Graduate
M.S. in Environmental Science & Policy
The Master’s in Environmental Science & Policy (ESP) is designed to for students with interests in connections between society and the environment, environmental science, environmental management and sustainability, and/or environmental applications of geographic information systems. Our ESP program prepares students with the foundational knowledge to understand, evaluate, and deconstruct the pressing environmental and social challenges that humanity faces, as well as provides opportunities to develop the practical skills needed to map, analyze, model, and solve them. Our program prepares students for both future doctoral studies and immediate employment in the workforce.
Our program offers both thesis and professional tracks. The thesis track allows students to propose, develop, execute, and publish a research project under the supervision of a professor. The professional track offers opportunities to further hone practical skills through personalized internships, projects, or exams. The thesis track is ideal for students interested in future doctoral studies or research more generally, while the professional track is geared toward students seeking careers with government, industry, private corporations, education, and NGOs.
Students in the ESP program take core courses in environmental science, policy and management, and quantitative methods and select a customized set of electives in their areas of interest. Students typically develop plans of study that focus on areas such as: wetlands and water resources; climate and meteorology; coasts and hazards; remote sensing and environmental change; GIS applications; wildlife and forest ecology; policy and sustainability; natural resources management; caves and karst; and environmental justice.