The ESRC’s graduate programs are committed to facilitating society’s transition towards sustainability by offering high-quality education at both the Masters and the Doctoral level.
Faculty & Students
The Master of Sustainability and PhD in Sustainability Science graduate programs at Brock University are supported by our dedicated faculty, staff, students, and alumni.
Graduate Program Director
Marilyne Carrey
Graduate Program Director
Email: [email protected]
Centre Administrator
Marie Giles
Centre Administrator
Email: [email protected]
ESRC Coordinator
Erin Isaac
ESRC Coordinator
Email: [email protected]
Julia Baird
CRC (Tier II) in Human Dimensions of Water Resources and Water Resilience
Professor, Environmental Sustainability Research Centre
Research Interests: empathy; resilience; water governance
Meet the ESRC Faculty: Dr. Julia Baird
Dr. Baird is available to supervise Masters and PhD students in 2026-27
Jessica Blythe
Associate Professor, Environmental Sustainability Research Centre
Research Interests: resilience; adaptation; transformation; coastal communities; social-ecological systems
Meet the ESRC Faculty: Dr. Jessica Blythe
Dr. Blythe is available to supervise Masters and PhD students in 2026-27
Marilyne Carrey
Associate Professor, Environmental Sustainability Research Centre
Research Interests: inventorying, mapping, and assessing the urban tree canopy; urban forest management plans; wetland ecosystem management; evaluating land-use/land-cover changes in the context of a changing climate; use of geospatial technologies to assess and monitor vegetation condition and change over time
Keywords: urban tree canopy assessment; wetland and forested ecosystems; water resources; geospatial technologies
Dr. Carrey is available to supervise Masters students in 2026-27
Ifeanyi Ezeonu
Professor, Sociology
Research Interests: state-corporate crime in extractive industries in Africa, environmental crime, extractive industries and community resistance, poverty and energy justice, decarbonization
Keywords:state-corporate crime, extractive industries, environmental crime, energy justice
Dr. Ezeonu is available to supervise Masters and PhD students in 2026-27
Xavier Fazio
Professor, Department of Educational Studies
Research Interests: environmental and sustainability education; complexity and systems theory; communities; public understanding of science
Keywords: science education; environmental sustainability education; teacher cognition and practices; complexity and systems theory
Presentation: Teaching and Learning for Environmental Sustainability
Dr. Fazio is unavailable to supervise Masters and PhD students in 2026-27
David Fennell
Professor, Department of Geography and Tourism
Research Interests: Ecotourism, nature-based tourism, tourism ethics, ecotourism policy and planning
Dr. Fennell is available to supervise Masters and PhD students in 2026-27
Jianbo Gao
Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry
Research Interests: Renewable energy; technology transformation; optical quantum communication; novel characterization
Todd Green
Associate Professor, Marketing, International Business & Strategy
Research Interests: consumer response to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR); the role of CSR in marketing communications; consumer response to environmentally friendly marketing; the role of CSR and Ethics in the Arts and Entertainment industries; the influence of retailer size on the consumer response to both socially responsible and irresponsible behaviour; the research-practice gap in CSR-related advertising.
Keywords: corporate social responsibility (CSR); advertising; consumer behaviour
Meet the ESRC Faculty Affiliates: Dr. Todd Green
Dr. Green is unavailable to supervise Masters and PhD students in 2026-27
Sylvia Grewatsch
Associate Professor, Marketing, International Business & Strategy
Research Interests: grand challenges, innovation for sustainability, corporate sustainability, systems perspective
Dr. Grewatsch is available to supervise Masters and PhD students in 2026-27
Magnus Hultman
Associate Professor, Marketing, International Business & Strategy
Research Interests: Green/sustainable marketing strategy; consumer responses to sustainable marketing; brand activism; green/CSR branding; sustainability and marketing communications; international differences in green marketing; internationalization of sustainable strategies; green/sustainable destination branding; authenticity and skepticism about corporate environmental claims.
Keywords: marketing strategy; marketing communications; branding; consumer behaviour.
Dr. Hultman is available to supervise Masters and PhD students in 2026-27
Garrett Hutson
Associate Professor, Recreation and Leisure Studies
Keywords: human-nature relationships, pro-environmental behaviour, outdoor education, recreation
Dr. Hutson is available to supervise Masters students in 2026-27
Francine McCarthy
Professor and Graduate Program Director, Earth Sciences, Brock University
Core Member: Environmental Sustainability Research Centre
Associate Member, Biological Sciences, Brock University
Research Interests: limnology and paleoliminology; micropaleontology/palynology; Anthropocene(s)
Keywords: lacustrine ecosystems; water resources; climate change; conservation studies; public engagement with sustainability initiatives
Meet the ESRC Faculty Affiliates: Dr. Francine McCarthy
Dr. McCarthy is available to supervise Masters students in 2026-27
Tim O’Connell
Professor, Applied Health Sciences – Recreation and Leisure Studies
Research Interests: psychological sense of community of people engaged in outdoor pursuits; sense of place; impacts of participating in outdoor activities on mental health; outdoor orientation programs; reflective practice; outdoor leadership; outdoor education; experiential education
Keywords: outdoor education; outdoor recreation; experiential education; sense of place; outdoor pursuits; outdoor orientation programs; reflective practice; mental health
Dr. O’Connell is available to supervise Masters and PhD students in 2026-27
Gary Pickering
Research Interests: psychological barriers that prevent individuals from being proactive on sustainability and climate change issues and strategies for addressing those barriers (including optimizing communication); climate change adaptation in the grape and wine industry
Keywords: climate change mitigation; climate change adaptation; psychological barriers; wine
Dr. Pickering is available to supervise Masters and PhD students in 2026-27
Michael Pisaric
Professor, Geography and Tourism Studies
Research Interests: impacts of climate and environmental change on northern ecosystems; climate and environmental change across a variety of timescales
Keywords: climate change; biogeography; physical geography; Arctic
Dr. Pisaric is available to supervise Masters students in 2026-27
Ryan Plummer
Professor, Environmental Sustainability Research Centre
Research Interests: novel governance strategies and social-ecological systems; adaptive co-management; adaptation and adaptive capacity; community-based natural resource management; integrated resource management; social capital and social learning; resilience and vulnerability
Meet the ESRC Faculty: Dr. Ryan Plummer
Dr. Plummer is unavailable to supervise Masters and PhD students in 2026-27
Lina Taing
Assistant Professor, Environmental Sustainability Research Centre
Research Interests: Leveraging social and behavioral insights to advance social equity, greener economies, climate justice and planetary health.
Dr. Taing is unavailable to supervise Masters and PhD students in 2026-27
Narongsak (Tek) Thongpapanl [ณรงค์ศักดิ์ (เต็ก) ทองประพาฬ]
Professor, Marketing and Product Innovation (Marketing, International Business & Strategy)
Research Interests: new product development, innovation and technology management, digital marketing, wine marketing and business management, strategic marketing management in high-tech environments, marketing knowledge creation and management in highly dynamic and multi-stakeholder settings, and the integration of marketing and technology competences in preservation and promotion of social, environmental, and economical advancement.
Dr. Thongpapanl is available to supervise PhD students in 2026-27
Liette Vasseur
Professor, Biological Sciences
Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute Fellow, Brock University
UNESCO Chair, Community Sustainability: From Local to Global, Brock University
Research Interests: sustainable agriculture; community-based natural resource management, with special emphasis on empowering women; integrating issues of biodiversity conservation; how ecosystem-based adaptation and other such approaches can help enhance resilience and sustainability of rural communities.
Keywords: sustainable agriculture; ecosystem; biodiversity; adaptation; gender issues
Meet the ESRC Faculty Affiliates: Dr. Liette Vasseur
Dr. Vasseur is available to supervise Masters students in 2026-27
Diane Dupont
Distinguished Professor Emerita, Economics
Research Interests: water; non-market valuation; behaviour; fisheries
Keywords: regulatory impacts on decisions; ecosystem services; GIS; surveying
Kaila Belovich
Pathway: Thesis
Research Interests: Community resilience to climate change throughout the Great Lakes, water resource management and governance
Supervisor: Dr. Julia Baird
Previous degrees and the institutions attended: Bachelor of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta
Hometown: Edmonton, AB
Uzma Bibi
Pathway: Course-based
Previous degrees and the institutions attended: Master of Chemistry, Quaid-i-Azam University; Bachelor of Chemistry, University of the Punjab
Elena Bolgarova
Pathway: MRP & Co-op
Research interests: Advancing Zero-Waste Practices in the Hospitality Industry: Strategies for Reducing Waste Streams and Implementing Sustainable Operations in Large Hotel Chains
Supervisor: Dr. Todd Green
Previous degrees and the institutions attended: Bachelor of Psychology, International Slavic Institute
Hometown: Kaliningrad, Russia
David Cribbs
Pathway: Course-based
Previous degrees and the institutions attended: Master of Business Management, University of Guelph; Master of Public Administration, Western University; Master of Political Science, University of Waterloo; Bachelor of Political Science, Wilfrid Laurier University
Hometown: South Porcupine, ON
Joseph Coughler
Pathway: Course-based
Previous degrees and the institutions attended: Bachelor of Management and Organizational Studies, Western University
Hometown: St. Catharines, ON
Darius Fadavi
Pathway: Course-based
Previous degrees and the institutions attended: Bachelor of Philosophy, Toronto Metropolitan University; Master of Environmental Studies, York University
Hometown: Mississauga, ON
Ruth Horn
Pathway: MRP & Co-op
Research interests: The impact of nature, nature-based interventions, outdoor education, and experiential learning environments on young people
Supervisor: Dr. Tim O’Connell
Previous degrees and the institutions attended: Bachelor of Kinesiology, Brock University
Hometown: Guelph, ON
Makenna Kollo
Pathway: Course-based
Previous degrees and the institutions attended: Bachelor of Recreation & Leisure Studies, Brock University
Hometown: Newmarket, Ontario
Jonathan Mclean
Pathway: Thesis
Research interests: Sustainable agriculture and agroecology
Supervisor: Dr. Julia Baird
Previous degrees and the institutions attended: Bachelor of Biology, Dalhousie University
Hometown: London, ON
Kinza Qureshi
Pathway: Thesis
Research interests: Community resilience to climate change through nature-based solutions, sustainable development, and planning
Supervisor: Dr. Marilyne Carrey
Previous degrees and the institutions attended: Bachelor of Environmental Sciences, University of Lahore
Hometown: Lahore, Pakistan
Alicia Rauth
Pathway: Thesis
Supervisor: Dr. Julia Baird
Previous degrees and the institutions attended: Bachelor of Geography, Brock University
Kerry Wabange
Pathway: Course-based
Previous degrees and the institutions attended: Bachelor of Management Degree, Athabasca University
Hometown: Eagle Lake (Migisi Sahgaigan) First Nation, Ontario
Chongshan Zhong
Pathway: Course-based
Previous degrees and the institutions attended: Bachelor of Environmental Science, Shandong Agricultural University
Hometown: China
Norievill España
Cohort: 2022/23
Supervisor: Dr. Jessica Blythe
Research interests: Understanding impacts of climate change to coral reefs and coastal communities, and contribute in crafting institutional stragegies and policies to build resilience and enhance adaptive capacity
Previous degrees and institutions attended: Marine Science (MS), Marine Science Institute, University of the Philippines Diliman
Hometown: Davao City, Philippines
Shannon Fernandes
Cohort: 2022/23
Supervisor: Dr. Jessica Blythe
Previous degrees and institutions attended: Environmental Studies (MS), University of Waterloo; Marketing (Certificate), Wilfred Laurier University
Hometown: Stoney Creek, ON
Kamal Krishnapillai
Cohort: 2023/24
Supervisor: Dr. Magnus Hultman
Research: Corporate Sustainability
Previous degrees and institutions attended: Master of Business Administration, University of Ottawa
Hometown: Oakville, ON
Madelaine Legault
Cohort: 2025/26
Research interests: Sustainable agriculture, food systems resilience, food security, environmental justice, and seed sovereignty.
Supervisor: Dr. Liette Vasseur
Previous degrees and the institutions attended: Bachelor of Women’s & Gender Studies, Brock University; Master of Women’s & Gender Studies, University of Toronto
Hometown: St. Catherines, ON
Hannah Lübker
Cohort: 2023/24
Supervisor: Dr. Julia Baird
Research: Human dimensions of water resilience, knowledge co-production, art-science collaborations, empathy
Previous degrees and institutions attended: Environmental Sciences (BSc.), Leuphana Universität Lüneburg; Social-ecological Resilience for Sustainable Development (MSc.), Stockholm Resilience Centre
Hometown: Fehmarn, Germany
Editrudith Lukanga
Cohort: 2023/24
Supervisor: Dr. Jessica Blythe
Research: Community participation in Policy/Local Governance processes and their contribution to sustainability
Previous degrees and institutions attended: Marine Biology & Micro Biology (BSc.); Environmental Sciences (MSc.), University of Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania
Hometown: Morogoro, Tanzania
Kevanya Simmons
Cohort: 2025/26
Research interests: Environmental and climate justice, community-engaged research, and equitable knowledge mobilization
Supervisor: Dr. Liette Vasseur
Previous degrees and the institutions attended: Bachelor of Environmental Studies, St Francis Xavier University; Master of Environmental Studies, Trent University
Hometown: Nassau, Bahamas
Visit our People page to learn more about our Participating Faculty and Adjunct Faculty.
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know before you apply to the ESRC Graduate Programs.
Deadlines:
Master of Sustainability: February 1, 2026
PhD in Sustainability Science: January 15, 2026
Note: Applications submitted after the deadline may be looked at on a first-come, first-served basis. International applicants interested in applying after the posted application deadline should contact the program for details on availability.
Master of Sustainability
In keeping with its transdisciplinary character, the program welcomes students from a variety of academic backgrounds including, but not limited to:
- Applied Health
- Biological Sciences
- Business
- Engineering
- Environmental Science
- Geography
- Planning
- Tourism
- Women and Gender Studies
PhD in Sustainability Science
Applicants to the PhD program are required to have completed a Masters-level degree (or equivalent) in environmental sciences, environmental studies, or a related field.
Brock University offers competitive guaranteed funding to individuals enrolled full-time in research-based graduate programs. Students in the SSAS and SSCI graduate programs are eligible for full-time funding from the University.
FINANCIAL SUPPORT
There are several opportunities for students to receive additional financial support during their studies:
- Brock Internal Scholarships and Awards
- External Scholarships and Awards
- International Scholarships and Awards
- Bursaries and Travel Funds
- OSAP and Line of Credit
- Conference Funds
For more information about scholarships and awards at Brock, visit the Graduate Studies Website.
HOW MUCH WILL GRADUATE SCHOOL COST?
For information on graduate tuition and related fees at Brock University, visit: https://brocku.ca/finance/students/graduate.
Master of Sustainability Applicants
We do not require SSAS applicants to reach out to faculty members in regard to supervision. Instead, we ask applicants to consult the listing of core faculty and indicate their top three choices on the application (regardless of scheme).
PhD in Sustainability Science Applicants
Applicants to the PhD in Sustainability Science must secure a supervisor-in-principle prior to applying to the program. Please consult our listing of core faculty and reach out to core faculty members who are available to supervise PhD candidates, and whose research interests align with yours.
All graduate applicants who have not completed three or more years of post-secondary study at a Canadian institution or at an institution in one of the following exempt countries, will be required to provide proof of English language proficiency.
Applicants who have completed the required years of post-secondary work in English, at an institution where English was the only language of instruction, may request a waiver of the English Proficiency Test submission requirements.
For more information on English Proficiency requirements, including score requirements and requesting a waiver, visit the web page here: https://brocku.ca/graduate-studies/future-students/international/english-language-proficiency/
No. Due to the volume of applications we receive, it is not possible for us to pre-screen applications. Your application materials will only be reviewed when we receive your official application through OUAC.
Our graduate programs do not have a winter intake at this time. New cohorts of the SSAS and SSCI programs begin classes in the Fall.
The Environmental Sustainability Research Centre is continuing to closely monitor restrictions on in-person learning as determined by the Niagara Region Public Health Department.
As of the Fall 2022 Term, both of our graduate programs are offered in-person only and we are not able to accommodate for distance learning.
All students enrolled in the Master of Sustainability course-based pathway are eligible for part-time study, permission from the graduate program director is not required. Students enrolled in Master of Sustainability research pathways will require special permission from the graduate program director, to allow for part-time studies to be accommodated. For more information, please contact [email protected]
Our alumni have found employment in a variety of sectors such as government agencies, non-government organizations, private sector, conservation authorities, post-secondary institutions, research centres, consulting firms, and charitable organizations among others. Here is a list of a few common employers and job titles that our alumni currently or have previously held (in no particular order):
Common Employers
- Federal Governments (e.g., Canadian Food Inspection Agency)
- Provincial Governments (e.g., Ministry of Environment, Conservation & Parks, Government of Alberta)
- Municipalities (e.g., City of Toronto, City of Mississauga, City of Kingston, Town of Lincoln)
- Agencies (e.g., Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority, Niagara Parks Commission, Toronto Hydro)
- Universities & Research Centres (Brock University, University of British Columbia, University of Oregon, Vineland Research and Innovation Centre)
- NGO’s and Charities (e.g., Nature Canada, World Wildlife Fund, Canada Parks and Wilderness Society, Clean Air Partnership)
- Businesses and Corporations (e.g., RBC, Toronto Hydro)
Common Job Titles
- Manager (e.g., Climate & Sustainability Manager, Project Manager)
- Coordinator (e.g., Ocean Program Conservation Coordinator, Climate Change Coordinator, Planning and Development Coordinator)
- Planner (e.g., Urban Planner, Sustainability Council Project Planner)
- Researcher (e.g., Conservation Governance Researcher, Senior Research Technician)
- Analyst (e.g., Climate Action Analyst, Sustainability Assessment Analyst)
- Policy Professional (e.g., Senior Policy Advisor, Policy Developer)
- Consultant (e.g., Sustainability Consultant)
We also have an ESRC YouTube channel with several career-focused panel discussions and presentations co-hosted by the ESRC graduate program director, the Careers, Co-op and Experiential Education office, Alumni, and current students in our programs. These are just some of the different ways we engage our students with community partners.
You may also find it interesting to read about one of our recent graduates who was featured in several local news publications including the Brock News, From class to career: Sustainability grad leads local climate plan. This is one of many stories of our graduate students securing jobs to move into as they graduate from our program.
We encourage you to visit our alumni page to learn more about our recent graduates, read their publications, and hear more about their experiences in our program!
The Faculty of Graduate Studies does not accommodate requests to waive application fees. Application fee payment options are outlined on the OUAC website at: https://www.ouac.on.ca/fees/#payment
International Payments (Flywire) allows you to pay Canadian dollar fees in the currency of your choice. It provides a simple and secure way of initiating a payment electronically. Please note that due to international and domestic banking regulations, some currencies are unavailable. If your currency is unavailable, select an alternative currency (including US dollars) to ensure your application payment is processed.
Please feel welcome to contact the Faculty of Graduate Studies if you require further assistance at [email protected].
Master of Sustainability applicants should reach out to [email protected], and PhD in Sustainability Science applicants should reach out to [email protected] if they have any additional questions after carefully reviewing the website for your desired program and this FAQ’s list.
Please note that we receive a high volume of emails, especially around admissions time, so please allow 3-5 business days for a response.
