the Ph.D. degree will be approved by the Dean of Graduate Studies upon recommendation by a unanimous vote of the student's candidacy committee. Alternatively, the committee may recommend a course of action to strengthen the student for advancement to candidacy at a future date. When the student is advanced to candidacy, a doctoral committee will be appointed on behalf of the Graduate Council. The doctoral committee, ordinarily consisting of three members of the faculty, will supervise the preparation and completion of the doctoral dissertation. The dissertation should be completed and accepted within one to two years, and no later than three calendar years after the student's advancement to candidacy.
All Ph.D. students who have not been advanced to candidacy will be formally evaluated by members of the Social Ecology faculty at the end of each year. At that time, the faculty may recommend that the student continue toward the Ph.D. degree, complete the M.A. degree only, or cease graduate studies in the School. Evaluation of Ph.D. students who have advanced to candidacy is the responsibility of the student's doctoral dissertation committee. Prior to the award of the Ph.D. degree, each doctoral student must serve as a Teaching Assistant under faculty supervision for at least two quarters.
The training program that leads to the Ph.D. in Social Ecology allows students to develop a tailored course of graduate study that draws upon the knowledge of several traditional academic disciplines. This is a small distinguished program intended for genuinely interdisciplinary doctoral students. The emphases of this training program are in keeping with the academic mission of the School, namely, its emphases on an ecological approach to research and policy, an interdisciplinary approach to research and community intervention, and the application of theory and research to community problem solving. Students are encouraged to integrate the diverse theoretical and methodological insights of several disciplines in order to analyze important social and environmental problems from a perspective of breadth as well as depth. In doing so, students gain familiarity with the classic and contemporary literature in social ecology and with the application of the ecological paradigm, as it has evolved in the natural and behavioral sciences.
Each incoming student takes the five core courses required of most Ph.D. students, noted above, and six elective courses, chosen in consultation with the faculty advisor. The normative time for completion of the Ph.D. requirements is four to five years. Students are encouraged to become involved in research in their first year of study by participating in the research projects of the faculty. Students complete a supervised research project before they begin work on their doctoral dissertation. Research is broadly construed to include experimental methods, questionnaire and interview studies, systematic field observation, secondary analyses, and legal analyses. This predissertation research project should be completed during the second year in residence and must be evaluated and approved by a committee of three faculty members. Students complete the breadth requirement, described earlier, during their third year of study. The fourth and possibly fifth years of study are devoted to developing and defending a dissertation proposal and conducting dissertation research.
The doctoral concentration in Environmental Analysis and Design prepares students to conduct research on questions of vital importance to professionals in environmental analysis and evaluation, in environmental design and behavior, and on related questions on the formulation of environmental policy. These questions reflect on overarching concern with the effects of the natural and built environments on the health and social well-being of humans.
This doctoral concentration particularly focuses on insights from a social ecological perspective. One of the concentration's strengths is its research sequence which spans the disciplines within the Departments of Environmental Analysis and Design and Urban and Regional Planning. Students typically choose the majority of their graduate classes from those two departments.
Students conduct analyses of sociocultural, behavioral, and environmental factors that influence health and well-being, including public and private sector policy. The curriculum and diversity of faculty within the concentration afford unique opportunities for multidisciplinary research and training.
Potential employment sources for graduates include academic and research institutions; federal agencies; policy-making organizations; urban and regional planning agencies; national, community, and workplace health-promotion programs; and environmental design consulting firms.
Each incoming student takes the five core courses required of most Ph.D. students, noted earlier, and eight elective courses drawn from the three focal areas within this concentration: Environmental Design and Behavior, Urban Planning and Design, and Environmental Health and Public Policy. The elective courses cover topics such as environmental and urban design, environmental health risks, urban planning, facilities design and management, behavioral epidemiology, demography, the regulatory process, urban and regional analysis, technological hazards and change, and environmental toxicology. The normative time for completion of the Ph.D. requirements is four to five years. Students are expected to become involved in research activities in their first year of graduate study. Students complete a supervised research project before they begin work on their doctoral dissertation. This predissertation research project should be completed during the second year in residence (preferably by the end of the winter quarter of the second year). The research project must be evaluated and approved by a committee of three faculty members. Students complete the breadth requirement, described earlier, during their third year of study. The fourth and possibly fifth years of study are devoted to developing and defending a dissertation proposal and conducting dissertation research.
The study of the criminal, crime, and institutional responses to illegal behavior is the focus of the doctoral program in Criminology, Law and Society. Students examine issues related to the etiology of crime, the impacts of crime on society, and the process of changing criminal behavior. Students also become acquainted with social regulation and the civil justice system, allowing them to address the nature of illegal activities as well as the response of individuals and social systems to those activities.
Students gain familiarity with a number of subjects including sentencing; crime rates; selective incapacitation; modes of modifying criminal behavior; prediction of offender dangerousness; motives of police behavior; punishment; alternatives to incarceration; victimology; white-collar and organized crime; behavior of courts, juries, and regulatory agencies; and interactions among organizations within the legal system. Students may concentrate on particular substantive areas of law and society including occupational health and safety, white-collar or economic crime, environmental law, and business-government interactions. In general, students are introduced to the leading classical and contemporary issues in criminology, law and society and to ways of understanding them through interdisciplinary research. The training program aims to develop theoretical sophistication and to prepare the graduate student for faculty positions at major universities; and for research and administrative work in institutions in the legal system, the criminal justice system, and related organizations.
In addition to the five core courses required of most Ph.D. students, noted earlier, students take at least three required courses, Theories of Crime, (C235), Law and Society, (C239), Legal Reasoning, (C237), and four elective courses in Criminology, Law and Society. These elective courses should be chosen in consultation with the student's faculty advisor. Students become involved in research activities from the earliest stages of their training and complete an independent, supervised research project during the second year of graduate study. Methods of research may include experiments, questionnaire and survey studies, systematic field observation, computer simulation, and legal analyses. Students complete a written comprehensive examination during year three, which requires them to demonstrate mastery of the principles of social ecology and general knowledge of major theoretical, substantive, and methodological issues in criminology, law and society. The fourth and, possibly, fifth years of study are devoted to developing and defending a dissertation proposal and completing dissertation research. Opportunities for field placements in legal and criminal justice settings also are available.
Human health and the integrity of the natural environment are interdependent. More now than ever, challenges in public health and the environment must be faced using knowledge both from the social and the natural sciences. The graduate program in Environmental Health Science and Policy (EHSP) is rooted in existing disciplines, but emphasizes an emerging common base of knowledge that spans both the social and the natural sciences. To optimize flexibility, including options for primary emphasis on laboratory and field work, the curriculum is organized around four concentrations. The concentration in Environmental Biotechnology provides training in the use of microbial, genetic, or molecular applications for environmental monitoring, environmental cleanup, and other related purposes. The concentration in Environmental Health Science expands its conventional focus to include ecological context. The concentration in Environmental Management and Policy explores the linkages between physical environmental problems and the social institutions that are both their cause and solution. The concentration in Epidemiology and Public Health embeds traditional approaches in these fields within a framework of physical and natural systems.
Within each concentration, students are expected to develop interests in particular substantive problems, for example, those of the core faculty, which include water quality monitoring and bioremediation, toxic metals in the environment (their characterizations, exposure levels, and health effects), international conflict and cooperation in resource management, habitat restoration and conservation biology, the demographic foundation of health and well-being, and the epidemiology of violence and injury-prevention. Students are prepared to become active researchers, able to assume positions in higher education, government, commerce, or the nonprofit sector--wherever environmental quality is of concern.
Prior to graduate program admission, students must elect one of the four EHSP concentrations listed above. For all concentrations, students must complete a core of five required courses: Environmental Health Science (EHS) I, II, III; Data Analysis, Part A (Social Ecology 264A); and Data Analysis, Part B (Social Ecology 264B) or Ecological Modeling (Social Ecology 252). In addition, students must complete six approved electives relating to their respective concentrations. Consistent with the program's multidisciplinary nature, elective courses may be drawn not only from within the Department of Environmental Analysis and Design but (with approval) from throughout the School of Social Ecology and the campus (including, for example, the College of Medicine or the School of Engineering). After the second year, students must submit a written doctoral research proposal. Advancement to doctoral candidacy is achieved upon successful defense of the proposal during an oral, comprehensive qualifying examination. Degree completion should occur in four or five years. In addition, doctoral students must serve a minimum of three quarters as a teaching assistant.
Doctoral training in Health Psychology focuses on identifying, evaluating, and enhancing the psychosocial and behavioral factors that promote health, prevent disease, and optimize medical treatments. The training program involves a strong commitment to multidisciplinary scholarship and a focus on knowledge and theory, research competencies, and professional skills. Students are encouraged to join active investigative teams studying processes such as adaptive aging; stress, coping, and social support; biobehavioral mechanisms of cardiovascular reactivity; personality factors that increase resilience to health threats; the development of heart-healthy behavior patterns during childhood and adolescence; worksite health promotion and the design of work environments; and perceptions of health and environmental risks. In addition, a year-long practicum provides students with research experience in health care settings and exposure to clinical interventions in the field of health psychology. Potential employment sites for graduates include academic institutions; health care settings; federal agencies; school, workplace, and community health-promotion programs; research organizations; and university and government policy institutes.
Students take the five core courses required of most Ph.D. students, noted earlier. In addition, students take four required health psychology courses, Seminar in Health Psychology (P258), Biobehavioral Aspects of Health and Illness (P273), Human Stress and the Environment as Stressor (P267) or Coping with Stressful Life Events (P268), and the three-quarter Practicum in Health Psychology (P209A-B-C). Also, students take one health psychology elective, Perceptions of Environmental and Health Risks (E206), Preventive Medicine (P216), Psychosocial Dimensions of Chronic Illness (P231), Interpersonal Processes and Health (P262), Child Health Psychology (P277), Health and Social Relations (Social Science 252O); and three additional courses, e.g., Late Adulthood and Aging (P225), Violence and Its Social Impact (P237), Research on Subjective Well-Being (P248), Environmental Psychology (E288), only one of which can be taken from the Health Psychology cluster.
Students are expected to become involved in research activities from the earliest stages of their training and must complete an independent, supervised research project during their second year. Students take a written comprehensive examination during their third year, which requires them to demonstrate mastery of the principles of social ecology and major theoretical, substantive, and methodological issues in health psychology. The fourth and possibly fifth years are devoted to developing and defending a dissertation proposal and completing dissertation research. Opportunities for field placements in health-related settings also are available.
Students must complete all requirements for the Ph.D. in Health Psychology no later than their eighth year of study, adjusted for any approved leaves of absence that may have been taken. It is expected that most students will complete the degree requirements well in advance of this deadline.
The doctoral program in Human Development focuses on the development of individuals across the life course and the effects of the varying social, physical, and cultural contexts in which development takes place. Students are introduced to key developmental theories and concepts, with attention to all phases of the life course; the research methods of several social science specialities; and the conduct of problem-oriented research that is relevant to the improvement of individual and societal functioning. Potential employment sites for graduates include academic institutions (e.g., departments of psychology or human development); research organizations; human services settings (e.g., hospitals, schools, community agencies); government policy institutes; and a variety of private sector employers.
Students are encouraged to become actively involved in research from the earliest stages of their training. Through close association with faculty members in the Human Development program and participation in their research projects, students learn to use a variety of research methods and to conduct methodologically sophisticated research that addresses contemporary social issues. Current research teams are investigating the effects of divorce and custody arrangements; the effects of maternal and paternal employment on parents' well-being and child and adolescent outcomes; children's health risk perceptions; the strengths and limitations of children as witnesses; modes of adapting to stress over the life span; and the impact of activity patterns and social ties on the well-being of the elderly.
Students take the five core courses required of most Ph.D. students, noted earlier. In addition, students take two required human development courses, Principles of Human Development (P220) and Issues in Human Development (P236); and two of five life cycle courses chosen from the following: Infancy (P218), Childhood (P234), Adolescence (P204), Adulthood (P230), Late Adulthood and Aging (P225). An additional four elective courses are selected from the following six clusters: life span development; foundations of development; social, physical, and cultural contexts of development; health and adjustment over the life span; social problems and policies; and methods and strategies of research. These courses should be chosen according to a plan that best meets the needs of the individual student, as determined in consultation with the student's faculty advisor. In addition to courses offered by the School of Social Ecology, the Human Development curriculum may include courses offered by the Department of Psychobiology in the School of Biological Sciences, the Graduate School of Management, and the Departments of Anthropology and Sociology in the School of Social Sciences.
Students complete an independent, supervised research project during their second year. They take a written comprehensive examination during their third year, which requires them to demonstrate mastery of the principles of social ecology and of major theoretical, substantive, and methodological issues in the study of human development. The fourth and possibly fifth years are devoted to developing and defending a dissertation proposal and completing dissertation research.
Students must complete all requirements for the Ph.D. in Human Development no later than their eighth year of study, adjusted for any approved leaves of absence that may have been taken. It is expected that most students will complete the degree requirements well in advance of this deadline.
The doctoral program in Urban and Regional Planning seeks to train researchers and professionals who will further our understanding of how planning and policy-making can best improve the social, economic, and environmental characteristics of our communities and regions. The curriculum emphasizes the analytic, applied planning, and policy skills required of contemporary planners. Specializations include community attitudes and social policy, land use and growth management, economics and public policy, transportation policy, community health planning, and urban design and behavior. UCI's proximity to both urban centers and planned suburban communities, as well as its location within the dynamic Southern California and Pacific Rim regions, add to the program's appeal.
The Ph.D. program in Urban and Regional Planning features course work in planning theory and research methods, and there are substantial choices in elective courses on critical issues in urban and regional planning. Students complete eight required courses and at least four elective courses. A pre-dissertation research project, supervised by a faculty member, is required during the second year. The third year includes preparation for, and completion of a comprehensive examination. Following this, dissertation proposals and research begin. The normative time for completion of the Ph.D. in Urban and Regional Planning is five years. Doctoral students who wish to earn the existing Master's degree in Urban and Regional Planning can do so by fulfilling all of the course and eligibility requirements for that degree. Three required courses for the Master's degree are also part of the Ph.D. program.
