Dr. Megan Ybarra

Associate Professor

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Biography

Megan Ybarra is an Associate Professor and a human geographer whose research focuses on radical placemaking, environmental justice, and abolition. Her work includes archival research, community records, and institutional ethnography that explore the power relations associated with liberation struggles. Ybarra authored the book 'Green Wars,' published by the University of California Press in 2017, which critically examines the role of international conservation NGOs in the criminalization of Indigenous land defenders in Guatemala. Additionally, she serves on the editorial boards of several academic journals, including 'Professional Geographer' and 'Antipode: Radical Journal Geography.' Ybarra's teaching includes courses that challenge students to analyze the disproportionate impacts of environmental harms on marginalized communities, utilizing methods from social movements and legal frameworks.

Research Interests

Courses

COMM 157: Environmental Justice

Requirements for University of California, San Diego

Doctorate Program
Requirements
GPA Requirement
Required:3
TOEFL
Total
Required:85
IELTS
Overall
Required:7
Duolingo
Overall Score
Required:120
Overall
Required:120
Prerequisites
Bachelor's degree in physical, biological, or earth sciences, mathematics, or engineering. Differential and integral calculus. One year of calculus-based physics with laboratory. One year of chemistry with laboratory.
Application Checklist
  • Statement of Purpose (max 2 pages)
  • Unofficial transcripts
  • Three letters of recommendation
  • Curriculum Vitae (CV)
  • Application fee ($135 domestic / $155 international)
Specialization Notes

Administered by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Curricular groups include Climate-Ocean-Atmosphere (COAP), Geosciences (GEO), and Ocean Biosciences (OBP).