The Next STEP: Theories in Environmental Psychology

‘The Next STEP - Summer School on Theories in Environmental Psychology’ will bring together 45 PhD students in the field of environmental psychology and related sciences to help bridge the gap between environmental psychology theory and practical applications.

Through a series of workshops, group exercises and guest lectures by prominent experts in the field, our summer school empowers participants with knowledge and tools needed to effectively address pressing environmental issues.

Participants will get to apply psychological theory to practical problems, gain expert insights, network with fellow PhD students and professionals who share their passion for environmental psychology.

The 45 PhD students will be distributed into 5 groups; with 2 senior supervisors and a sponsoring organisation per group. The supervisors will be internal as well as external researchers, thus from other universities and/or faculties.

Sponsoring organisations will provide the PhD students with a real life problem that their organisation has faced or will be facing. The PhD students will work, under the supervision of senior researchers, on the problem throughout the week to come up with an intervention plan and provide theory-based practical solutions for the organisation.

Course leader

Ellen van der Werff, BSS

Target group

This summer school is designed for PhD students in environmental psychology and related fields. It is required to have a PhD position and motivation to theorise and engage with other PhDs, researchers and stakeholders.

It is expected that the participants have a sufficient command of the English language to actively participate in the discussions and to present their own work in English.

Course aim

After this course, the PhD Students will be able to:

- Conduct a systematic problem analysis of a practical problem (analyze);
- Decide upon and a conduct a causal analysis of factors influencing the problem based on (interdisciplinary) theoretical knowledge gained in their previous education/research as well as theoretical literature on the specific problem as suggested by the supervisors of their group (analyze/apply);
- Develop and present a theory-based and evidence-based intervention aiming to address this problem (apply/create);
- Develop and present a monitoring and evaluation plan to test the effectiveness of an intervention (apply/create)