Graduate Programs
M.S., M.P.S. & Ph.D.

The Department of Environmental Studies at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF) offers a variety of graduate degrees and certificates in environmental studies, science and policy. Study programs integrate and balance the social sciences, humanities, and natural sciences in creative, interdisciplinary contexts. The Department offers Master's degrees in Environmental Studies; and graduate certificates in Environmental Decision Making, and on Advanced Study in Conflict Resolution. In addition, departmental faculty members participate in the interdepartmental Graduate Program in Environmental Science, offering M.S., M.P.S. and Ph.D. degrees; and the Environmental and Natural Resources Policy Ph.D. program. Please see our graduate students web page for a listing of current graduate students; and our recent graduates web page for a listing of recent graduate student alumni, including theses topics. The Department's new ES-grad blog lists information relevant to affiliated graduate students.

Master's Programs (M.S. and M.P.S.)

• Environmental Studies
  ESF's new Environmental Studies graduate program is dedicated to preparing students to actively support communities working to achieve sustainability from local to global levels. The program integrates social, cultural, and environmental knowledge and skills to address the challenges of the 21st century. Students in this program want to make a difference. Our program offers students a focused, yet flexible, interdisciplinary understanding of environmental issues, the problems that underlie them, and the paths that lead to more sustainable communities. Students examine the fundamental cultural, social, political, technical, and economic forces that drive environmental degradation as well as emerging approaches that can foster sustainability.

• Environmental Science
  Faculty in the Department of Environmental Studies also participate in ESF's interdepartmental Graduate Program in Environmental Science (GPES), currently offering flexible M.S. and M.P.S. degrees in the following areas: environmental communication and participatory processes; environmental and community land planning; environmental systems and risk management; environmental policy and democratic processes; and water and wetland resource studies.

Ph.D. Programs

• Environmental Science
  ESF's college-wide Graduate Program in Environmental Science (GPES) offers Ph.D. coursework and degrees in the areas of environmental communication and participatory processes; environmental and community land planning; environmental systems and risk management; and water and wetland resource studies.

• Environmental and Natural Resources Policy
  Students in ESF's Environmental and Natural Resources Policy (ENRP) Ph.D. program conduct professional and scientific studies regarding how society makes and implements decisions regarding environmental and natural resources. Faculty members conduct studies on sustainability, ecological economics and global policy implications, environmental justice, watershed and wetland management policy, and evaluation/ revision of environmental policies affecting governments, non-governmental organizations, and partnerships -- at international, national, state, and local levels of application.

Graduate Certificate Programs

• Environmental Decision Making
  The Certificate of Graduate Study in Environmental Decision Making is designed for graduate students at Syracuse University enrolled in law, management, public administration, or information studies programs. The focus of certificate study is on environmental decision making, which can be defined as the process by which stakeholders in environmental outcomes engage in communications to seek solutions to environmental problems. Familiarly, decision making can refer to environmental policy making by governmental institutions, but a meaningful understanding of the topic in today's world will also include processes such as information acquisition and dissemination and such notions as negotiation, mediation, information policy and public participation as part of the decision making lexicon.

• Advanced Study in Conflict Resolution
  As the world becomes increasingly dynamic, the ability to build relationships, negotiate solutions collaboratively, and use multiple approaches for conflict resolution is essential. This 12-credit certificate program allows students to engage in in-depth study of conflict theory, concepts, and skills. To earn the Certificate, students complete a required 3-credit course in Fundamentals of Conflict Studies and 9 additional credits of coursework selected with a faculty advisor. Students may concentrate their classes in a specific area of interest or complete a more general program of study. Students already in a graduate program earn the Certificate as part of the master's or doctoral degree, and the Certificate is awarded concurrently with the degree. Offered jointly with Syracuse University's Program on the Analysis and Resolution of Conflicts (PARC).

Concurrent Degrees at Syracuse University

• Graduate students at ESF currently have the opportunity to pursue a concurrent Master's degree at Syracuse University (SU), including at SU's School of Education, the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Commnications, the Maxwell School of Citzenship and Public Affairs, and the Whitman School of Management. To be eligible for admission to such programs, students must complete at least one full-time semester of graduate-level coursework or the equivalent at ESF, and earn a 3.500 grade point average or better. ESF students interested in concurrent degree programs at SU must apply through ESF's Office of Instruction and Graduate Studies within their first year of study. More information HERE.

Funding Opportunities

Currently, about half of the graduate students affiliated with the Department of Environmental Studies receive some form of financial assistance. The Department is proud to regularly have among its graduate students international fellows supported by the Fulbright Program and Ford Foundation. Departmentally affiliated graduate students have been successful in receiving a variety of other external awards and fellowships, as well. Primary institutional support for affiliated graduate students has been in the form of Graduate Assistantships, most awarded as Teaching Assistants, some as Research Assistants, others as Writing Tutors -- in Environmental Studies and other programs at ESF. Faculty members offer Research Assistantships in conjunction with active research grants. And many graduate students take advantage of summer internship opportunities. More information HERE.

International Education and Research Opportunities

Graduate programs in the Department of Environmental Studies and SUNY-ESF have a strongly international flavor. Approximately 40 percent of graduate students affiliated with the Department of Environmental Studies are from countries around the world. Across the college, about 30 percent of graduate students are from overseas. In addition to a highly international student body, graduate students at ESF are welcome and encouraged to develop international research and internship projects. Many ESF faculty, including in the Department of Environmental Studies are engaged in ongoing international research and teaching projects.

Relationship to Syracuse University

Co-located for almost a century, ESF and Syracuse University share a campus, library and recreational facilities, and much more. With approval of their advisor, students may take Syracuse University courses at ESF tuition rates (additional course-specific fees may apply). Similarly, SU students have access to ESF facilities and courses.

Graduate Student Participation

Graduate students at ESF are represented by the Graduate Students Association, with additional representation by department/ program, and for international students. Graduate students employed by ESF are represented in collective bargaining by the Graduate Student Employees Union (GSEU). At the departmental level, two graduate students sit on the Department of Environmental Studies' Graduate Studies Committee; student representatives also are welcome to attend regular departmental meetings. Many additional opportunities exist for graduate student participation in campus clubs and organizations at both ESF and Syracuse University.

All told, ESF is one of the best places in the world for graduate and undergraduate Environmental Studies. Come join us!