Change the world with the Master of Environmental Studies program
The Master of Environmental Studies (MES) program at the University of Pennsylvania helps you translate your passion for the environment into a fulfilling career. The program offers you a rigorous academic grounding in environmental science and exceptional opportunities to conduct research in the field. In addition, you gain the professional networks and individualized professional development you need to excel in your work, whether as a researcher, policy advocate, teacher or business executive.
The Master of Environmental Studies program provides an innovative, interdisciplinary approach to the study of the environment. Built with flexibility in mind, you can choose from a variety of concentrations or create your own path to suit your interests, experience and goals, all with the guidance of our world-class faculty and built upon the foundation of Ivy League science courses. You will gain the breadth of knowledge necessary to address complex issues in the environment, while also developing the depth of expertise required to become a successful environmental professional.
Where theory meets practice
Our students don’t wait until they leave the program to start making a difference. The heart of the Master of Environmental Studies program is the passion of our students and faculty to create change in the world, from helping to conserve endangered species to implementing energy-efficient policies at the local and national levels. Many of our distinguished professors also influence professional practice outside the University, bringing their experience and broad networks from the worlds of policy, business and consulting into the classroom.
From the beginning of the program, your education occurs both in the classroom and in the field. Our faculty and staff work one-on-one with you to connect you with relevant, engaging internships and fieldwork opportunities that give you hands-on experience in the field of your choice.
Designed for practicing and aspiring environmental professionals
The Master of Environmental Studies program is designed to encourage your ongoing professional contributions and career development while you earn your degree. Many of our students find meaningful ways to blend their academic and current professional experiences throughout the program, by partnering with faculty to design projects and research experiences that tackle real-world challenges from their workplace.
We provide you with a rigorous, elite educational experience that you can access part time and in the evenings while you continue to work. Full-time students can earn the 12-course degree in two years, while part-time students finish in between two and four years, depending on their course load each semester.
Connect with us today
The Penn Master of Environmental Studies program is built upon the strong personal connections between students, teachers and program staff. We welcome you to give us a call with any questions you may have, or meet with us in person on campus.
Courses and Curriculum
Tailor your curriculum to your interests
The Master of Environmental Studies program provides you with the knowledge base you need to understand complex environmental issues — and allows you the flexibility to develop unique expertise and professional experience in the field of your choice. Penn’s degree is exceptional among environmental studies programs for the breadth of options it offers. With the help of a dedicated academic advisor, you create a curriculum suited precisely to your interests.
At the beginning of your studies, you will be assigned an academic advisor to help you through the course selection process. Together, you’ll determine which skills you hope to develop and which academic and internship experiences match your goals. Not only will you sample a broad range of courses in your first year to aid you in narrowing your focus, but we also provide resources — such as professional development retreats, alumni talks and more — to help you find the path that’s best for you.
As a Master of Environmental Studies student, you’ll complete 12 course units (c.u.)* that reflect our balance between core learning and individual exploration. Your course of study includes the following elements (you can read about each curricular element in further depth below):
The Proseminar: Contemporary Issues in Environmental Studies (1 c.u)
Research Methods course (1 c.u.)
Foundation courses (4 c.u.)
Professional concentration courses (5 c.u.)
Capstone project (1 c.u.)
The Proseminar: Contemporary Issues in Environmental Studies (1 c.u.)
This course reviews the key sciences fundamental to an interdisciplinary study of the environment: biology, geology, chemistry and physics. It takes a systems approach to the environment with a look at the atmosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere and the intersection of humans with each. This required course also acquaints students with issues, debates and current opinions in the study of the environment. Different styles of writing, from white papers to blogs, will be assigned throughout the semester.
Research Methods course (1 c.u.)
Designing research is a key building block of the Master of Environmental Studies program. The research methods course prepares students to ask, and confidently answer, the innovative questions they will pose in their capstone projects. The requirement can be fulfilled by taking a methodology course that provides students with the data gathering and analysis skills they’ll use to begin their research projects.
Foundation courses (4 c.u.)
At both the local and international scale, issues such as climate change, diminishing natural resources, water access, energy security, low-level toxins and habitat destruction all require not only the best science available, but the ability to integrate this knowledge to make decisions even when considerable uncertainties exist.
Environmental challenges are complex, and their solutions never come from just one sector of society. We believe that in order to become a leading problem-solver in the environmental arena, you need to be able to draw connections between many disciplines.
Foundation courses help broaden your knowledge in areas outside of your chosen concentration, and complement your chosen field. For example, if you are studying sustainability, your foundation course credits are an opportunity to learn about environmental law and policy, or become versed in business, which will be necessary while working in the sustainability sector. Foundation courses allow you to speak the language of many different sectors, and offer the opportunity to discover unexpected synergies and resonances in fields beyond your own. Your academic advisor will consult with you as you choose your courses from areas such as:
Environmental Chemistry
Environmental Biology
Environmental Geology
Environmental Law
Environmental Policy
Environmental Business
Professional concentration courses (5 c.u.)
While foundation courses give you a broad understanding of environmental issues, your professional concentration courses let you develop the expertise you need to pursue a career in your chosen field.
Concentration courses may be taken in any of the 12 graduate Schools at the University (School of Engineering and Applied Science, Graduate School of Education, School of Design, School of Social Policy & Practice, The Wharton School of Business, Penn Law, etc.). Your advisor will help you select courses that best fit your goals and skills gaps.
You may choose from the following concentrations:
Environmental Advocacy & Education
Environmental Biology
Environmental Policy
Environmental Sustainability
Resource Management
Urban Environment
If your professional aspirations are not reflected in one of the above concentrations, you can develop an Individualized concentration in conjunction with your faculty advisor and with the approval of the Faculty Advisory Committee.
Capstone project (1 c.u.)
The capstone project is a distinguishing feature of the Master of Environmental Studies program, blending academic and professional experiences and serving as the culmination of your work in the program. You will design a project drawing from your learning in and outside the classroom to demonstrate mastery of your concentration area.
During your first year, your academic advisor will help you choose a topic for your capstone project. Once you’ve done so, you’ll seek out two readers for your capstone. These can be faculty members or professionals in a relevant field. The readers serve as advisors and mentors, and our students frequently find their first jobs after graduation as a result of the connections they make during the capstone process.
The capstone projects themselves vary widely, from research papers to videos, business plans, photojournals and websites. However, all projects demonstrate students’ ability to:
Define a research question
Design a protocol to address this question
Acquire the data necessary to clarify, if not resolve, the question
Critically assess the quality of the data acquired
Draw defensible conclusions from those data
Communicate this process and conclusions to professional colleagues with clarity and precision
Time frame
Master of Environmental Studies students may enroll on either a part-time or full-time basis. Your time to graduation will vary depending on how many classes you take each semester and whether you take summer classes. Full-time students can complete the program in two years, taking three or four classes per semester. Part-time students typically complete their work in four years, taking one or two classes per semester. Individuals working full time are advised to take no more than two courses per term.
Transferring graduate credits
Incoming students may petition to transfer up to two graduate-level credits from classes completed prior to their admission at Penn. Students seeking transfer credit should fill out a form after they matriculate into the program, along with an official transcript, to the Program Director before the end of their first semester at Penn. A transfer credit form is available on the program’s Blackboard site, which is accessible to current students only. Transfer credit is evaluated on a case-by-case basis by the faculty advisory committee.
*Academic credit is defined by the University of Pennsylvania as a course unit (c.u.). Generally, a 1 c.u. course at Penn is equivalent to a three or four semester hour course elsewhere. In general, the average course offered at Penn is listed as being worth 1 c.u.; courses that include a lecture and a lab are often worth 1.5 c.u.
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