Preparing PhD Graduates for
Climate-Change Careers

DISCCRS (pronounced "discourse") is built on the premise that successful interdisciplinary scholarship begins with a core area of expertise and grows with the development of broader knowledge and through a network of collegial connections across disciplines. The aim of DISCCRS is to foster such interdisciplinary work by connecting new researchers who are striving to create and integrate knowledge across multiple disciplines and to develop creative solutions to problems relating to climate change.

DISCCRS offers:

• A searchable database of Ph.D. dissertation abstracts submitted through this website
• Career-development resources developed through the symposia
• A weekly newsletter with time-sensitive information on climate change news & jobs (email [email protected] to be added to our mailing list)
• Annual symposia for selected early career scientists interested in working across traditional disciplinary boundaries. The goal is to develop international, interdisciplinary collegial networks among scholars likely to become leaders in their chosen field. Participation at the symposia is limited to 30 early career scholars identified by an interdisciplinary committee of research scientists based on review of submitted applications. Use the tabs on the left to learn about past symposium scholars and to view reports from previous symposia.

To apply for DISCCRS VI, click here!

DISCCRS Webpage Highlights

• Career Resources: This link provides an annotated list of resources developed for and by the symposium participants. It includes practical advice for establishing interdisciplinary careers, finding jobs, navigating promotion and tenure, developing research proposals and other aspects of early-career development.
• Search Dissertations: The international compilation highlights the accomplishments of registered graduates and provides a concise overview of emerging climate change research. More than 1000 dissertations from 50 countries are currently registered. You can search the full text of all abstracts, or search abstracts by year.
• Register Dissertation: PhD graduates are invited to register a one-page abstract of their PhD dissertation using this interactive form. Only those who have completed their PhD may register. Once registered, your dissertation abstract wil become publicly available in the abstract database within a week or two.
• Symposium Application Instructions: DISCCRS includes annual symposia designed to foster interdisciplinary understanding, communication, career-development and networking. Participation is by application with review by a committee of established professionals. Travel subsidies are available for the selected applicants.
• Program Reports: Demographic information is collected as part of the registration process and is used to characterize the graduate population. This link archives the program reports.
• Symposium Reports: Considering applying to the next DISCCRS Symposium? Check out the descriptions, participant lists, mentors and other details about past symposia here.
• Symposium Scholars: are highlighted on this page. There is a separate list for each symposium.
• Published Papers: This page provides a bibliography of papers relating to, or resulting from, DISCCRS. It includes papers published by the DISCCRS PIs, or by teams of scholars who participated in a DISCCRS symposium.
• News and Links: This page provides links to the DISCCRS Team’s favorite climate-change resources. It is not a comprehensive list, but a good starting place for those looking for climate information.

DISCCRS Funding

DISCCRS Sponsoring Societies
AAG Association of American Geographers
AERE Association of Environmental and Resource Economists
AGU American Geophysical Union
AMS American Meteorological Society
ASLO American Society of Limnology and Oceanography
ESA Ecological Society of America
ESS-ISA Environmental Studies Section of the International Studies Association
STEP-APSA  Science, Technology and Environmental Politics (STEP) section of the American Political Science Association
TOS The Oceanography Society
USSEE U.S. Society for Ecological Economics