University of Utah Environmental Humanities Graduate Program

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University of Utah Environmental Humanities Graduate Program

Environmental Humanities Graduate Program at the University of Utah.

The EH program trains environmental leaders to build just, equitable futures with a fully-funded, interdisciplinary master’s focused on research, engagement, and complex issues. Environmental Humanities is a two-year master's degree, training the next generation of environmental leaders and thinkers. This fully-funded master’s program positions students to study climate change, resilience, advocac

y and other interests in preparation for changing the world. We encourage creative and scholarly exchanges toward new forms of environmental leadership and environmental justice. Founded in 2005, Environmental Humanities at University of Utah seeks to offer a unique educational experience for students based on these intersecting tenets: seeking just solutions to complex environmental and social problems, considering the role of sense of place in environmental thought and action, bridging humanities, scientific, and artistic knowledges, thinking critically about a variety of environmental theories, practices, and traditions, learning from a vibrantly diverse range of voices, perspectives, experiences, and knowledges, fostering scholarly work that contributes to both knowledge production and the betterment of our communities, highlighting the role of humanities theory and method—including philosophy, history, rhetoric, languages, literature, creative writing, cultural studies, and area studies—in addressing understanding human relations with nature, and engaging in respectful and responsible partnerships with community partners.

03/25/2026

✨ Join us for an inspiring evening with Olivia Juarez, Spring 2026 Environmental Humanities Community Practitioner-in-Residence, as they share their community-engaged research highlighting Hispanic & Latine heritage in the Central Wasatch of the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest.

📍 Glendale Branch Library, 1375 Concord St. (Meeting Rooms A & B)
🅿️ Free parking available
🌮 Enjoy delicious bites from La Ilegal Catering, including skewers de pollo & hongos with mole de pipián + refreshing agua de jamaica!

Come learn how storytelling, public lands, and environmental justice intersect—and how community voices shape the narratives of our region. Olivia Juarez is a lifelong Utahn and Public Land Program Director for GreenLatinos, a national nonprofit envisioning “a thriving and equitable society where historically overburdened communities and future generations are able to enjoy a renewed and protected ecosystem, liberated from disproportionate environmental injustices.”

This event is part of the Environmental Humanities Community Practitioner-in-Residence program at the University of Utah.

🔗 RSVP: https://tinyurl.com/olivia-juarez.

01/12/2026

We are proud to be celebrating our 20th anniversary this academic year! Are you curious about how our program came to be the first environmental humanities master's program in the world? Learn about how our program has evolved into a center of research excellence and student success: https://tinyurl.com/sfujm8nw.

12/29/2025

We are thrilled to announce the Environmental Humanities Community Practitioner-in-Residence for Spring 2026: Olivia Juarez 🌿

Olivia Juarez, a lifelong Utahn, serves as the Public Land Program Director for GreenLatinos, a national nonprofit envisioning “a thriving and equitable society where historically overburdened communities and future generations are able to enjoy a renewed and protected ecosystem, liberated from disproportionate environmental injustices.” Throughout their career, Olivia has worked with many organizations including Latino Outdoors, Utah Coalition of La Raza, and the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance to nurture Latine leadership in efforts to steward nuestra tierra pública (our public land) and promote joyful access to nature. In recognition of their commitment, Olivia was named one of the National Parks Conservation Association’s “10 Under 40” in 2021 for advancing safe, equitable access to public lands in support of Latino community health. Olivia is also a co-founder of Of Salt and Sand, a storytelling collective exploring “what it means to stay in Utah through economic transition and climate crisis by producing multimedia projects with, by, and for impacted communities.”

During their residency, Olivia will focus on publicly accessible storytelling that highlights Hispanic and Latine heritage in the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest. They plan to conduct historical research, interviews with new and long-time Hispanic and Latine forest visitors, and share their findings through written and audio-visual media.

Read the full announcement: https://environmental-humanities.utah.edu/blog/posts/2025/juarez.php.

12/23/2025

As we look back on 2025, we are filled with gratitude for our community partner organizations, community practitioners in residence, leadership and staff members, faculty affiliates, donors, alumni, and students. Thank you for dreaming up and working toward more just and joyful environmental futures with us!

If you would like to support the Environmental Humanities program before the end of 2025, please visit this link: https://giving.utah.edu/funds/environmental-humanities-graduate-program/.

12/10/2025

Thank you to our Fall 2025 Community Practitioner-in-Residence, Sarah May! In November, she gave an artist talk on her newest cyanotype art series, Archetypes of Ancestresses. In this talk, she explored how art and place-based rituals help her remember and connect with her Salvadoreña ancestressess. The featured cyanotype art pieces were made with water from Utah's own water bodies.

12/08/2025

In early November, our students joined the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation for their 3rd annual community tree-planting at the Wuda Ogwa (Bear River) Restoration Site. We're so grateful to the Northwestern Band of Shoshone Nation for the opportunity to participate in this exciting, new tradition. While we were planting willows, cottonwoods, and other native trees this year, a big, beautiful rainbow appeared. To learn more about the Wuda Ogwa restoration project, visit here: https://wuda-ogwa.info/project/.

11/19/2025

🌟Staff Spotlight: Eliana Massey🌟

Meet Eliana Massey, the Community Engagement & Outreach Coordinator for the Environmental Humanities Program!

She supports students in community-engaged research and strengthens community and campus partnerships.

Read an interview with her on our blog: https://environmental-humanities.utah.edu/blog/posts/2025/massey.php.

11/11/2025

🌿Faculty Feature🌿

Juliana Chow, the 2025-2027 Environmental Humanities Research Professor, is writing a series of creative nonfiction essays titled “Middle West” about the complexities of movement in the American West. Before moving to Utah, she moved from St. Louis, Missouri, to Beaverton, Oregon, and she was struck by the echo of Lewis and Clark’s journey from Missouri to Oregon.

In our interview with Juliana, she also talks about what brought her to the field of environmental humanities and why she has chosen to be a faculty affiliate for our program. In her teaching, Juliana invites students to think critically about how ideas of “nature” have been shaped through history and to practice ecological thinking through care and relation.

“Care and relation are at the core of community engagement.”

Read the full interview here: https://environmental-humanities.utah.edu/blog/posts/2025/chow_eh_res.php.

11/06/2025

Introducing our community engagement spotlight! Environmental Humanities graduate student Teri Harman, served as a key organizer of The Water Commons: Living Legacies of Utah Waterways Symposium, held this September. The symposium brought together diverse voices to explore Utah’s watersheds and water issues through policy, art, and storytelling.

"With every event I plan, I want people to have an experience, an encounter that lingers in their minds and emotions."

Teri’s research focuses on reframing public perceptions of Utah Lake, emphasizing creative, collaborative strategies that connect people more deeply to place.

Read the full interview here: https://environmental-humanities.utah.edu/blog/posts/2025/water25.php.

10/21/2025

🎉 The Environmental Humanities Program is celebrating 20 amazing years! 🎉

Join us for our 20th Anniversary Research Symposium on this Friday, October 24, from 2–5 PM at the Commanders House. Hear from current students, faculty, & alumni whose work has shaped the field over the past two decades! 🌿✨

Today, we are offering you a sneak peek of our first panel of the day which features Cait Quirk, Rikki Longino, and David James, a few of our exceptional current students. This panel will be chaired by Katharina Gerstenberger, one of our former directors.

Our faculty panel will be chaired by former director Steve Tatum with Leah Ramnath (Visiting Professor, Social and Cultural Thought), Jeff Rose (Professor, Parks, Recreation & Tourism), Melissa Parks (Professor, Environmental Communication) as panelists.

Our alumni panel will be chaired by former director Jeff McCarthy with Jack Stauss (Executive Director, Save Our Canyons), Jenna Fischer, (NPCA Next Generation Advisory Board Member) and Meaghan McKasy (Associate Professor, Energy & Science Communication, University of Utah).

Visit the link in our bio to view the full program. Come celebrate 20 years of environmental humanities research with us! 🌎💚

09/03/2025

Meet our Fall 2025 Community Practitioner in Residence, Sarah May! The Environmental Humanities Program is thrilled to partner with Gender Studies this fall to focus on the intersections of gender and environmental justice.
🏵
Sarah (she/her) is a q***r biracial Salvadoreña artist, poet, organizer, facilitator, and bruja. She graduated from the University of Utah with her BFA in Photography & Digital Imaging and her MA in Community Leadership with an Emphasis in Art & Culture from Westminster College.
🌊
Sarah is an artist and co-founder of Making Waves Artist Collaborative, a community of artists, organizers, and vigilkeepers who cultivate lake-facing culture through participatory art and demonstrative love for Great Salt Lake.

Address

1995 De Trobriand Street FD 618A
Salt Lake City, UT
84113

Telephone

+18015876156

Website

http://environmental-humanities.utah.edu/

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