The human impact on Earth’s environment over past two centuries is unprecedented. An incredible 300% increase in human population growth in the 20^th century has led to an increase in energy consumption by more than 1000% since 1950. Never in the history of the Earth has such a drastic increase in the atmospheric CO₂ occurred over such a short period of time. Education on the ‘science of the changing environment’ is at the forefront of human endeavor, and a significant fraction of the global GDP is currently being spent on addressing this science (e.g. increasing spatial extent of harmful algal blooms, ocean acidification, ever increasing amount of micro-plastics in fresh and salt water systems, effects of global climate change including flooding/drought and other weather-related catastrophic events, etc.). The master’s program addresses many of the anthropogenic environmental changes listed above. This inter-disciplinary program include courses from several branches of science including coastal and environmental geology, environmental biology, low-temperature aqueous geochemistry, environmental isotope geochemistry, biogeochemistry, remote sensing, big data analytics, climate science, toxicology, water quality, etc. 

Admission Requirements

Admission to this program is contingent upon admission to the Graduate School. The minimum grade point average required for regular admission to the program is 2.75. Specific admissions requirements include: evidence of a completed baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university; college-level coursework in geology, biology, mathematics, physics, and chemistry; two letters of recommendation; and a one-page statement of purpose. 

Program Requirements

The Master of Science in Environmental Science requires a minimum of 30 credits. This will include 8-credit of M.S. thesis (ESG 8999) and 1-credit of seminar (ESG 6100). This is Plan A option only.  All course work must be completed in accordance with the regulations of the Graduate School and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

The M.S. degree typically includes courses chosen from the following list.

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
ESG 5000	Geological Site Assessment	4
ESG 5120	Environmental Geochemistry	4
ESG 5150	Soils and Soil Pollution	4
ESG 5210	Environmental and Applied Geophysics	4
ESG 5360	Hydrology and Water Resources	4
ESG 5420	Mathematical Methods in Earth Science	4
ESG 5510	Environmental Fate and Transport of Pollutants	4
ESG 5600	Special Topics in Environmental Science and Geology	4
ESG 5650	Applied Geologic Mapping	4
ESG 5700	Environmental Law and Policy	3
ESG 6100	Seminar: Environmental Science and Geology	1
ESG 6160	Applied Remote Sensing	3
ESG 6165	Biodiversity Changes in the Anthropocene	4
ESG 6170	Spatial Statistics and Analyses for Environmental Applications	3
ESG 6180	Environmental DNA for Ecosystem Monitoring and Conservation	4
ESG 6190	Environmental Microbiology	4
ESG 6250	Fluvial Geomorphology	3
ESG 6300	Emerging Organic Contaminants in Global Environment	4
ESG 6320	Coastal Geology and Processes in the Great Lakes	3
ESG 6400	Isotopes: Applications in Geological and Environmental Sciences	4
ESG 8999	Master's Thesis Research and Direction	8
BIO 5040/7045	Biometry	4
BIO 5100/7110	Aquatic Ecology	4
BIO 5440/7440	Terrestrial Ecology	4
BIO 5490/7490	Population and Community Ecology	3
BIO 5540/7540	Landscape Ecology	3
BIO 5740/7740	General Entomology	4
BIO 6190	Advanced Special Topics *	6
BIO 6420	Ecotoxicology and Risk Assessment	3
BIO 7310	Sustainability of Urban Environmental Systems	2
CE 5230	Water Supply and Wastewater Engineering	3
CE 5610	Advanced Highway Design	3
CE 7995	Special Topics in Civil Engineering II *	3
ECO 5230	Environmental Economics	4
ECO 6800	Advanced Urban and Regional Economics	4
UP 5430	Cities and Food	3
UP 6470	Environmental Planning	3
ANT 5140	Biology and Culture	3
ANT 5060	Urban Anthropology	3
FPH 7420	Principles of Environmental Health	3
PS 5560	Biopolitics	4

*

Topics to be chosen in consultation with an advisor.