Ph.D. in Civil Society and Community Research University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Human Ecology

With dynamic ideas, experiences, and research that enhances our department’s distinctive and exceptional qualities, graduate students are the heart of Civil Society and Community Studies. SoHE offers exciting opportunities, including a new graduate curriculum that allows students to specialize in Civil Society and Community Research. Through interdisciplinary coursework and research in community settings—often in collaboration with community organizations or coalitions—students have opportunities to become participant-scholars in change processes and learn human ecological theory and participatory and application-focused research methods in the process.

Our philosophy is that human development and well-being are promoted through the interactions between people and the ecological settings (organizations, social networks, communities) of which they are apart. Through many different avenues, our research, teaching, and outreach are directed toward positively impacting these settings and human behavior patterns within them.