Keunhyun Park
Email: keun.park@ubc.ca
Phone: 604-827-0191
Forest Sciences Centre 4615
2424 Main Mall
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4
Canada
Opportunities
Sep 2026 update: We are recruiting a new MSc student to start in May 2027. See the posting here (priority deadline: Sep. 18, 2026)
- We are recruiting one MSc in Forestry student for an expected May 2027 start. The student will join FATE (From Access to Experience: Exploring Embodied Accessibility of Urban Greenspaces in Later Life), an SSHRC-funded project examining how older adults access, use, and experience urban nature in Metro Vancouver. The project is community-engaged and interdisciplinary, with UBC and SFU collaborators in forestry, planning, gerontology, and health.
- Who We’re Looking For
- Genuine interest in aging, urban nature, equity, and/or community-engaged research
- Evidence of initiative and independence through research, coursework, professional practice, or community-based work
- Strong organizational and communication skills, including comfort with participant-facing work
- Interest in developing your own research questions and scholarly identity
- Experience with qualitative methods, community-engaged research, and/or spatial analysis is an asset but not required.
- How to Apply
- Please email Dr. Keun Park (keun.park@ubc.ca) by September 18, 2026, for priority consideration. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled. Please include:
- 1) A one-page statement describing your research interests, relevant experience, and motivation for applying
- 2) CV/resume
- 3) One piece of research or academic writing you are proud of
At the University of British Columbia, I am seeking enthusiastic, disciplined, and collegial graduate students in Ph.D. in Forestry or Master of Science in Forestry programs. We offer a full funding package, which includes stipends, a personal computer, travel support for conference presentations, and physical lab space. The funding covers 4 years for Ph.D. students and 2 years for Master’s students.
If interested, please email me at keun.park@ubc.ca with the following (general inquiries are also welcome):
- 1-page statement of research interests and motivation
- CV/Resume
- Unofficial transcripts
- Writing samples that you are most proud of (e.g., publication, thesis, report)
- Contact information for 2-3 references
- Your favourite city and why, in no more than three sentences
My mentoring philosophy is to ensure that all students, regardless of background, have multiple opportunities to contribute to advancing science in urban forestry and related fields while remaining engaged with real-world issues. I strive to foster a welcoming learning environment that promotes a growth mindset, respect for diversity, analytical thinking, and peer-to-peer training.
I recognize that, historically, urban forestry has lacked racial, ethnic, and gender diversity relative to other disciplines (Bardekjian et al., 2019; Kuhns et al., 2002, 2004; Urban Forestry, 2020). One of my core training goals is to involve students from diverse backgrounds, as I believe diversity fosters more ideas. To promote an equitable, diverse, and inclusive learning environment, I recruit and mentor underrepresented students, accommodate flexible time management needs (e.g., family care), enhance cross-cultural collaborations beyond my research group (e.g., Urban Forest Research Hub, ReROW cluster), and pursue research that benefits underrepresented communities (e.g., environmental justice, green equity, systemic bias in demographics).
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