Ecological Economics

The PhD Programme in Ecological Economics is a specialisation within the Doctoral School of Economics. The aim of the programme is to invite students as co-researchers to a trans-disciplinary journey in the diverse field of ecological economics while moving beyond mainstream economic theories and methods.

The PhD Programme in Ecological Economics particularly invites students who:

Are interested in becoming researchers in the field of ecological economics (sustainability science); have strong skills in critical thinking; committed towards the values of sustainability, social and environmental justice and inclusion.
Are interested in action-oriented, participatory and cooperative research methods.
Have prior knowledge or are willing to learn about the approaches and methods of mainstream economics in order to move beyond them.
Have prior knowledge and are enthusiastic to learn more about ecological economics.

The PhD programme in Ecological Economics offers:

A socio-ecological perspective.
- On the top of environmental aspects, the programme also places strong emphasis on the social limits to growth, social inclusion, the perspective of marginalised communities, and other-than-humans.
Insights into participatory and cooperative research methods.
- Lecturers and mentors (supervisors) in the programme are experienced in participatory action research with marginalised communities, cooperative research approaches, inclusive science.
A thorough understanding and critique of the theories and methods of mainstream economics.
- Being a specialisation of the Doctoral School in Economics, the programme equips students with a thorough understanding of the theories and methods of non-heterodox economics, while also providing critical reflection on them.

The structure of the PhD Programme in Ecological Economics

The PhD involves four years of full-time study in which the student completes research and coursework. In terms of research, doctoral students specialise right from the beginning. PhD students in ecological economics will follow an ecological economics research track. In terms of coursework, first year courses are the same for all specialisations. Students only specialise from the second year.

During the 4-year programme students are required to:

accomplish courses (min. 90 credit points);
carry out research activity (112 credit points);
publish scientific papers (min. 10 credit points during the programme, at least 60 points for the successful thesis defence).

		Course	Credit points	Semester
Theoretical courses (90-102 credit points)	Compulsory courses for all programmes (54 credit points)	Macroeconomics	6	1st semester
		Basics of Research Methodology	6	1st semester
		Theories in Economics	6	1st semester
		Introduction to Quantitative Research	6	1st semester
		Microeconomics	6	2nd semester
		Communication of Science	6	2nd semester
		Multivariate (Advanced) Statistics	6	2nd semester
		Introduction to Qualitative Research	6	2nd semester
		Publication seminar	6	3rd semester
	Programme specific compulsory courses (30 credit points)	Ecological Economics I.	6	3rd semester
		Ecology and Planetary Health	6	3rd semester
		Ecological Economics II.	6	4th semester
		Values of nature in decision making	6	4th semester
		Technology and sustainability	6	4th semester
	Elective courses* (6-18 credit points)	Advanced Writing in Social Research	3	6 to 18 credits in the 1-4. semesters
		Science with Societal Impact	3
		Advanced Qualitative Research	3
Individual research work (112 credit points)	Research forums	Research forums of the Doctoral School in Economics (each semester)	72	Compulsory in all semesters
Individual research work (112 credit points)	Research workshops	Research Workshop in Ecological Economics	40	Compulsory in semesters 5th to 8th
Publishing (10-60 credit points)	At least 10 credit points by the end of the 8th semesters; all together 60 points for the thesis defence
Teaching (0-32 credit points)	Optional in semesters 1 to 8

During each semester at least 20, at most 45 credit points shall be accomplished. By the end of the 4th semester, 90 credit points shall be accomplished from the theoretical courses (including all compulsory courses). By the end of the training programme, 240 credit points shall be accomplished.

* Numerous further elective courses are available; the listed courses are considered to be the most relevant elective courses for the Programme in Ecological Economics.

Academic staff

The program-specific courses of the PhD Programme in Ecological Economics, as well as the mentoring (supervision) and coordination of the related research topics are mainly carried out by the colleagues of the Institute of Ecological Economics (University of Szeged, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration) and invited lecturers.

	Zoltán Bajmócy, programme coordinator, professor My aim is to conduct meaningful research that has a positive social impact. My research focuses on socio-technical, environmental and spatial aspects of sustainability transitions. This embraces the examination of local development actions and policies from the aspects of human well-being, social justice and sustainability; and the examination of transformative innovation and technology policies and actions. *Keywords:* urban sustainability transition, degrowth, citizen participation, transformative innovation policy, systemic transformation, democratization of technology *Courses in the PhD Programme:* Technology and sustainability Introduction to qualitative research
	Judit Gébert, assistant professor My main interest is how to understand human well-being from an economic and philosophical perspective. Currently, I’m working in a participatory action research with a school for deaf and hard-of-hearing children. The aim of the process is the expansion of capabilities – as understood by Amartya Sen – of people living with disabilities, generating transformation on the level of individuals and the community through empowerment. *Keywords:* well-being, social justice, feminist economics, qualitative research, capability approach, participation, degrowth *Courses in the PhD Programme:* Introduction to qualitative research
	Judit Juhász, research fellow I have been involved in qualitative research, participatory action research, and university-community engagement initiatives since 2013. I usually work with vulnerable groups and civil organizations in order to understand and promote equality, autonomy, and diversity. My research interests are urban and community (human and non-human) development, urban well-being and biodiversity, and social and multispecies justice. *Keywords:* qualitative research, participatory research, urban and community development, human and non-human development, well-being and biodiversity, social and multispecies justice *Courses in the PhD Programme:* Advanced qualitative research
	Eszter Kelemen, senior researcher, ESSRG My core research focus is the multiple values of nature, and how this diversity of values can be integrated into decision making both at the individual and the societal (policy) level. I like working across boundaries of different disciplines and knowledge systems, and experimenting with creative-interactive methods that foster co-production between policy, society, and science. Beside working with local communities, I am also engaged in global and EU-level science-policy interfaces. *Keywords:* values of nature, socio-cultural valuation, deliberative valuation, ecosystem services, biodiversity policy, science-policy interactions, transformative governance *Courses in the PhD Programme:* Values of nature in decision making
	Alexandra Köves, associate professor My research has focused partly on sustainability scenarios using participatory research techniques and partly on decisions influencing sustainability transitions. I believe that it is of crucial importance to be able to imagine a different future in order to move both individual and collective behaviour and policy-making towards a Degrowth world. Recently my focus also turned towards the necessary shift from mechanistic worldviews to systems views in economic thinking and for understanding this, I work closely together with experts from other disciplines. *Keywords:* Degrowth, futures methods, sustainability transitions, decision science, policy-oriented participatory research, systems-view *Courses in the PhD Programme:* Ecological Economics
	György Málovics, programme co-director, professor I have been working with vulnerable groups (most of all Roma, but also disabled people, environmentalists and related CSOs) during the past 15 years, following cooperative and action orientated research (participatory action research) and educational (service learning) approaches. As a person with a researcher-activist identity, I am interested in contributing to both scientifically and socially significant and impactful knowledge production and social change for social justice and environmental sustainability, following an ecological economic/transformative paradigm. I am also interested in and initiates processes opening up the university for the (local) community, most of all with and for vulnerable communities, in line with the approach of university community engagement. *Keywords:* vulnerable/marginalised stakeholders, participatory research, research with social impact, university community engagement *Courses in the PhD Programme:* Introduction to qualitative research Science with societal impact Publication seminar
	Boglárka Méreiné Berki, assistant professor My focus is on community-based research and related activism. I am particularly interested in the power of human relations (social capital) in the case of communities living in extreme poverty and segregation. Through my educational activities, the topics of sustainable development (primarily sustainable mobility and tourism), sociological aspects, and local economic development are also in the focus of my interest. *Keywords:* segregation, stigmatization, local communities, poverty alleviation, participatory action research
	Barbara Mihók, research fellow As an ecologist and a mental health professional by training, I deeply believe that meaningful (re-)connection to our human and other-than-human fellows is the key to well-being, empowerment and development. After the completion of my PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, I worked in inter- and transdisciplinary conservation and sustainability research. My main professional interest turned towards nature and human mental well-being and is inspired by participatory action research and inclusive science. *Keywords:* planetary health, nature and well-being, environmental justice, inclusion *Courses in the PhD Programme:* Ecology and planetary health
	György Pataki, senior researcher I studied international economics, public policy, ecological and environmental economics, and pursued my doctoral research on corporate greening. I enjoy teaching when it is dialogical, problem- or project-based. I am one of the founders of the Environmental Social Science Research Group (ESSRG), an independent nonprofit research organisation, working on the boundaries of environmental and social sciences. Committed to science-policy dialogues, I contributed to the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) as a member of the Multidisciplinary Expert Panel (MEP). Working for the advancement of the solidarity and social economy, I am a founding member of the Hungarian Coalition of Social Enterprises. My research interest and practice have always been diverse covering a range of sustainability issues, but primarily following action-oriented, co-creative, cooperative, and participatory methodological approaches. *Keywords:* biodiversity, co-creation, participation, solidarity *Courses in the PhD Programme:* Ecological Economics