students in field posing with equipment

Environmental Science and Management PhD

Founded in 2003, our transdisciplinary doctoral program in Environmental Science and Management prepares professionals in academia, industry, government and nonprofits to take leadership roles in solving society’s most challenging and complex environmental problems.

Montclair State University leads the way in New Jersey and in the Northeast in integrating natural and physical science with social science, economics, policy and project management.

Why a doctorate in Environmental Science and Management?

Now more than ever, the world needs highly trained, dedicated environmental professionals who understand the major factors that cause rapid climate change and its impacts on our society; propagation of contaminants in air, soil and water; flooding; coastal erosion; and loss of natural habitats and biodiversity. There is no part of our civilization that is not impacted by pressing environmental challenges, from our economy, to how we travel, and what we eat.

Our program prepares students to design and implement solutions to environmental problems, communicate these effectively to stakeholders and raise the scientific literacy of the public.

Our alumni are employed as professors in U.S. and international universities, as scientists and managers in municipal, state and federal agencies and national laboratories; and as scientists in private industries.

Distinguished faculty, leaders in their fields

The PhD in Environmental Science and Management doctoral faculty represent a wide spectrum of expertise in areas that increase environmental understanding and help us address important problems in environmental management. Our faculty specialize in diverse areas including:

  • Environmental Science
  • Geoscience
  • Climate Science
  • Earth Systems Modeling
  • Environmental Economics
  • Environmental Policy
  • Environmental Engineering
  • Hydrology, Ecology
  • GIS
  • Remote Sensing
  • Marine Science
  • Soil Science
  • Sustainability Science
  • Microbiology
  • Chemistry and Biochemistry
  • Mathematics
  • Statistics
  • Nutrition & Food
  • Computer Science
  • Marketing
  • Data Science

They are recipients of many renowned awards, including the National Science Foundation Early Career Award, the Presidential Early Career in Science and Engineering Award, and the Chinese-American Professors in Environmental Engineering and Science Nanova Frontier Research Award.

The program brings together individuals from the College of Science and Mathematics, the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, the College of Education and Human Services, and the Feliciano School of Business, as well as research centers and institutes, including the Clean Energy and Sustainability Analytics Center, the Passaic River Institute and the PSEG Institute for Sustainability Studies.

Our research is funded by the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Energy, New Jersey Sea Grant, and New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, among many others.

For more information about the Environmental Science and Management PhD program and to learn how to apply, please contact the program director, Dr. Mark Chopping, at choppingm@montclair.edu and visit our Prospective Students page.