Masters degrees dealing with the environment?

September 7, 2006 12:19 PM

My sister is looking into grad school and wants to focus on "something environmental." Are there websites that compare different Masters degrees and what they entail? And are there places where she can then compare these degrees at different schools?

She had been interested in law school, but now is thinking about getting a Masters in something that will help her work with the environment. I don't have much more information than that - it's why she wants to do research on different Masters degrees. Is there anywhere I can point her to help her flesh out her goals?

posted by bibbit to Education (15 answers total)

An unusual one is at Vermont Law School, the Masters in Environmental Law. It's a private school and not all that cheap, but small and in a beautiful place. The MSEL can be earned in successive summer sessions, too.

For not much more bux, however, there is always the law school, which has programs that let you integrate the MSEL with a JD.
posted by FauxScot at 12:26 PM on September 7, 2006

Greenbiz.com has a section about environmental education that might be worth checking out.

Also, here is some general information about environmental careers at RMI
posted by HighTechUnderpants at 12:36 PM on September 7, 2006

It may behoove her to work backwards a little bit: think about what she wants to do in a bit more detail and then figure out which schools can help her with that. Grad school can be a demoralizing place if you don't have some sense of purpose when going in, and it can also be pretty specialized.
posted by OmieWise at 12:38 PM on September 7, 2006

City and Regional Planning is nice. Not as crunchy as some stuff, but more important in my book. If we keep planning cities the way we do, we are fucked.

I know you were asking for comparisons and not specific ideas, but just trying to help out in some small way with a suggestion.
posted by pissfactory at 12:41 PM on September 7, 2006

What about a masters in urban planning, with a focus on enviornmentally friendly design? I'm not sure what schools would be the best for this, but it seems like it would be a great way to get a useful degree in "something enviornmental."
posted by dpx.mfx at 12:41 PM on September 7, 2006

Idealist.org has a list of graduate school fairs. It's not on-line, but it's probably a better way to get a feel for a program -- by actually going and meeting with the people associated with it. Idealist is pretty broad, too, but will certainly have lots of environmental-related programs.
posted by one_bean at 12:46 PM on September 7, 2006

I should add that, having hunted for graduate schools in a similar field myself, I haven't been able to find anything free, on-line that has in-depth information about specific programs. The library is full of books about graduate schools, though, including ones specifically about environmental studies.
posted by one_bean at 1:00 PM on September 7, 2006

Lewis & Clark in Portland, OR has an environmental law program that's well thought of. Its a law program though, so it'll be applying to law school. Stanford has a huge Earth Sciences school that has pretty intense environmental research. Take a look here for the graduate programs.
posted by devilsbrigade at 1:17 PM on September 7, 2006

Last one from me... ECO Guide to Careers that Make a Difference is a good resource for what people are doing for the environment in different fields, and it looks like the Student Conservation Association has a book dealing specifically with graduate programs.
posted by one_bean at 1:38 PM on September 7, 2006

Natural Resources and Environment? I actually know nothing about the degree program, except that the building it's in has a unisex composting toilet. (Yeah, I'm loads of help.)
posted by srah at 1:38 PM on September 7, 2006

I have a friend that has been trying to get out of his environmental science career since it began.

It seems that the jobs revolve around big industrial companies hiring you or your company to come and clean up a huge chemical spill/train wreck/terror to nature they created.

I believe he was looking for something a little more proactive and not so reactive. That and the travel was killing him and his marriage.

Seems that spending time 100 miles south of Tucumcari, NM, can be a bit boring.
posted by YoBananaBoy at 2:52 PM on September 7, 2006

There's always the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, here in beautiful Syracuse, NY.
posted by rachelpapers at 3:24 PM on September 7, 2006

I really recommend against going to school with only a vague idea of doing "something environmental". If she wants to work in actual conservation or management it would behoove her to get an MS in a hard science like biology or hydrology. She doesn't have to stay in the field she does her grad work in but a grad degree and research experience are pretty much necessary to be taken seriously, even in public reations or education. She'll be able to get a far more meaningful job and make more money.
posted by fshgrl at 6:23 PM on September 7, 2006

Response by poster: Thanks for all the recommendations so far, folks. My sister is obviously still figuring out what she wants to do (and no, she won't be going to school with just this "vague idea" bouncing around in her head) - this should help her get a start formulating her plan.
posted by bibbit at 7:12 PM on September 7, 2006

One thing she should keep in mind if she goes more into the environmental science side of things is that she should get paid to go to school. If she wants to go into non-profit or government work, she will not want to build up tons of debt. I think that in most science areas, the definition of a good program is one that attracts high quality students and pays them.
posted by hydropsyche at 11:21 AM on September 8, 2006