Coming Soon: A New Environmental Studies Graduate Program
A new Master's program (M.S. and M.P.S.) in Environmental Studies has been proposed for the Fall of 2008. It has been approved by SUNY-ESF faculty governance and is currently under review by SUNY Central. A description of the proposed new program is available here.
Graduate Program in Environmental Science (GPES)
Director: David L. Johnson
The Graduate Program in Environmental Science (GPES) offers M.S., M.P.S., and Ph.D. degrees. GPES was created in the early 1970's as a unique response to the emerging institutional and analytical challenges of developing environmental problems. The program, which draws upon faculty from across the College, emphasizes a multidisciplinary social and natural science approach to environmental understanding and stewardship. It maintains a strong academic orientation, facilitating student and faculty engagement of fundamental environmental challenges such as federalism, participatory democracy, the uses and limits of scientific prediction, risk, and sustainability.
The mission of GPES is to provide interdisciplinary education, research, and public service to foster effective environmental stewardship and to prepare students to comprehensively address environmental concerns and problems. The program provides for the following:
- Multi/interdisciplinary approach: recognition of the necessity to approach environmental problems from multiple perspectives, disciplines and professions
- Holistic perspective: awareness of and deference to the interdependence of elements within broadly defined ecosystems, including physical, biological, social, cultural and economic systems
- Topical grounding: competency to understand and apply the principles of a particular subject of environmental inquiry in sufficient depth to interact with other disciplines and professional fields
- Realistic experience: through internships, focused projects and papers, theses and seminars which provide for direct interaction with the legal, economic, political, cultural, or social systems
GPES's internal structure incorporates a common core which provides a broad policy-oriented foundation for the focused areas of study. Students applying to GPES must select which area of study they intend to pursue.
Requirements
The academic requirements of the graduate program in environmental science are designed to provide graduates with a sound preparation to meet the rapidly evolving challenges of the field as leading scholars and professionals. Programmatic requirements constitute a framework which includes:
- a comprehensive core foundation emphasizing theory, issues, and methods
- extended knowledge within an area of study
- a synthesis experience
Entering students should be adequately prepared to engage graduate level work in the program. The following undergraduate courses are required pre- or co-requisites for all Master's level students: statistics, ecology, and microeconomics or environmental economics. Courses in political science are strongly recommended.
In addition, students should have an academic background and/or work experience related to the selected area of study. Wherever possible, deficiencies should be made up prior to matriculation.
Relationship to Syracuse University
SUNY-ESF and Syracuse University (SU) share a campus. ESF students have access to all SU libraries and other facilities and may take courses from SU at no additional cost. Similarly, SU students have access to ESF facilities and courses. Environmental Studies students benefit from the broad range of courses ESF offers as well as from the many offerings at SU in political science, communication and rhetorical studies, arts, geography, anthropology, philosophy, etc. Graduate students have the opportunity to pursue several concurrent degree programs with SU.
For more information:
- Graduate Areas of Study
- Master of Professional Studies (M.P.S.)
- Master of Science (M.S.)
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)