2010-2011 Academic Catalog

Nov 21, 2024

2010-2011 Academic Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Environmental Science and Policy, MA

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Overview

Graduate Program

The Environmental Science and Policy (ES&P) program at Clark University prepares students for evolving and critical careers at the intersection of environmental science and policy. ES&P continues a long tradition of innovation and creative contributions to environmental challenges – the current program has evolved from one of the first environmental programs in the country to explore relationships between environmental science, technology, and society.

Environmental challenges are complex. ES&P teaches students to use knowledge and methods from both the natural and social sciences, to integrate quantitative and qualitative analytical tools, and to understand the connections among environment, technology, society, and development.

With this program’s course of study, the ES&P student is equipped with skills and perspectives to work with a wide array of stakeholders – communities, industries, governmental agencies, NGOs, researchers, and donors – in ways that are sensitive to cultural, institutional, socio-political, and economic needs.

ES&P students have opportunities to participate in high quality, meaningful research collaborations. They have access to faculty that have experience working with an ethnically and socially diverse student population. ES&P graduates are able to recognize, frame, characterize, and creatively address the many environmental problems facing the world today.

Visit the IDCE Web site at www.clarku.edu/departments/idce/academicsGradESP.cfm to learn more details about the program.

Courses

Local Partnerships: Putting Theory into Action

The collaborative research projects of IDCE graduate students and faculty reflect their interdisciplinary approach to issues of environment and development. Many projects build upon partnerships between IDCE and community or governmental organizations around the United States and the globe, including in Ethiopia, Kenya, Mali, Somalia, Ghana, India and Senegal.

Locally, environmental and community groups often invite IDCE to undertake key community building projects, as well as data gathering and analysis. This allows IDCE faculty and students to put theory into practice right in the neighborhood. By helping to facilitate participatory sessions and building collaborations, students see Worcester neighbors taking action, setting priorities, and maximizing into their human capital and governmental resources. Students hone their analytical skills through GIS mapping of land parcels for development or preservation and through monitoring water quality.

For more information about current Research Activities going on at IDCE, visit www.clarku.edu/departments/idce/researchActivities.cfm.

Graduate Requirements

ES&P Course of Study

Completing the ES&P Master’s degree requires completing 12 course units which includes one credit devoted to completing the final M.A. project. The 12 course units include five required core courses, two skills courses, and five elective courses. The core courses provide ES&P graduate students with a common academic foundation. Each of the four core ES&P faculty members teach a core course that all ES&P graduate students must take. The five elective courses allow students flexibility to take courses that will best help them meet their professional and academic objectives. 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, and in other departments (particularly geography, economics and biology) as approved by the student’s faculty advisor.

Required Core Courses (5)

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.

1.

IDCE 363 - Decision Methods for Environmental Management and Policy – a survey of methods that are currently used to aid environmental decision makers

2.

IDCE 382 - Management of Environmental Pollutants – Studies approaches to regulating hazardous chemicals in air, water, and food.

3.

IDCE 30205 - Climate Change, Energy and Development –explores the challenges associated with climate change, energy and development from multiple perspectives, disciplines and scales.

4.

IDCE 30287 - Fundamentals of Environmental Science – Covers the key scientific and technical topics and emphasizes quantitative skills of problem-solving.

5.

IDCE 30213 - Master’s Final Research Paper - All ES&P Master’s students are required to register for one full unit of this course to facilitate completion of their final M.A. project. This course is taken with the student’s M.A. final project faculty mentor. Students have the option of registering for 0.5 credits for two semesters or 1.0 credit in one semester. This course is pass/fail, the grade designation for this credit will not be given until the student has completed and submitted their final M.A. project.

ES&P Skills Courses (a sampling, 2 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.

ES&P Elective Courses (a sampling, 5 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/or Geographic Information Science for Development and Environment) or in other departments, as approved by their Environmental Science & Policy faculty advisor.

Please view Clark’s official Academic Catalog (www.clarku.edu/academiccatalog) for a complete listing of course offerings. Remember that each IDCE program offers flexibility so students can take classes across programs and within other departments at Clark University, including the Graduate School of Geography and the Graduate School of Management.