Climate and Society, MS

Climate and Society Overview

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The Master of Science in Climate and Society is an interdisciplinary degree offered by the School of Climate, Environment, and Society. The Climate & Society Master’s degree will train students to intervene effectively in arguably the most pressing global imperative of our time, the challenges we are facing due to climate change. 

Students in the degree program will gain foundational knowledge in the science of climate change and its social and economic dimensions.  They will also acquire conceptual frameworks and tools to become effective practitioners in the fields of climate change mitigation, climate change adaptation, and climate change advocacy and activism.  In line with the mission of the School for Climate, Environment and Society, the MS program emphasizes the need for equitable and just solutions to the challenges posed by climate change, as well as training students to collaborate with frontline communities to implement climate solutions from the local to global scales.

Climate and Society Program Requirements

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The MS in Climate and Society has two tracks: a 10-credit track to be completed in three semesters and a 12 credit practice track requiring 4 semesters, which prepares students to engage in communities of practice of their choice: domestically or internationally.

The 10-credit track requires 4 Foundation Courses, 3 Practice, Skills, or Methods Courses, 2 Subject Matter Electives, and 1 Experiential Learning credit. The 12-credit track requires 4 Foundation Courses, 3 Practice, Skills, or Methods Courses, 3 Subject Matter Electives, and 2 Experiential Learning credits.

Course Requirements

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Foundational Courses

GEOG 363 - The Climate System and Global Environmental Change  

AND

CES 302 - Social and Economic Dimensions of Climate Change  

Then choose 2 from the following

CES 303 - Climate Change Mitigation Planning and Implementation  

SSJ 367 - Climate Change Adaptation Planning and Implementation  

CES 305 - Climate Justice in Action, Advocacy, and Activism  

Practice, Skills, or Methods Courses (Choose any three)

Data Analysis

GEOG 310 - Qualitative Research Methods, Skills and Applications  

GEOG 311 - Introduction to Quantitative Methods  

GEOG 347 - Intermediate Quantitative Methods in Geography  

SSJ 319 - Quantitative Methods and Statistics For Evaluators  

CES 356 - Modeling Ecological Economic Systems   

Project Management and Monitoring and Evaluation

SSJ 361 - Project Management for Social Change  

SSJ 30281 - Community Needs and Resource Analysis  

SSJ 30229 - Program Monitoring and Evaluation Fundamentals  

SSJ 30203 - Program Evaluation for Youth and Community Development Initiatives  

Spatial Analysis

SSJ 388 - Advanced Vector GIS  

SSJ 310 - Intro to Geographic Information Science  

SSJ 30306 - GIS for International Development  (.5 unit)

SSJ 30393 - Social Applications of GIS  (.5 unit)

GEOG 319 - Spatial Database Development in Practice  

GEOG 371 - Computer Programming for GIS    (.5 unit)

GEOG 307 - Web Mapping and Open Source GIS   

GEOG 303 - Python Programming    (.5 unit)

GEOG 313 - Advanced Geospatial Analytics with Python  

GEOG 315 - Applying Deep Learning to Earth Observation  

GEOG 322 - Applications of Radar Remote Sensing  

GEOG 346 - Geospatial Analysis with R  

GEOG 360 - GIS & Land Change Models  

GEOG 382 - Advanced Remote Sensing  

GEOG 379 - GIS & Map Comparison  

GEOG 383 - Introduction to Remote Sensing  

GEOG 387 - New Methods in Earth Observation  

GEOG 397 - Advanced Raster GIS  

Organizational Change and Leadership

SSJ 335 - Strategies for Community Organizing  (.5 unit)

SSJ 345 - CDP Practice: Reflection and Deliberate Practice  (.5 unit)

SSJ 341 - Nongovernment Organizations: Catalysts for Development  

SSJ 31118 - Non Profit Resource Development  

Econometrics

CES 365 - Introduction to Econometrics  

CES 3XX/ECON 232

Subject Matter Electives (Choose any 2)

SSJ 328 - Food Security and Climate Change  

SSJ 365 - Cities, Regions, Climate Change & Health  

SSJ 30205 - Climate Change, Energy and Development   

SSJ 30118 - Science Meets Policy in the Real World  

SSJ 332 - Sustainable Development Assessment and Planning  

SSJ 31218 - Environmental Governance and Justice  

SSJ 30191 - Climate Narratives  

GEOG 302 - Climate Dynamics Seminar  

GEOG 320 - Capitalist Natures  

GEOG 327 - The Politics of Sensing  

GEOG 328 - Hydroclimatology  

GEOG 343 - Foundations and Frontiers in Land System Science  

GEOG 345 - Problems & Practices in Environmental Stewardship  

GEOG 350 - Global Political Ecology  

GEOG 355 - Critical Geopolitics and Climate Change  

GEOG 359 - Global Change, Food and Farming Systems  

GEOG 378 - Emerging Issues in Climate Change Science  

GEOG 377 - Africa’s Development in Global Context  

GEOG 375 - Technology and Sustainability: Perspectives from the Global South  

GEOG 380 - Urban Ecology: Cities as Ecosystems  

PHYS 343 - Technology of Renewable Energy  

CES 3XX/ECON 253 Natural Resource Economics

CES 3XX/ECON 254 Environmental Economics

Experiential Learning

CES 398 - Internship  

GEOG 345 - Problems & Practices in Environmental Stewardship  

SSJ 306 - Environmental Knowledge, Governance and Justice Studio  

 

 

Climate and Society Faculty

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Economics:

Moshi Alam, Ph.D.

Dana Bauer, Ph.D.

Magda Tsavena, Ph.D.

Junfu Zhang, Ph.D.

 

Geography

Hamed Alemohammad, Ph.D.

Rinku Roy Chowdhury, Ph.D.

Lyndon Estes, Ph.D.

Abby Frazier, Ph.D.

Karen Frey, Ph.D.

James McCarthy, Ph.D.

Jim Murphy, Ph.D.

Gustavo Olveira, Ph.D.

Gil Pontius, Ph.D.

Max Ritts, Ph.D.

John Rogan, Ph.D.

Chris Williams, Ph.D.

 

Sustainability and Social Justice

Ramón Borges-Méndez, Ph.D.

Cindy Caron, Ph.D.

Tim Downs, D.Env

Ellen Foley, Ph.D.

Eman Lasheen, Ph.D.

Yelena Ogneva-Himmelberger, Ph.D.

Laurie Ross, Ph.D

Morgan Ruelle, Ph.D.