Anthropology and Forestry & Environmental Studies - PhD

The combined Forestry and Environmental Studies (F&ES)/Anthropology Ph.D. Program was first created by former Yale Provost Alison Richard to meet the needs of doctoral students in biological anthropology who wanted to draw more fully on the resources of both the Anthropology Department and F&ES.   Initial interest in the combined degree has mainly come from students working in the allied fields of ecological anthropology, social ecology, and political ecology.  We envisage this program, however, as open to all sub-disciplines in Anthropology – including biological anthropology and archaeological studies – and students across forestry and environmental sciences fields who wish to combine their studies with Anthropology.

The purpose and attraction of the degree is three-fold: (1) it combines the disciplinary identity and strengths of the Anthropology Department with the inter-disciplinary character and possibilities of F&ES, especially in terms of bridging the social and natural sciences; (2) it combines the strengths in ecological and environmental studies of F&ES with the social science strengths of the Anthropology Department; and (3) it combines the Anthropology Department’s strengths in theory with the emphasis within F&ES on linking theory with policy and practice. 

The combined doctoral degree offers its graduates great flexibility when entering the marketplace: they can represent themselves as anthropologists and/or environmental scientists, as theoreticians and/or practitioners.  They have the credentials to apply for policy-oriented positions with international institutions as well as academic positions in teaching and research.  The academic program of each student in the combined degree program is to some extent tailored specifically to his or her particular history, interests, and needs, but there are general guidelines that combined students can be expected to follow, and they are laid out here.