Environmental Social Science; Tenure Track Faculty, MES

Environmental Social Science (Tenure Track Faculty, MES) Job Summary

This is a full-time regular
* faculty position starting in the fall quarter of the 2027-28 academic year.

Evergreen’s Graduate Program on the Environment seeks a faculty colleague to help students understand the social dimensions of environmental issues. We anticipate that successful candidates will come from disciplines such as sociology, geography, anthropology, economics, political ecology, public policy, or interdisciplinary environmental studies. We are especially interested in candidates with expertise in the economic, social, cultural, health, or policy dimensions of environmental studies.

The ability to teach social science methodologies (qualitative and/or quantitative) to students with diverse backgrounds in both the natural and social sciences is more important than the specific area of expertise. The ideal candidate will have the ability to help students develop an empirically grounded and/or systemic analysis of historical causes, current patterns, and policy solutions to environmental problems. Expertise in tribal community responses to environmental issues and Indigenous ecological knowledge systems would be especially helpful.

The Evergreen Master of Environmental Studies program organizes its curriculum through interdisciplinary courses, with faculty teams collaborating across disciplines to design and teach an integrated graduate-level curriculum. The ideal candidate has the ability and passion to integrate the study of social and natural sciences through study and application of real-world issues.

A successful candidate must be able to:
1) teach foundational material and advanced topics within the environmental social sciences, which might include areas such as ecological/environmental economics, environmental policy, sustainable development, common pool resource governance, Indigenous ecological knowledge systems, tribal natural resource management, environmental health, political ecology, environmental justice, or social movements for the environment;
2) teach in interdisciplinary teams with natural scientists at the graduate level;
3) help students develop their academic writing skills;
4) help students develop quantitative research skills in environmental social sciences;
5) help students develop other analytical and methodological tools employed in the environmental social sciences, which might include research design, survey design and analysis, qualitative methods, quantitative methods, mixed methods, and/or Geographical Information Systems; and
6) mentor thesis students in diverse research projects in the environmental social sciences.

The position is a regular continuing faculty member dedicated to graduate students, with primary teaching responsibilities in-person in the evening and substantial responsibilities for advising thesis research. Faculty in this position are invited to rotate occasionally into the undergraduate daytime curriculum to contribute to the Environmental Studies Path.

* Regular is equivalent to tenure-track at other colleges. A complete description of the continuing contract and conversion process can be found in the
Collective Bargaining Agreement, article 11 . Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States at the time of hire. Employment-based visa sponsorship may be considered depending on the candidate’s current immigration status; however, the College is unable, at this time, to sponsor new H1B petitions that could potentially incur the $100,000 fee announced in September 2025.

Evergreen uses narrative evaluations in lieu of grades, and full-time faculty are generally responsible for evaluating 15 students per quarter in MES courses. Faculty are also responsible for advising students in their respective area(s) of expertise regarding skill development, career opportunities, and thesis research projects. MES faculty are expected to participate in College and MES program governance.

Our students, faculty and staff create learning communities to understand environmental problems and solutions. We teach our students to develop quantitative and technical skills, think critically and creatively, communicate effectively, value diversity and equity, and work collaboratively to address environmental challenges.

All requirements for the position must be completed at the time of hire. Salary for all positions is based on experience and degrees (see Salary Grid for more…