The mission of the Department of Environmental Studies is to provide students with the advanced interdisciplinary training necessary for addressing environmental problems. Graduates of the department are prepared for diverse careers in environmental fields.

The Department of Environmental Studies offers a Master of Science Degree in Environmental Sciences. The principal emphasis in the MS degree is on professional development. The graduate degrees are designed for those who intend to enter the job market for the first time, as well as for mid-career professionals. Faculty work with each student to create a specialized educational plan (developed before or during the first semester of study). Students should consult advising documents for their chosen degree and concentrations.

The curriculum for the MS in Environmental Sciences allows students to gain strong scientific understanding of ways to study, evaluate, and interpret environmental realities and their impacts, as well as to manage and mitigate environmental problems. Objectives are to enable students to:

1. develop a basic literacy in the natural and social sciences and the humanities as they contribute to an understanding of environmental issues;
2. critically analyze environmental problems;
3. identify, research, and evaluate environmental problems; and
4. compare, contrast, implement, and manage short- and long-term solutions to environmental problems. The department recommends that students interested in the Environmental Sciences degree have prior knowledge of chemistry, algebra, statistics, and biology.