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2022 COP26 Delegation
Members of the University of Michigan student delegation to the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland. Image credit: Maddie Fox, University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability. Top row, left to right: AJ Convertino, Muhammad Abdullah, Chelsea Johnson, Evan Gonzalez. Middle row, left to right: Jessica Miller, Annie Linden, Peter Siciliano, Sarah Collins. Bottom row, left to right: Faculty adviser Avik Basu, Emily Johnson, Kristina Curtiss, Lauren Balotin. Not pictured: Naomi Barker, Natasha Dacic.
Changing the world requires new public policies, visionary and economic plans, and innovative decision-making structures.

How do we shift our energy mix from fossil fuels to renewable sources? How much protection should we provide to public lands, rare species, and valuable natural areas? How do we ensure the safety of food and water supplies? Answers to questions like these can change the course of our future. In the Environmental Policy and Planning specialization at the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS), you will acquire the tools, frameworks, analysis abilities, and scientific knowledge to promote environmental stewardship and advance sustainable societies.

This environmental master's program specialization focuses on building the professional skills to design and implement effective policies and plans while considering the human and institutional behaviors that underlie environmental problems.

WHY ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY AND PLANNING?

  • Join a community of scholars whose depth and breadth in social science is unparalleled in any comparable program.
  • Develop expertise in natural sciences and deep knowledge of specific environmental problems.  
  • Take advantage of opportunities to enhance your professional marketability, like dual-degree and certificate programs.
  • Apply what you learn in the classroom to fix real-world problems by completing a capstone experience (master's project or master's thesis).
  • Join the world’s largest and strongest community of alumni practitioners in environmental policy and planning.

CURRICULUM

Working with an adviser, you will tailor your Environmental Policy and Planning degree coursework to your specific career goals. A typical curriculum includes classes in institutions, politics, law, policy analysis, and planning. You will also learn negotiation and dispute resolution, and develop expertise in a specific issue you choose, such as water, climate change and energy, public lands, biodiversity and ecosystem management, environmental justice, and sustainable land use.

The Environmental Policy and Planning curriculum provides a solid foundation for dual-degree programs in public policy, urban planning, law, or business.

Requirements & Courses

DUAL DEGREE WITH SEAS AND PUBLIC POLICY

This dual-degree program (three years, 75 credits) provides students with the opportunity to study environment and sustainability issues through the lens of public policy analysis. It is administered jointly with the University of Michigan’s Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, and is designed to provide a model for preparing a new generation of graduates skilled in addressing important topics like renewable energy and climate change using policy analysis techniques. Students graduate with a master of science (MS) in natural resources and environment and a master of science in public policy (MPP).

CAREERS AND SELECT EMPLOYERS

Environmental Policy and Planning graduates work as policy analysts, advocates, planners, program managers, and leaders in nonprofit environmental organizations, land trusts, all levels of government, consulting firms, and corporations. The collaboration and dispute resolution training integral to this field of study opens job opportunities at environmental mediation firms and regional partnerships. Some graduates decide to pursue research careers at academic institutions and with nonprofit organizations.

Other career options span the range of geographic scales, including community-based conservation, state-level environmental management, federal policy-making, and work at international institutions, such as the United Nations Development Programme and World Wildlife Fund.

For more information on the Environmental Policy and Planning field of study, visit the Environmental Policy and Planning track careers page or contact seas-admissions@umich.edu.

Tyler Fitch
My professional and personal life is driven by climate change. It seems like a generational challenge to fight that. There are lots of ways to do it, and I think one of them is solar advocacy. "
Tyler Fitch (MS ’18)
Regulatory Manager, Vote Solar, Washington, D.C.

Featured Course

Negotiating Skills In Environmental Dispute Resolution

This course is a half-term module that develops skills in bargaining and negotiation as they can be applied to the resolution of environmental disputes. It will help a student prepare for and carry out a negotiation, become a more effective communicator, and understand the psychological dimensions inherent in negotiation processes.

Other Popular Courses

Environmental Policy, Politics and Organizations
Energy Markets and Energy Politics
Modeling for Landscape Planning
Sample Employers + Professional Skills
Water quality research, CIGLR
I learned about how federal agencies make decisions, how different groups (NGOs, the private sector) engage in that and how they advocate for their issues and engage in the decision-making process.
Allegra Wrockledge '16
Program Coordinator, Conservation Finance Network
Allegra Wrockledge
Internships
Internships
Career Coaching
Career review

Environmental Policy and Planning Careers

SEAS Career Services offers career advising, internship opportunities, and professional services for students. We help students make professional connections with alumni and develop career paths that are both fulfilling and impactful.

Please visit our Careers page for additional career resources
Dual Degree Programs

The hallmark of the SEAS master’s program is its interdisciplinary focus. This focus can be extended even further through the pursuit of a dual degree. Because the school is part of one of the greatest research universities in the world, there are many options. Each environment and sustainability specialization provides an excellent foundation for earning a dual degree.

Read more about our dual degree programs
Dual Degree Programs

The hallmark of the SEAS master’s program is its interdisciplinary focus. This focus can be extended even further through the pursuit of a dual degree. Because the school is part of one of the greatest research universities in the world, there are many options. Each natural resources and environment field of study provides an excellent foundation for earning a dual degree.

Read more about our dual degree programs

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