Environment 3 (EV3) Building located on Waterloo's Campus, across from Laurel Creek.
Join the next generation of interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary scholars and applied researchers with the PhD in Social and Ecological Sustainability program.
Graduate students and research are at the core of our community, meaning that you’ll join a community that is dynamic, committed and engaged. Our faculty are internationally recognized researchers, and they serve on a wide range of local, national and international organizations and committees in support of global sustainability, and our students are recognized for their research impact. Once your own graduate journey is complete, you’ll be joining a large community of School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability (SERS) successful alumni actively involved in local and global resources, environment and sustainability efforts in government, academia, civil society and industry.
When your own graduate journey is complete, you’ll be joining a large community of SERS successful alumni actively involved in local and global resources, environment and sustainability efforts in government, academia, civil society and industry.
As a PhD student, you will be guaranteed funding through teaching assistantships, research assistantships or stipends, and additional scholarships for qualified applicants.
Research fields
- Resource Analysis and Stewardship
- Socio-Ecosystem Function and Renewal
- Sustainability Policy and Governance
Program overview
Department/School: School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability
Faculty: Faculty of Environment
Admit term(s): Fall (September - December)
Delivery mode: On-campus
Program type: Doctoral, Research
Length of program: 48 months
Registration option(s): Full-time, Part-time
Study option(s): Thesis
Application deadlines
- February 1 (for admission in September)
Key contacts
People want to know how your research is going to make a meaningful impact in their lives. And that’s the reason why we’re doing the research.
Supervisors
- Review finding a supervisor resources.
Admission requirements
- Students must hold a master's degree with distinction (typically an overall average of at least 80%) or the equivalent.
Degree requirements
- Review the degree requirements on the Graduate Studies Academic Calendar, including the courses that you can anticipate taking as part of completing the degree.
- Check out Waterloo's institutional thesis repository - UWspace to see recent submissions from the School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability graduate students.
Application materials
- Resume
- Program-specific questions (PSQ)
- These are questions specific to the program you’re applying to. They can be viewed once you’ve started an application and are completed through a form in the online application.
- Transcript(s)
- References
- Three references are required, at least two academic.
- Proof of English language proficiency, if applicable
- TOEFL 100 (writing 26, speaking 26), IELTS 7.5 (writing 7.0, speaking 7.0)
Tuition and fees
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Visit the graduate program tuition page on the Finance website to determine the tuition and incidental fees per term for your program.
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Review living costs and housing.
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Learn about the PhD housing guarantee pilot program for newly admitted students in fall 2025 and winter 2026.
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Review the funding graduate school resources for graduate students.