In addition to a rigorous core of environmental science courses, each MSES student pursues an area of specialization. It is in one of these four concentrations that your particular passion will grow into your professional expertise.
Find your natural niche
Explore your concentration options
Become an advocate for the environment, develop problem-solving techniques for today's ecological challenges.
Sample courses:
- Biology of Birds
- BMP Design for Healthy Urban Watersheds
- Climate-Change Impacts on Natural Resources
- Environmental Toxicology
- Fisheries and Wildlife Management
- Forest Ecology and Management
- Lake and Watershed Management
- Restoration Ecology
- Vascular Plants
- Wetlands Ecology and Management
Take on the energy and climate challenges of an increasingly energy-dependent world and contribute to this critical area of global concern.
Sample courses:
- Climate Change Impacts
- Energy Economics and Policy
- Energy Systems in Transition
- Fundamentals of Air Pollution
- Physical Meteorology and Climatology
- Renewable and Nuclear Energy and Climate Change
- Wind Power Meteorology
Explore cutting-edge methods for regulating chemical toxins in the environment.
Sample courses:
- Aquatic Chemistry
- Atmospheric Instrumentation
- Changing Landscape of Toxic Chemical Regulation
- Environmental Risk Analysis
- Environmental Toxicology
- Fundamentals of Air Pollution
- Groundwater Flow Modeling
- Hazardous Materials
- Organic Pollutants: Environmental Chemistry and Fate
- Solid and Hazardous Waste Management
Develop skills in a wide range of environmental areas as you study the science behind water quality and quantity.
Sample courses:
- Aquatic Chemistry
- BMP Design for Healthy Urban Watersheds
- Climate-Change Impacts on Natural Resources
- Conservation Biology
- Fisheries and Wildlife Management
- Groundwater Flow Modeling
- Lake and Watershed Management
- Limnology
- Physical Hydrology
- Restoration Ecology
- Stream Ecology
- Watershed Hydrology
- Wetlands Ecology and Management
Another way to fulfill the concentration requirement is through the thesis option which you can pursue for between 18-24 credit hours. This option involves research done under the supervision of a principal advisor and thesis committee. You must identify a faculty advisor early in your degree planning for this option—it can also count for your Capstone.
The above are examples of your course options. For a complete listing, see the current curriculum and work with your advisor as you make your schedule.
Let’s talk about your options and career goals!
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Speak with one of our student ambassadors about their O’Neill experience.