This degree is designed for students interested in pursuing careers in environmental policy and analysis, stewardship, education, consulting, or management dealing with natural resource, pollution control and other environmental issues. The program requires course work in both the natural and social sciences, with a particular focus on the complex relationship among science, management, and policy. The ultimate purpose of the degree program is to provide students with a scientific understanding of ecological and social systems, which then can be applied in a policy or management context.

Objective

Preparation for professional careers in environmental management.

Career Options

Regulatory environmental affairs in the private sector; public sector; environmental stewardship, policy analysis in non-governmental organizations, education, consulting careers.

Students pursuing the MEM degree must take seven distributional courses. In consultation with their academic advisor, each student will select appropriate courses to build foundational training for advanced study. Each student will also identify an advanced study program for further coursework–concluding his or her experience with a master’s project.
The core courses for the MEM are as follows:

(Courses listed in gray will not be offered during the academic year 2006–2007.)

Foundations

Students are expected to gain graduate level proficiency in seven core topic areas. Therefore, students are required to select one course from each of the following seven categories. Waivers out of this requirement will not be permitted.

1. Earth and Climate Science

F&ES 61003a Air Pollution
F&ES 61110a Biogeochemistry and Pollution
F&ES 61018a Environmental Hydrology
F&ES 61024a River Processes and Restoration
F&ES 61001a Marine, Atmospheric and Surficial Geochemistry
F&ES 61005b Climate and Life
F&ES 61006a A Biological Perspective of Global Change
F&ES 61016a Water Resource Management
F&ES 61021b Hydrology and Water Resources

2. Ecosystem Science and Biodiversity

F&ES 32002b Tropical Ecosystem Dynamics and Anthropogenic Change
F&ES 62017a Coastal Ecosystems: Natural Processes and Anthropogenic Impacts
F&ES 32005b Scientific Bases of Sustainable Agriculture
F&ES 32011a Aquatic Ecology
F&ES 32019a Landscape Ecology
F&ES 32001b Methods of Ecosystem Analysis
F&ES 32006a Tropical Forest Ecology: The Basis for Conservation and Management
F&ES 32007a Ecosystem Pattern and Process
F&ES 52001b Local Flora
F&ES 52006a Anatomy of Trees and Forests
F&ES 52008b Physiology of Trees and Forests
F&ES 52012a Global Resources and the Environment
F&ES 52013b Principles in Applied Ecology: The Practice of Silviculture
F&ES 52016a Forest Dynamics: Growth and Development of Forest Stands
F&ES 62013a Introduction to Soil Science
F&ES 52003b Forest Ecosystem Health: Urban to Wilderness

3. Sustainable Development and Social Ecology

F&ES 83047a Social Ecology, Community Forestry, and the Future of Place-Based Environmentalism
F&ES 43001a Issues and Approaches in Environmental Education
F&ES 83065b Topics in Environmental Justice
F&ES 83026a Technology, Society, and the Environment
F&ES 83056a Social Science of Development and Conservation
F&ES 33003b Seminar in the Conservation and Development of Amazonia
F&ES 33012a Species and Ecosystem Conservation: An Interdisciplinary Approach
F&ES 33015a Human Dimensions in the Conservation of Biological Diversity
F&ES 53005b Agroforestry Systems: Productivity, Environmental Services, and Rural Development
F&ES 83037b Large-Scale Conservation: Integrating Science, Management, and Policy
F&ES 83049b Society and Natural Resources
F&ES 83050a Society and Environment: Introduction to Theory and Method
F&ES 83058b Monitoring and Evaluation Techniques: Theory and Methods Applied to Ecosystem Rehabilitation/Community Revitalization Interventions
F&ES 83064a Energy Issues in Developing Countries
F&ES 83155b Challenges in Sub-Saharan Africa

4. Economics

F&ES 94110b Public and Private Management of the Environment
F&ES 84001b Economics of Pollution
F&ES 84002a Economics of Natural Resource Management
F&ES 84004a The Economics of Sustainable Development

5. Policy, Institutions and Law

F&ES 85030a Private Investment and the Environment
F&ES 85012b Science and Politics of Environmental Regulation
F&ES 85014a Foundations of Environmental Policy and Politics
F&ES 65014b Coastal Ecosystem Governance
F&ES 85009b Seminar on Forest Certification
F&ES 85011a Environmental Policy Analysis for an Unpredictable World
F&ES 85013a Environmental Politics and Policy
F&ES 85023a Markets, Social and Environmental Certification, and Corporate Accountability
F&ES 85033a Environmental Law and Policy
F&ES 85035a International Environmental Law and Policy
F&ES 85036b Foundations of Natural Resource Policy and Management
F&ES 85068b International Environmental Policy and Governance

6. Environmental Health And Urban and Industrial Ecosystems

F&ES 66008a Organic Pollutants in the Environment
F&ES 76014a Business Concepts for Environmental Managers
F&ES 96112b Corporate Environmental Management and Strategy
F&ES 96002b Environmental Health Policy
F&ES 86024b Transportation and Urban Land-Use Planning: Shaping the Twenty-First-Century City
F&ES 86025a Energy Systems Analysis
F&ES 86048a Introduction to Planning and Development
F&ES 86059a Cities and Sustainability in the Developing World
F&ES 86062b Theory and Practice of Restorative Environmental Design
F&ES 96004b The Environment and Human Health
F&ES 96005b Introduction to Toxicology
F&ES 96006a Greening the Industrial Facility
F&ES 96007b Industrial Ecology

7. Information and Data Analysis

F&ES 77001b Remote Sensing: Observing the Earth from Space
F&ES 77004b Econometrics
F&ES 77107b Spatial Statistics
F&ES 77112b Statistical Design of Experiments
F&ES 77006a Sampling Methodology and Practice
F&ES 77009a Introduction to Statistics in the Environmental Sciences
F&ES 77010a Modeling Geographic Space
F&ES 77011b Modeling Geographic Objects
F&ES 77108b Statistics for Environmental Sciences
F&ES 77113b Multivariate Statistical Analysis in the Environmental Sciences
F&ES 77105a Seminar in Forest Inventory

Advanced Training

Students are expected to gain advanced training in a concentration of their choosing. The advanced curriculum should lead to rigorous, in-depth expertise in some aspect of environmental science, policy or management. Students will work with their academic advisor to identify an advanced course structure that meets their professional goals. Faculty strengths in teaching and research at the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies are broadly represented by nine
advanced topic areas:

1. Ecology, Ecosystems and Biodiversity
2. The Social Ecology of Conservation and Development
3. Forest Science, Management, and Conservation
4. Global Change Science and Policy
5. Environment, Health, and Policy
6. Industrial Environmental Management training
7. Policy, Economics, and Law
8. Urban Ecology and Environmental Design
9. Water Science, Policy, and Management

Master's Project and Independent Study Projects

All students in the MEM degree program must enroll in one or more courses that officially fulfill degree requirements for a master’s project. Course numbers for these project courses are provided near the end of the School Bulletin. These are distinct from courses that allow for independent study that is additional to, and not intended for, fulfillment of the project requirement of the individual’s degree program. Independent study course numbers are listed separately near the end of the Bulletin. Project courses and independent study may be assigned three or more credits, and more than one project course may be taken towards fulfillment of the 48 credits needed to graduate.

Project courses can involve research in laboratory, field, or library, or analytical case studies designed to solve manage ment problems. Master’s degree projects often originate with the student, with input and advice from relevant faculty. Projects require an official faculty research advisor to oversee the research and with whom the student will work closely; the research advisor need not be the same as the student’s academic advisor. Projects for the two management degrees enable stu dents or small groups to study relevant topics in a depth that is not always possible in regular courses. Management projects acquaint students with the literature dealing with localities, problems, and issues relevant to environmental management or natural resources and they provide a means of integrating and testing skills, knowledge, and judgment gained in formal coursework. Master degree projects frequently enable students to make a significant contribution to solving problems in local communities or to the academic literature.

Opportunities for other independent study are fulfilled through enrollment in independent study courses. Independent study courses are appropriate for all other non-project study or research in any Master degree program.

Core Course Waiver

Prior course waivers are permitted in the rare cases where students have extensive undergraduate or graduate level training equivalent to any of the required courses, and passed the course with a letter grade of A or B. Prior course waivers must have the approval from the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.

One-Year Mid-Career Master's Degrees

The mid-career MEM and MF degree program is intended to permit practicing environmental and forest managers to build upon their work experience by adding new skills that will enable them to pursue their career goals more effectively. To this end, those admitted into the program must have at least seven years of directly relevant professional experience in the environmental or forestry fields that is sufficient to provide a corpus of experiential learning equivalent to one year of academic study at the school.

So that the admissions committee may fairly judge each applicant’s work record in light of this requirement, it is incumbent upon the applicant to explain how their work experience has provided them with a strong foundation in environmental or forestry science, management or policy. Relevant work experience is not the sole criterion for admission into this degree program; the breadth of prior academic training is also considered, and those applicants who are better prepared are more likely to succeed in this competitive admissions process. For the one-year MF degree only, an undergraduate degree in forestry or closely allied discipline is usually required.

The mid-career degree program is not an option for persons seeking to make an abrupt change in the direction of their careers. Nor is it suitable for those who have acquired seven or more years of work experience that is tangentially related to environmental or forest management. Normally, voluntary services will not be considered equivalent to career experience needed for acceptance into this degree program.

The one-year mid-career Master of Environmental Management and Master of Forestry degree programs have less structured curricula than the two-year programs. Attendance at the Training Modules is expected, and the successful completion of 24 credits of coursework and independent study is required. One year in residence is normally expected, as is initial enrollment at the start of the fall semester.

Teacher Preparation Program

For students interested in teaching careers in environmental education or relevant natural science disciplines in grades 7 through 12 should consider the Teacher Preparation Program offered by Yale University for both undergraduate and graduate students. The Teacher Preparation Program offers students an opportunity to explore educational issues while enabling them to meet the requirements for certification to teach in public secondary schools. This is a five-semester program that requires full satisfaction of MEM degree requirements, approximately six teacher preparation courses, and practice teaching. Tuition requirements are identical with MEM degree requirements for the first four terms. The fifth term, however, requires only continuing registration payment of $250 for practice teaching (no courses).

For more details on this program, please contact the school's Registrar and Director of the Teacher Preparation Program (http://www.yale.edu/tprep/) (432-1896).