New Master’s Degree in Environmental Sciences and Management

By MORGAN MORRIS AND CHARLOTTE MIRANDA

The Natural Resources Management and Environmental Sciences (NRES) Department is excited to offer a new master’s degree program in environment sciences and management in fall 2019. The overall goal of the program is to provide advanced education in the field of environmental science and management while allowing enough flexibility for a student to focus on a desired career path. This includes preparing students interested in pursuing a doctorate degree or those looking for a career in environmental consulting, state and federal resource agencies, nonprofit environmental nongovernmental agencies, environmental science or sustainability.

Open to any undergraduate major, this 45-unit degree is expected to take one to two years to complete. Depending on career goals, graduates can choose between a professional project or traditional thesis. To be considered for admission, graduate students must maintain a minimum GPA of 3.0 during the last 90 quarter units of their undergraduate degree program and complete the GRE and specific course work. The degree curriculum is centered on developing research skills, practicing environmental science, and learning environmental management strategies.

The program offers five areas of emphasis, including forest science, hydrology, soil science, environmental policy and sustainability. The forest science emphasis focuses on forest ecology, diseases, protection and measurement. Students who focus on hydrology will research groundwater resources, watershed management, or surface hydrology. The soil science emphasis allows students to pursue soil morphology, ecology, fertility, physics and chemistry. Environmental policy looks at governance, regulations and policies on environmental issues at all levels of government. The sustainability emphasis focuses on advocating sustainable agriculture, land and urban principles.

For more information, visit https://nres.calpoly.edu/ms-environmental-sciences-and-management.

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For more stories, read the rest of our Spring 2019 Newsletter