PhD Supervision

I am on the lookout for motivated high calibre PhD candidates. Now that I’m semi-retired I have more free time to supervise PhDs which I enjoy. I’ve sketched out below areas where I can supervise, and I always welcome suggestions to supervise in other areas as I have found this often is a very good learning experience not only for the student but also for myself.

I tend to wear two (related) hats when supervising PhDs – about half the PhDs I have supervised have a resource and environmental planning focus and about half have an ecological economics focus. I believe in methodological pluralism and try to encourage this approach in my PhD supervision. I’m comfortable in supervising PhDs that have a quantitative focus as well as PhDs that are qualitative, or ideally a blend of both approaches. I prefer supervising PhDs that have an applied bent, although I strongly believe that applied projects need to be grounded in robust theory. To get a better idea of the field of ecological economics, I suggest that you have a look at the type of articles that the journal Ecological Economics publishes.

Areas where I have particular expertise are:

  • Ecological Economics

  • Valuation of Ecosystem Services

  • Theories of Value in Ecological Economics

  • Integrative Policy Analysis (Energy, Resource Management, Regional Development, Environment, Oceans and Coasts, Sustainability)

  • Indicators of Societal Progress

  • Cross-Cultural Environmental Research

  • Environmental Input-Output analysis

  • Energy Demand and Energy Efficiency

  • Emergy Analysis (Emergy has an “m” and this is not a spelling mistake !)

  • I’m always open to supervising projects in other areas, being reasonably adept in working across disciplinary boundaries.

PhD Idea #1: Food Futures. I am very keen to supervise a PhD that focuses on on scenario modelling of the New Zealand agri-food system in relation to achieving sustainability, nutritional goals, food security and economic goals.  I believe we as a nation are at the crossroads – our agri-food system is important to New Zealand’s economic prosperity, but it accounts for more than 60% of our greenhouse gas emissions and is stressing our rivers which cannot be sustained environmentally. We need to think of innovative products and  land-use practices to address this issue. Scenario modelling provides a powerful tool for testing out future food options, before we commit to them. This potential PhD topic would build, extend, make more policy-relevant and update an earlier model of the New Zealand agri-food system  click here To undertake this project the student does not necessarily need to have a background in modelling (as training can be provided), but you need to be comfortable working with numbers for example in an Excel environment. That said, some background in computer science and/or mathematical modelling would obviously be very helpful and welcomed.

PhD Pre-requisites

Massey University webpages outline the academic prerequisites. In general, I would expect a PhD candidate to have a Masters degree which required the completion of a research thesis – I have found time and time again, that students who have not previously completed a research thesis tend to struggle. It needs to be remembered that a PhD is the highest possible level of research a student can undertake. As a general rule, a grade point average of at least a B+ would be required.

For a PhD in resource and environmental planning, the student will need a Masters degree in resource and environmental planning, natural resource management, urban planning, or an equivalent degree.

For a PhD in ecological economics some background in economics would be helpful, but not absolutely necessary. Ecological economics, unlike mainstream economics, is interdisciplinary in its focus on the interconnections between the economy and the environment. That said, for some of the above topics, a grounding in quantitative methods may be necessary, while for other of the above topics a student without the necessary background may be required to undertake 1 or 2 masters or 200-300 level papers.

 

PhD Funding

There are a number of potential funding sources listed on the Massey University webpages. Specifically, Massey University offers doctoral scholarships which are competitive.

In the past, some of my students have been funded as part of Endeavour and Smart Idea research programmes  which are funded by MBIE. Currently got no such funding opportunities.

In the past I’ve had overseas students funded by New Zealand government programmes, and in a couple of cases by an overseas government.

Location

I know we have Skype, Teams etc, but in my mind there is no substitute interacting with a student in person, being able to have good conversations, draw and picture research ideas on a whiteboard etc. I am located in Palmerston North and frequently travel to Wellington, so being located in either locations or nearby would be best. My most unsuccessful PhD’s have been distance students and/or part-time students.

Chief Supervisor

I have been the chief supervisor of the following successfully completed PhDs:

  • The Water or The Wave? : Toward a Cross-Cultural Ecology of Understanding for Environmental Practice. Charlotte Sunde. 2003.

  • An Ecological Economics of Eco-Efficiency - Theory, Interpretations and Application. Nigel Jollands. 2003.

  • Integrating Economics and Ecology: A Systems Approach to Sustainability in the Auckland Region. Garry McDonald. 2005

  • Indonesian Energy Policy Pathways: From Past Trends to Future Alternatives. Emy Muliadiredja. 2005.

  • Quantifying and Valuing the Ecosystem Services of Pastoral Soils under a Dairy Use. Estelle Dominati. 2011

  • Exploring A 'Post-Normal' Science-Policy Interface for Integrated Coastal Management. Scott Bremmer. 2012.

  • Sustainability and Global Biogeochemical Cycles: Integrative Modelling of Coupled Economic and Environmental Systems. Nicola Smith. 2014.

  • Te Kete Tua-atea, Maori Modelling of Future and the Kaitiakitangi of Water. Mahina-a-rangi Baker. 2019.

  • Restoring the Mauri of Coastal Dune Lake Ecosystems: The case study of Lake Waiorongomai, Otaki, Aotearoa/New Zealand. Aroha Spinks. 2019.

In total, I’ve been supervisor (chief or secondary) for 21 PhDs