Summer School on Sustainability Governance - Call for Applications!
Rachael Shwom
Summer School on Sustainability Governance
Rutgers University-New Brunswick
August 24-28, 2026
Current emissions of greenhouse gases, alteration of critical ecosystems, and a host of other anthropogenic drivers present significant and cascading crises, threatening the prospects for sustainable development. Finding solutions to the unprecedented rate and magnitude of these social and environmental changes will require integrated and human-centered governance approaches at multiple scales, ranging from individuals and households to global multilateral bodies. Yet current policies tend to focus on single problems and at a single scale, while also failing to learn from insights grounded in social science. New approaches to sustainability governance that are capable of addressing the multi-scale, urgent, and dynamic complexity of our current challenges are needed, requiring innovations across knowledge systems, attention to coproduction of solutions with multiple stakeholders who are empowered to act, and advances in understanding desirable visions of the future and how to achieve them.
Following on the successful launch in 2024 of an inaugural summer school, the Department of Human Ecology at Rutgers University-New Brunswick will again be running a summer school for early care researchers working on governance and sustainability. The goal of the Summer School is to increase the capacity of emerging scholars to learn more about this field and expand networks for interdisciplinary scholarship and collaboration. During the workshop, we will bring together researchers from a range of disciplines in a small group setting to learn, exchange ideas, and build partnerships. Training on essential skills will be offered on topics suited to the applicants, and include working in collaborative governance, science communication, social science methods, and grant and publication guidance. Interactions with faculty from across Rutgers working in the sustainability governance field will provide opportunities for career advice, mentorship, and networking. At the end of the workshop, the relationships built with other students will provide mutual support for the future.
Applications: Graduate students, post-docs and early career researchers in diverse disciplines working on sustainability governance issues are encouraged to apply to the summer school. Accommodation in New Brunswick and meals for all accepted applicants will be covered, and we anticipate being able to cover some travel expenses as well. We particularly encourage applicants in the region who can easily get to New Jersey. To apply, please fill out an expression of interest by June 10, 2026 at https://forms.gle/aniecSztiFatqdXT8 Accepted applicants will be notified after June 15, 2026.
If you have questions about the application or summer school, please contact Dr. Pamela McElwee (pamela....@rutgers.edu) and/or Dr. Rachael Shwom (shwo...@sebs.rutgers.edu).
http://shwomrac.tumblr.com/
848-932-9235
732-932-6667 (F)