Our graduate program offers a range of research areas designed to address complex environmental challenges. Our graduate faculty consists of experts and distinguished scholars from a broad spectrum of natural and social sciences, providing a rich environment for interdisciplinary exploration and collaboration. ENRGP MS and PhD students pursue a unique curriculum plan tailored around their research topic, and these research topics often transcend disciplinary boundaries in addressing complex environmental questions.
Below is a broad list of research areas with which our faculty members and students identify. Some of these research areas offer formal curricular specializations that may be designated on a student’s transcript upon graduation. Regardless of whether a student pursues a formal specialization, we encourage all students to explore interdisciplinary areas of study as well by integrating course work from across our school and from other departments, such as biology, sociology, psychology, plant pathology, and more. This approach not only broadens students' perspectives but also equips them with the skills and knowledge needed to address complex environmental challenges effectively. Additionally, students are encouraged to devote a portion of their studies to enhancing their research through academic breadth by pursuing a graduate minor or a graduate interdisciplinary specialization (GIS).
Explore our diverse research areas below and discover how you can contribute to shaping a sustainable future through innovative research and practical applications. Feel free to click on each graduate advisor’s name to see their profile and learn more about their research.
The field of Ecological Restoration is the study of restoring, revitalizing, and reusing land and water bodies along with their plant and animal growth based on ecological principles. The goal is to restore the ecological processes to enable the ecosystem to change and adapt as environmental conditions change. Ecological Restoration is built on ecosystem theory but focuses on creating and restoring viable and productive ecological systems.
The highly diverse expertise of the School of Environment and Natural Resources (SENR) faculty covers all the essential fields of study for an advanced degree program with emphasis in Ecological Restoration. This area of specialization is further supported by SENR’s strong programs in forest science, wildlife and fisheries science, soil science, wetland science, and the environmental social sciences.
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The field of Ecosystem Science is the study of the multiple components of ecological systems and how those systems interact. As ecological theories are discovered and developed, they become applied in the overall Ecosystem Science specialization. Ecosystem Science provides the framework for identifying and understanding environmental challenges such as land degradation, water pollution, and loss of species and habitat. Knowledge and theory developed in Ecosystem Science is applied in the Ecological Restoration specialization.
The School of Environment and Natural Resources (SENR) faculty and the Environment and Natural Resources Graduate Program (ENRGP) at The Ohio State University have strong research programs looking at fundamental processes that occur in ecological systems. Graduate students supervised by faculty members in this specialization are trained to carry out applied research on communities and ecosystems. The Wilma H. Schiermeier Olentangy River Wetland Research Park provides SENR particular strength in the area of wetlands and freshwater ecology.
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The Environmental Social Sciences (ESS) specialization provides multidisciplinary training in social sciences with an applied focus on the complex relationships between people and the environment. Students learn to approach environmental problems and solutions through three core perspectives: 1) individual-level behavior and decision-making (e.g., communications, psychology), 2) communities (e.g., sociology, education), and 3) polities (e.g., public policy, political science). The flexibility of the ESS specialization allows students to pursue theoretical depth in any one area if desired while gaining experience applying theories and methods across multiple social science disciplines. By taking courses from different departments across campus, students are also trained in research methods and statistics to develop the skills necessary to address research questions with real-world implications.
Check out the Environmental and Social Sustainability Lab website to learn more about some of the research projects that our ESS faculty are involved in.
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The field of Fisheries and Wildlife Science integrates a wide range of disciplines, including biology, ecology, conservation biology, natural resource management, aquaculture, and the social sciences. Fisheries and Wildlife Science works across individual and community populations.
You will engage in basic and applied research regarding the conservation and management of animals in the wild and aquatic systems. The ecology and biology faculty in SENR create close-knit lab groups such as the Terrestrial Wildlife Ecology Laboratory and have outstanding research groups such as the Urban Coyote Ecology and Management project.
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The Forest Science specialization seeks to educate the next generation of researchers, scientists, and managers of forest resources. Forest Science encompasses a diverse range of topics including forest ecosystems and sustainable forestry through interactions with foresters, ecologists, hydrologists, and social scientists.
The SENR forestry faculty members explore issues related to ecosystems and wood products in both rural and urban settings. Research focusing on the interaction between social systems and the forest ecosystem will develop innovative approaches to protect ecosystems and the services that ecosystems provide.
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Rural and environmental sociologists engage in applied, multidisciplinary research and develop sociological theory and knowledge relevant to public policy and local development related to communities, the environment, natural resources, food, energy, and agriculture, both domestically and internationally. Our research, extension, and teaching focus on the social and economic well-being of people and places.
- Our research foundation and knowledge base are sociological.
- We examine how social inequalities (social groups such as race/ethnicity, class, and gender) relate to the environment and natural resources.
- We explore how and why social processes vary across geographic space and the consequences of these spatial patterns.
- We explore the complex relationships between communities and the environment.
- We ask questions about how rural and urban spaces influence perspectives, families, communities, and policy.
- We work at the global, national, regional, and local levels.
- By practicing community-engaged and service learning, we work with communities, non-profits, and decision-makers, to create a positive impact in the world.
- We bring sociological perspectives to interdisciplinary teams within SENR and across the university.
- As engaged faculty we work with students and communities on real-world issues to create equitable and sustainable development.
- We explore the social impacts of technological, economic, and political change.
Our Rural and Environmental Sociology faculty members are a part of a larger cluster of social science faculty in SENR and maintain ties to Ohio State University Extension (OSUE) and the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC).
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The field of Soil Science applies biology and microbial ecology, chemistry, earth sciences, ecology, hydrology, mineralogy, mathematics, nutrition, toxicology, and physics. Soil Science examines the formation, distribution, function and management of soils to understand, sustain, and improve the environment. Soil is a key component of natural, agricultural, and wildland ecosystems that sustains all global processes.
Soil investigation utilizes a diverse range of research tools, such as geospatial analysis, computer modeling, microscopy, spectroscopy, bioassays, molecular biology, and other advanced field and lab technology. Soil scientists provide expertise in food production and safety, environmental quality, ecosystem sustainability, ecological restoration, beneficial recycling of byproducts, and land use planning. The soil scientists in the School of Environment and Natural Resources (SENR) investigate issues such as carbon sequestration, recycling of nutrients, restoration of contaminated soils, and assimilation of waste products.
Active Graduate Advisors:
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- Browse a list of student thesis and dissertation documents here.