2017-2018 Academic Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]
Environmental Science and Policy, MS
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The Environmental Science and Policy (ES&P) Program at Clark University prepares students for exciting careers at the intersection of environment, development and society. ES&P continues a long tradition: the current program has evolved from one of the first environmental programs in the country to explore relationships between environmental science, technology, policy and society.
Environmental challenges are inherently complex and dynamic. ES&P teaches students to use knowledge and methods from both the natural and social sciences; to integrate quantitative, spatial, qualitative and narrative data; and to understand interconnections among environment, technology, society, and development. The ES&P student becomes equipped with skills and perspectives to work collaboratively 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 contexts.
Our students participate in research-practice collaborations that tackle pressing issues, from health risks associated with toxic chemicals, through climate change impacts and adaptation, natural resource governance, and capacity building for sustainable development. ES&P students are educated to recognize, characterize, frame and creatively address the challenging environmental problems of the 21st Century.
Visit the IDCE Web site at http://www.clarku.edu/programs/masters-environmental-science-and-policy to learn more details about the program.
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Overview
The Environmental Science and Policy (ES&P) Program at Clark University prepares students for exciting careers at the intersection of environment, development and society. ES&P continues a long tradition: the current program has evolved from one of the first environmental programs in the country to explore relationships between environmental science, technology, policy and society.
Environmental challenges are inherently complex and dynamic. ES&P teaches students to use knowledge and methods from both the natural and social sciences; to integrate quantitative, spatial, qualitative and narrative data; and to understand interconnections among environment, technology, society, and development. The ES&P student becomes equipped with skills and perspectives to work collaboratively 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 contexts.
Our students participate in research-practice collaborations that tackle pressing issues, from health risks associated with toxic chemicals, through climate change impacts and adaptation, natural resource governance, and capacity building for sustainable development. ES&P students are educated to recognize, characterize, frame and creatively address the challenging environmental problems of the 21st Century.
Visit the IDCE Web site at http://www.clarku.edu/programs/masters-environmental-science-and-policy to learn more details about the program.
Graduate Program
The Environmental Science and Policy (ES&P) Program at Clark University prepares students for exciting careers at the intersection of environment, development and society. ES&P continues a long tradition: the current program has evolved from one of the first environmental programs in the country to explore relationships between environmental science, technology, policy and society.
Environmental challenges are inherently complex and dynamic. ES&P teaches students to use knowledge and methods from both the natural and social sciences; to integrate quantitative, spatial, qualitative and narrative data; and to understand interconnections among environment, technology, society, and development. The ES&P student becomes equipped with skills and perspectives to work collaboratively 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 contexts.
Our students participate in research-practice collaborations that tackle pressing issues, from health risks associated with toxic chemicals, through climate change impacts and adaptation, natural resource governance, and capacity building for sustainable development. ES&P students are educated to recognize, characterize, frame and creatively address the challenging environmental problems of the 21st Century.
Visit the IDCE Web site at http://www.clarku.edu/programs/masters-environmental-science-and-policy to learn more details about the program.
Graduate Requirements
The ES&P MS degree requires completion of 12 courses: 4 core courses (including the Final Project course) plus 8 electives. The core provides ES&P graduate students with a firm foundation in science and policy knowledge and skills, plus research/practice experience. The elective courses allow students flexibility to take courses across disciplines, gaining specific knowledge and skills that prepare them for professional and/or academic careers. As a small, vibrant interdisciplinary research university, we strongly encourage our students to take advantage of the exciting diversity of courses offered within our home Department of International Development, Community, and Environment (IDCE), and in other departments, particularly Geography, Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Economics and Management.
ES&P Course of Study
Completing the ES&P Master’s degree requires completing 12 course units which includes one and a half credits devoted to completing the final M.S. project. The 12 course units include 5.5 required core courses and 6.5 elective courses. The core courses provide ES&P graduate students with a common academic foundation. The elective courses allow students flexibility to take courses that will best help them meet their professional and academic objectives and gain specific skills. Required skills are taught throughout the curriculum and are incorporated into every course.
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 (5.5)
The ES&P required courses include four core courses plus 1.5 required unit devoted to facilitating the completion of the final M.S. project. The core courses provide ES&P graduate students wwith a common academic foundation. The required courses are normally taught by the core ES&P faculty.
- Decision Making Foundation Course: IDCE 363 - Decision Methods for Environmental Management and Policy - This course provides a survey of methods that are currently used to ais environmental decision makers. Different approaches to decision-making are explored and assessed.
- Science-Policy Foundation Course 1: IDCE 382 - U.S. Environmental Pollution Policy This course examines the pollution policy in the United States from three broad perspectives: protection of drinking water, air, and food from toxic pollutants.
- Science-Policy Foundation Course 2: IDCE 30205 - Climate Change, Energy and Development This course explores the global, regional, and local challenges associated with climate change, energy, and development from multiple perspectives and disciplines.
- Science Foundation Course: IDCE 30287 - Fundamentals of Environmental Science This course covers key sceintific and technical topics with relevance to environmental science and engineering. Quantitiative problem solving skills are emphasized.
- Capstone Courses: IDCE 30213 - Master’s Final Research Paper *; IDCE 30209 - Research Project Development for Environmental Science and Policy - All ES&P Master’s students are required to take 0.5-credit course IDCE 30209. All (except those choosing the portfolio option*) are also required to register for two additional 0.5-credit courses to facilitate completion of their final Master’s project. The first of these (also IDCE 30209) is taken in the Fall of the final year and is designed to facilitate development of the research paper. The emaining 0.5-credit course (IDCE 30213) is taken with the student’s Master’s project faculty mentor. The grade designation for this credit will not be given until the student has completed and submitted their final Master’s project.
*Some students may choose to produce a professional Portfolio and replace the final two parts of the Master’s project requirement with an additional elective course (for a total of 7.5 elective courses).
ES&P Elective Courses (a sampling, 6.5 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 ES&P 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 Biology, Geography and Management.
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.
Program Faculty
Edward Carr, Ph.D.
Timothy Downs, D.Env.
Elisabeth Gilmore, Ph.D.
Samuel Ratick, Ph.D.
Adjunct Faculty
Charles Agosta, Ph.D.
John Baker, Ph.D.
Parminder Bhachu, Ph.D.
Patrick Derr, Ph.D.
J. Ronald Eastman, Ph.D.
Jody Emel, Ph.D.
Susan Foster, Ph.D.
Jacqueline Geoghegan, Ph.D.
Frederick Greenaway, Ph.D.
Amy Ickowitz, Ph.D.
Todd Livdahl, Ph.D.
Deborah Martin, Ph.D.
James T. Murphy, Ph.D.
Yelena Ogneva-Himmelberger, Ph.D.
Richard Peet, Ph.D.
Robert Gilmore Pontius Jr, Ph.D.
Paul W. Posner, Ph.D.
Dianne Rocheleau, Ph.D.
John Rogan, Ph.D.
Florencia Sangermano, Ph.D.
Marianne Sarkis, Ph.D.
Srinivasan Sitaraman, Ph.D.
Valerie Sperling, Ph.D.
Kristen Williams, Ph.D.
Research Faculty
Cynthia Enloe, Ph.D.
Richard Ford, Ph.D.
Robert Goble, Ph.D.
Dale Hattis, Ph.D.
Barbara Thomas-Slayter, Ph.D.
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.
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