Graduate Student
As a research unit, the Center does not have its own graduate degree program. However, the PhD program offered by UCSC's Environmental Studies Department includes a focus on agroecology and sustainable agriculture. Other UCSC departments offering advanced degrees related to the Center's work include Sociology, Anthropology, Politics, Economics, Biology, Education, and Earth Sciences.
Faculty affiliated with the Center provide graduate students with advice and research opportunities on a variety of topics, including international agricultural systems, the political economies of sustainable agriculture, and basic research in agroecology. In conjunction with their faculty advisor, UCSC graduate students can apply for access to the Center's facilities for lab- and field-based research work.
For general information on UC Santa Cruz's graduate programs, see their web site or call 831.459-2510.
Center Research and Education Sustainability Grants Program
UCSC graduate students are eligible for funding from the Center's competitive grants program to support independent research and education projects. The Center issues a Request for Proposals for the grants program, which is distributed via email listservers, posted on campus, and posted to the Center's home page. For more information, contact Jonathon Landeck at 831.459-4540 or jlandeck@ucsc.edu. Center research and education grants are supported by CASFS, the Webster Foundation, and the UCSC Division of Social Sciences. Projects that received funding in 2010-11 are listed below. Efforts are now underway to raise funds to continue this grant program. The Center will issue a Request for Proposals when funding becomes available.
2010-11 Graduate Student Awards from CASFS
- Nicholas Babin (Environmental Studies) – Assessing the Impacts of Agroecological Diversification and Alternative Markets on Costa Rican Smallholder Coffee Livelihoods. Faculty co-PI: Stephen Gliessman
- Kevin Cody (Sociology) – The Diffusion of Innovation in Sustainable Agriculture: A Cross-Cultural Perspective. Faculty co-PI: Ben Crow
- Getachew Eshete (Environmental Studies) – The Role of Ecosystem Goods from Native Flora in Food Security and Land Cover Changes: A Case of Southwestern Ethiopia. Faculty co-PI: Erika Zavaleta
- Sean Gillon (Environmental Studies) – Biofuels Production in the US Midwest: Negotiating Social and Ecological Outcomes Across Place and Scale. Faculty co-PI: Margaret FitzSimmons
- K. Michelle Glowa (Environmental Studies) – Investigating Mexican American Participation in Urban Agriculture in the Central Coast Region. Faculty co-PI: Margaret FitzSimmons
- Christina Hatcher (Sociology) – The Paid Social Reproductive Service Economy: Gender, Race and Class in the Production and Consumption of Private and Public Household Services. Faculty co-PI: Steve McKay
- Kathleen Hilmire (Environmental Studies) – Improving Soil Quality with Pastured Poultry: An Innovative Solution for Sustainability in Crop Systems. Faculty co-PI: Stephen Gliessman
- Marcos Lopez (Sociology) – The Lie of the Land: Labor Violations, Indigenous Farm Workers and the Sustainability Discourse. Faculty co-PI: Jonathan Fox
- Blair McLaughlin (Environmental Studies) – Barriers and Possibilities for Conversion to Grass-finished Beef: A Case Study of Central California. Faculty co-PI: Erika Zavaleta
- Dustin O'Hara (Film and Digital Media) – A Multi-Channel Public Video Installation that Examines Agricultural Processes as a Critical Nexus of Social and Environmental Concerns. Faculty co-PI: Sharon Daniel
- Joanna Ory (Environmental Studies) – Agricultural Decisions in Response to Atrazine Restrictions and the Implications for Environmental Sustainability. Faculty co-PI: Brent Haddad
- Katy Overstreet (Anthropology) – Midwestern Farmers’ Decision Making Processes with Respect to GE Crops. Faculty co-PI: Melissa Caldwell
- Tracy Perkins (Sociology) – Food Systems and Environmental Justice in California (Part I). Faculty co-PI: Flora Lu
- Jennifer Rigney (Developmental Psychology) – Parent’s Beliefs about Food, Parental Strategies for Eating Socialization, and Children’s Evaluations of Parental Control in the Food Domain. Faculty co-PI: Maureen Callanan
- Heather Anne Swanson (Anthropology) – Outsourcing Salmon: Japanese Participation in the Chilean Aquaculture Industry. Faculty co-PI: Anna Tsing
