Environmental problems are among the most urgent issues facing our civilization. In order to manage Earth's environment well, we must understand the processes that shape its surface; control its air, water and soil chemistry; and produce the biological and other resources upon which humans depend. We must also understand the interactions of animals, plants, and other living organisms with their physical and chemical environments.

The Master of Science in Environmental Science and Ecology is a demanding, thesis-based experience. The curriculum is designed to challenge students to think critically, independently, and creatively, while providing the intellectual depth and breadth necessary to support the research formally developed in the thesis proposal. The curriculum, with a common core and an individual course of study, allows graduate candidates to develop the conceptual knowledge and technical skills necessary to understand and solve environmental problems in ecology, chemistry, and the earth sciences. The fields of study encompassed by the program include:

• "green" and water chemistry
• watershed analysis
• limnology
• fisheries and wildlife science and management
• conservation biology
• wetland ecology
• ecosystem ecology and global change
• aquaculture