Welcome to the Environmental Economics and Data Science Lab!
Estimates of the UN Human Development Index
from Sherman et al., 2023
In the Environmental Economics and Data Science Lab we study environmental influences on human systems and human influences on the environment using tools from economics and data science. We ask questions such as: how will climate change influence global agricultural productivity? To what degree can adaptation mitigate climate damages to agriculture? And how might human migration patterns change in response to climate change? We also develop new approaches for measuring socio-environmental outcomes using satellite imagery and using these estimates in scientific inference and policy evaluation. An example of this is our recent work producing high-resolution estimates of the United Nations Human Development Index.
About the graduate program
As a graduate student in the Environmental Economics and Data Science Lab you will have the opportunity to study and research within a world-class community of environmental economists from the Food and Resources Economics group as well as the Vancouver School of Economics. You will receive rigorous graduate-level training in economics and data science, paired with coursework in the natural sciences that best fit your research interests. Your MSc/PhD degree will be granted by the Integrated Studies in Land and Food Systems program.
Join us!
The Environmental Economics and Data Science Lab is currently seeking to accept a masters or PhD student to start in September 2024. To apply, please email 1) a personal statement, 2) unofficial transcripts, and 3) your CV to jon.proctor@ubc.ca by December 15th, 2023. The personal statement should be a maximum of two pages and describe your past research experiences, your quantitative training, your motivation for pursuing a MSc/Phd, and your future research interests. Please also provide contact information for three letters of reference in your personal statement. At UBC, we strive to promote an inclusive culture that supports diverse participation across the STEM fields, and I strongly encourage applications from students who share this priority.
Applicants for a research-based masters degree should have completed their bachelors degree by September 2024, and applicants for the PhD program should have completed a masters degree by September 2024. Students without a masters degree interested in the PhD program should first apply to the research-masters program and then, if in good standing, can transfer directly to the PhD program upon completion of the masters. Students with quantitative backgrounds coming from fields such as economics, mathematics, data science, earth sciences, or related fields are encouraged to apply. Please don’t hesitate to email me a jon.proctor@ubc.ca with any questions about the application process or program.
Note: Please submit your application materials to me by email. There is no need to formally apply through the ISLFS website at this stage of the application process. To reduce the financial burden of applying, I review all applications myself and then ask only students who I have selected, and who are interested in attending, to formally apply.