Environmental Science
Master of Science
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Are you ready to solve today’s environmental and resource-use challenges? In the Masters in Environmental Science program, you gain valuable skills and carry out research to further understand soil, water and the environment. You also join a community of distinguished scientists, knowledgeable staff and like-minded, motivated students. Learn to address the diverse environmental challenges at the intersection of biology, chemistry, physics and social sciences to improve the quality of all life. In this interdisciplinary program, you will focus on fundamental science aspects and social facets of Environmental Science.
These graduate-level courses were developed with today’s distance learner and career professional in mind. Through this program, you will build a solid foundation in environmental science as necessary to tackle environmental issues, regulations and compliance in interdisciplinary teams. Environmental core courses deal with the local, regional and global aspects of environmental science and their interrelatedness, intending to provide you with sought-after soft skills.
You will have access to an outstanding academic advising staff who can draw upon several decades of work in diverse environments. You will also have the guidance and support of a faculty member for either your final thesis or report.
There are undergraduate prerequisites in basic math, chemistry, biology and physics courses. Students who lack some prerequisites may be admitted with the missing courses listed as deficiencies. These deficient courses must be completed early in the program. Some of these may be waived by taking a for-credit course at a higher level with prior approval of the Graduate Program Director. Any deficiencies can be taken online.
*Residents of some U.S. Territories may not be eligible. Please see our Eligibility & State Authorization page for more information.
This program consists of 30 units of graduate-level courses. Courses consist of four main components: career skills, core courses, electives and either a final thesis or report.
Career skill courses explore skills sought after in most of today's work environments. Core courses provide in-depth knowledge of environmental physics, chemistry and environmental microbiology. Elective courses allow students to specialize in a particular area of environmental science, or in a complementary field.
Develop the writing skills necessary to effectively write technical reports, theses and dissertations, and journal articles. You will conduct a literature review on a subject of your choice, with the goal of effectively grouping review materials into a properly formatted paper worthy of submission for publication in a peer-reviewed academic journal.
Get a grasp on how solar energy, atmosphere, oceans, terrestrial environment, and biosphere interact with each other at global and regional scales. Evaluate the dynamic nature of Earth's systems, their evolution over geological times as well as projected future changes to the climate and ozone layer. Conceptual understanding of mechanisms, data sets and modeling techniques, using elementary math and physics principles are emphasized for a comprehensive understanding of our environment’s physical aspects.
Study the interface between human activities and microbiology, from the diversity of microorganisms to microbial interactions with pollutants and the fate of microbial pathogens in the environment. Learn about microbiological techniques and microbial environments, detection of bacteria and their activities in the environment, microbial biogeochemistry, bioremediation, and water quality.
This course introduces the principal chemical constituents and processes occurring in soils and sediments so you can better evaluate and address environmental issues. You will learn the conceptual framework for understanding chemical reactions in heterogeneous natural systems as well as applying chemical thermodynamics and kinetics to unravel the biogeochemistry of earth.
Learn the fundamentals of coding, data analysis and data visualization using the R language. In this course, you will use code examples to understand the statistical as well as the scientific viewpoint, exploring real-world data and deriving meaningful interpretations.
Practice oral and poster presentations in front of an audience (and camera). Practice chairing a session and develop a relevant resume/CV appropriate for a professional career.
Outcomes
Skills
Earning your Master of Science in Environmental Science will build core skills, including:
- Oral communication
- Written communication
- Statistical analysis
- Data analysis
- Interdisciplinary team experience
- Critical thinking
- Training of data
- Environmental data analysis
- Environmental issue prevention
- Environmental issues
- Observational skills
- Practical sense of action
- Assessing environmental action
Potential Career Paths
Graduates of the Master of Science in Environmental Science program will be prepared to pursue careers in the following fields:
