Environmental Science

students taking water samples

Accelerated B.A./Master’s Degree Program in Environmental Science and Policy

The Environmental Science majors have the option of applying for an accelerated M.A. degree in Environmental Science and Policy. This joint B.A./M.A. degree option is also available to other majors at Clark. However, in order to qualify for admission to the accelerated ES&P M.A. program students who are not majoring in ES have to take additional courses (see detailed entry requirements below). Click here for more details about the tuition free fifth year at Clark.

Minimum Entry Requirements

For non-science majors and non-ES majors:

  • One introductory ES&P course : e.g. EN 101 or EN 120
  • One semester of statistics: e.g. Geog 110 or Biol 106
  • One introductory science course from the following list: Biol 101; Biol 102; Biol 103; Biol 216; Chem 101; Chem 102; Phys 110; Phys 102
  • Two elective science courses, chosen from the list of Science Electives for the undergraduate ES&P track or from the list of Natural Science electives for the undergraduate GES major.

For science majors other than ES :

  • Two social science courses from the list of Social Science electives for the undergraduate ES&P track.

Non-ES majors who are interested in applying to the accelerated B.A./M.A. program are strongly advised to contact the Coordinator of the ES&P Accelerated Program during their sophomore year in order to plan their curriculum.

The accelerated BA/Master’s student enters the fifth year with up to two graduate course units that transfer from the undergraduate degree into the MA program. These two can comprise either 300-level (graduate) courses and/or 200-level (advanced undergraduate) courses that also have 300-level number. These must be taken in the senior year. Both acceptance into the graduate program and the granting of full tuition remission for the fifth year are subject to the approval of the ES&P Graduate Admissions Committee and the Dean of Graduate Studies. In the accelerated BA/Master’s, while the fifth year is tuition-free, students can extend their MA studies into subsequent semesters at their own cost.

Students must apply for the accelerated B.A./M.A program by April of their junior year to receive full tuition remission. The admission decision is made in the senior year on presentation of an acceptable program of undergraduate study. A cumulative average of 3.25 or better must be maintained throughout the entire undergraduate program of study, including the senior year.

ES&P Master’s Degree Course of Study

Completing the ES&P Master’s degree requires completing 12 course units, which includes one credit devoted to completing a final M.A. project. The 12 course units include five required core courses, two skills courses, and five elective courses. Students enrolled in the accelerated B.A./M.A. program have taken 2 of the 12 course units as undergraduates, and therefore need to take only 10 additional courses to earn the Master’s degree. The five elective courses allow students flexibility to take courses that will best help them meet their objectives and strengthen areas that they would like to focus on in their future careers. We encourage students to take advantage of the diversity of courses offered throughout Clark University, and consider enrolling in courses offered in the other programs in the Department of International Development, Community, and Environment (IDCE), and in other departments (particularly geography, economics, and biology) as approved by the student’s faculty advisor.

Signatures

The ES&P graduate program is designed to foster a deep understanding of the complexity of environmental issues, and to expand on your ability to respond to those issues. ES&P has three signature topic areas:

1. Environment and Human Health – understanding and responding to local and global environmental health challenges.

2. Climate, Energy and Sustainability – understanding and responding to climate change at the local and global scale, energy and sustainable development challenges.

3. Environmental Management and Policy – understanding the role of science and technology in environmental policy making.

ES&P Required Courses(5 are required)

The ES&P required courses include four core courses plus one required unit devoted to facilitating the completion of the final M.A. project. The core courses provide ES&P graduate students with a common academic foundation. The required courses are taught by the core ES&P faculty. Click here for more information about the Master’s degree program of study, and about the options for the Final Master’s Project.

IDCE 363 Decision Methods for Environmental Management and Policy
IDCE 382 Management of Environmental Pollutants
IDCE 30205 Climate Change, Energy, and Development
IDCE 30287 Fundamentals of Environmental Science
IDCE 30213 Final Master’s Project

ES&P Skills Courses(2 are required)

Note: This list is a sampling of skills courses, but students may request approval from their faculty advisor for other courses to be considered “skills” courses.

IDCE 332 Sustainable Development Assessment and Planning
IDCE 305 Qualitative Research Methods: Skills and Application
IDCE 310 Introduction to GIS
IDCE 324 Computer and Quantitative Methods in Risk Analysis
IDCE 332 Sustainable Development Assessment and Planning
IDCE 334 Planning and Zoning for Community Development
IDCE 349 Advanced Topics in Spatial Analysis
IDCE 357 Dynamic Environmental Modeling
IDCE 366 Principles of Negotiation and Mediation
IDCE 367 Quantitative Modeling
IDCE 371 Digital Image Processing
IDCE 388 GIS and Local Planning
IDCE 396 Advanced Topics in GIS
IDCE 30209 Thesis Research Development for ES&P (half-course)
IDCE 30218 Decision Making and Negotiation in Community Development
IDCE 30220 Advanced Remote Sensing
IDCE 30225 Grant Writing for Community Development

ES&P Elective Courses (5 courses are required)

Elective courses provide students the flexibility of designing much of their coursework to suit their own needs and to provide depth in a chosen area of focus. Students may take courses offered by the other three graduate programs in IDCE (International Development and Social Change, Community Development and Planning and Geographic Information Sciences for Development and Environment) or in other departments, as approved by their ES&P faculty advisor.

Possible ES&P elective courses include:

EN 341 Environmental Toxicology
IDCE 355 Global Health: Epidemiological Persepective
IDCE 380 Urban Ecology
CHEM 142 Environmental Chemistry
ECON 157 The Economics of Natural Resources and the Environment
IDCE 30240 Community Planning Studio
IDCE 30245 Natural Resource Management
IDCE 30252 Green Business Management
IDCE 30264 Environmental and Social Epidemiology
IDCE 30269 Raced Nature, Gendered Developments: The Political Economy of Environmental Conservation
IDCE 30270 Environment, Poverty and Health
IDCE 30276 Environmental Law
IDCE 30277 Sustainable Production and Consumption
IDCE 30287 International Environmental Policy
IDCE 30288 Applied Aquatic Ecology

Contact

For information on specific course requirements and the ES&P Accelerated B.A./Master’s Degree Program, contact the Coordinator of the ES&P Accelerated Program: Professor Sam Ratick in the Environmental Science and Policy Program.