Environmental Sciences (MS)

Overview

The environmental sciences program cultivates students’ perspectives of environmental issues and provides them with refined knowledge of environmental issues at the local, regional and global level. The program will increase the student’s technical competence in addressing and analyzing these issues, their origins, ramifications and resolutions, and is designed to enhance and promote professional education and career opportunities in a wide area of interests.  

Faculty from several departments in the College of Arts and Sciences provide mentoring, direction and instruction. Practicing professionals also lend their expertise to this program, and close relationships are maintained with industries and environmental agencies so that both students and faculty members can incorporate real-world issues in their studies and research.

The program offers challenging environmental research opportunities, which may be related to: 

• Campus
• Home
• Municipality
• Business and industry
• State or federal government
• Consulting firms
• Various advocacy groups. 

The Department has access to a variety of instrumentation, including: 

• Atomic absorption spectrometer
• Inductively-Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometer
• Computer access to Geographical Information System
• Gas and liquid chromatographs
• Mass spectrometer 
• Nanoparticle analyzer
• Carbon-nitrogen-sulfur analyzer
• Sampling equipment
  • Automated water samplers
  • Low and high volume air samplers
  • Soil and sediment coring devices
  • Thermal cycler for real-time PCRs

In addition, the program has several field sites for long-term environmental monitoring studies, including recently developed experimental filter strips and restored Oak Savannah Prairie.

Program Format

The program can be completed through a mix of traditional daytime courses, evening courses, and online courses.

What can I do with a degree in environmental sciences?

Students completing this program have career opportunities with governmental agencies, private industries, consulting firms and educational institutions. Areas of responsibility may include: 

• Environmental field or laboratory research and analysis
• Environmental policy and law
• Environmental remediation
• Solid and hazardous waste management
• Groundwater pollution control
• Water management
• Air quality management
• Environmental and ecological risk assessments
• Restoration environmental engineering

According to a recent report by the U.S. Department of Labor, employment of environmental scientists and specialists is projected to grow 11% through 2026, which is faster than the average for all occupations in the United States.

Faculty

View current environmental sciences faculty.