PhD in Atmospheric Policy
The Laboratory for Atmospheric Research (LAR) at Washington State University is implementing a new approach to graduate student education and research training by coupling education and research training with a science and policy internship and classes that offer students a unique opportunity that is significantly enhanced compared to the usual research dissertation experience.
Graduates of this program will have:
- a strong foundation in atmospheric science through completion of a PhD in an engineering department
- complementary training in environmental public policy
- the necessary skills to communicate and work with policy makers
This program will create graduates with the necessary
science skills and policy insights to become leaders in
industry and government and to undertake the public
policy challenges associated with future air quality
and climate change.
The Components of the program include the following:
- Requirements for a PhD within the Laboratory for Atmospheric Research
- Seminar Series with invited Policy Experts
- Environmental Policy Analysis Graduate Courses
- Early Career Travel Opportunities
- Student Policy based Internship Opportunity
— Requirements for a PhD
within the Laboratory for Atmospheric Research
—
Requirements for APT students are consistent with the
requirements for a PhD within the department of civil
and environmental engineering (view
requirements). For APT students with significant
engineering
deficiencies, an Engineering Science PhD degree is
possible (more). Please contact us for more
information and to discuss this option.
— Seminar Series with
invited Policy Experts —
The Policy seminar series will consist of speakers from
across the nation who are experts within the
environmental policy community. The speakers will be
invited to give a talk on policy relevant topics to the
entire WSU campus community through the WSU Center for
Environmental Research, Education, and Outreach
(CEREO). In
addition, the speakers will provide a workshop
specifically for the APT students in order to allow
direct interaction between the speaker and students.
During the workshop, the speaker will discuss in detail
both their specific expertise and topics of broader
interest to the scientific and policy communities,
including topics related to career development for
young scientists and engineers. The goal of the seminar
series is to ensure that APT students are exposed to
and continue to consider the policy implications of
their research throughout their course of study.
— Environmental Policy
Analysis Graduate Courses —
APT students will be required to enroll in two
environmental policy courses, in addition to the
required engineering course load. The first course
(System Dynamics Models of Environmental Systems,
taught by Dr. Andy Ford) is designed to develop
understanding and proficiency in the use of computer
simulation models to understand the dynamic behavior of
environmental systems. Systems concepts (such as
information feedback and homeostasis) are useful in
wide variety of fields including hydrology, ecology,
anthropology, economics, engineering, business,
planning, physiology, sociology, etc. Case studies from
many of these fields will demonstrate the value of
interdisciplinary models, models that reach across
disciplinary boundaries to simulate the key feedbacks
in the system. This course will help build the
foundation for the second environmental policy course
and the subsequent policy internship.
The second environmental policy
course required is a quantitative environmental policy
analysis course. This course combines LAR's existing
expertise in atmospheric modeling with an added
expertise in air quality management strategies.
The purpose of such a course is to provide a more
quantitative understanding of the linkage between
energy emissions and energy policy and consequences for
local and global air quality. The centerpiece of
this course are modeling tools to facilitate the
quantitative exploration of policy implications of the
interactions between air quality and: energy, public
lands biomass burning, the built environment, human
health, the natural environment, and climate.
— Early Career Travel
Opportunities —
The opportunity to travel to conferences and develop
collegial relationships with the professional community
is a key motivator for early career graduate students,
one that helps them discover where their work fits
within the greater context of environmental science and
policy. Attending conferences is also an important
experiential component of graduate education where
communication skills and networking skills are
developed. APT students will have the opportunity to
attend one scientific conference per year during their
tenure as a graduate student.
— Student Policy based
Internship Opportunity —
The internship will be the key capstone experience for
APT students. Senior level APT students committed to
making quantitative environmental policy analysis a
focus of their professional career, will have the
financial support to participate in a policy internship
opportunity with either a government agency, a
nonprofit organization, or a company of their choice.
Internships will last approximately four months, during
which time APT students will devote their entire effort
toward the completion of a policy-themed project under
the mentorship of their chosen organization. The
results of the project will be included as a chapter in
their dissertation. Topical areas that are prime for
internship opportunities are those where atmospheric
chemistry affects issues of primary concern: energy,
public lands biomass burning, the built environment,
human health, the natural environment, and climate
change. Examples of policy internships include national
and regional offices of the EPA and USDA Forest
Service, state environmental agencies, national
industrial policy and/or trade groups, and
corporations, among others.
