Guide to Graduate Education in Science, Engineering and Public Policy
Guide to Graduate Education in Science, Engineering and Public Policy
http://www.aaas.org//spp/sepp/sepcolumbia.shtml
Columbia University
School of International and Public Affairs- MPA Program in Environmental Science and Policy
Columbia University Program Link: |
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Steve Cohen, Director |
Background
The Master of Public Administration in Environmental Science and Policy trains sophisticated public managers and policymakers, who apply innovative, systems-based thinking to environmental issues. The program challenges students to think systemically and act pragmatically. To meet this challenge, we offer a high-quality graduate program in management and policy analysis that emphasizes practical skills and is enriched by ecological and planetary science.
Our approach reflects the system-level thinking that is needed to understand ecological interactions and maintain the health of Earth’s interconnected ecological, institutional, economic, and social systems.
Graduates are creating a new profession of earth systems problem-solvers: individuals who are prepared for leadership positions in local, state, and federal government agencies, as well as in nonprofit organizations and the environmental divisions of private corporations.
They are also well suited for designing cost-effective programs and implementing policies. Most importantly, a deep understanding of earth systems informs their work, allowing them to craft the kinds of solutions necessary for our increasingly complex environmental problems.
The Environmental MPA Program combines Columbia University’s hands-on approach to teaching public policy and administration with pioneering thinking about the environment. Completion of this professional program leads to a Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree in Environmental Science and Policy from the University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA).
Two fundamental insights shape this master’s program: the realization that institutional, social, and economic processes interconnect to both sustain and endanger the planet and the need for professionals who can maintain the health of
this interconnected system. Only by combining an understanding of earth systems issues with management strategies will it be possible to cope with the threats to planetary sustainability.
To train effective earth systems professionals, the program focuses on the practical skills necessary to understand the formulation and management of public policy. The teaching of public policy and administration is the core of the program. This set of classes focuses on specific professional and vocational skills, such as memo writing, oral briefings, group process and team building, leadership, strategic thinking, spreadsheet and other forms of financial analysis, and the use of computer programs, case studies of earth systems issues, and the World Wide Web. The principal goal of the core curriculum is to provide students with the analytic, communication, and work skills required to be problem-solving earth systems professionals.
Courses in environmental science round out the training so that our graduates will be able to inform the decision-making process and manage science experts. The policy and management challenges our graduates are being trained to address include global change issues, such as global warming, but more frequently they focus on air, water, solid waste, and toxic waste management issues. Graduates of the Environmental MPA Program are prepared for the roles of analyst, manager, and translator of scientific knowledge. This Environmental MPA Program requires more environmental science than any other public policy master’s degree in the world. The skills and concepts involve an understanding of scientific method, including observation, hypothesis generation, and hypothesis testing; the chemical processes affecting environmental quality and public health; collection and analysis of field and laboratory data; and systems modeling.
This twelve-month program takes place at Columbia University’s Morningside Heights campus in New York City.
Degrees Offered:
MPA in Environmental Science and Policy
Admissions Requirements:
The students accepted in the MPA ESP program come from diverse backgrounds. Graduates of the program have undergraduate degrees in a variety of disciplines including economics, geology, international affairs, English, Spanish, industrial engineering, and anthropology.
The School of International and Public Affairs strongly recommends, but does not require, that all applicants to the MPA ESP Program submit GRE scores. Admission decisions are based on the application, science background, familiarity with environmental issues, the personal statement, the résumé/curriculum vitae, transcripts of prior college and/or graduate school work, three letters of recommendation, prior work experience, GPA, and standardized test scores. GRE results are never the sole basis for an admissions decision. They are a useful indicator of academic ability. Many applicants are admitted without having submitted GRE scores.
Degree Requirements:
Students enrolled in the Environmental MPA Program are awarded a Master of Public Administration degree from Columbia University’s world-renowned School of International and Public Affairs after a single year of intensive study.
The curriculum, outlined below, provides a management and policy analytic core and a natural and social science earth systems concentration. Students complete a total of 54 points over three semesters.
The intensive course of study begins in early June with an orientation program. The summer term begins immediately afterward, followed by the autumn and spring terms.
The summer term features the fundamental science of earth systems and conservation biology, as well as an introduction to environmental policy and management issues.
In the autumn and spring, students delve deeper into the formulation and management of public policy. The physical and social sciences are linked throughout the program so that students gain an integrated understanding of earth systems.
Classes are offered five days a week and are augmented by informal group work in all core courses. The program begins in late May/ early June and ends the following year in mid-May. Please see the schedule for exact dates. There is at least a weeklong break between the summer and autumn semesters and a longer break between the autumn and spring semesters. There is also a weeklong spring break in March
Faculty Information
Howard N. Apsan
Adjunct Professor of Public Affairs
School of International and Public Affairs; University Director, Environmental Health Safety and Risk Management, The City University of New York
Satyajit Bose
Lecturer in Discipline
School of International and Public Affairs
Kathy Callahan
Lecturer
School of International and Public Affairs
Steven A. Cohen
Director, Master of Public Administration Program in Environmental Science and Policy
School of International and Public Affairs
Executive Director, The Earth Institute at Columbia University
Fanny K. Ennever
Adjunct Assistant Professor
School of International and Public Affairs
Adela J. Gondek
Adjunct Professor of Public Affairs
School of International and Public Affairs
Tanya Heikkila
Assistant Professor of Public Affairs
School of International and Public Affairs
Associate Director, Columbia Water Center
Katherine McFadden
Assistant Professor
School of International and Public Affairs
Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology
Scientific Coordinator, Master of Public Administration Program in Environmental Science and Policy School of International and Public Affairs
Michael P. Musso
Adjunct Lecturer
School of International and Public Affairs
Environmental Health Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health
Matthew I. Palmer, PhD
Lecturer and Director of Undergraduate Studies
Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology
Louise Rosen
Director, Office of Academic and Research Programs, The Earth Institute
Associate Director, MPA Program in Environmental Science and Policy
School of International and Public Affairs
Adjunct Lecturer, School of International and Public Affairs
Jeffrey D. Sachs
Director, The Earth Institute at Columbia University
Quetelet Professor of Sustainable Development
Professor of Health Policy and Management
School of International and Public Affairs
Andrea Schmitz
Adjunct Lecturer
School of International and Public Affairs
Glenn Sheriff
Assistant Professor of International and Public Affairs
School of International and Public Affairs
Tobias Siegfried
Adjunct Assistant Professor
School of International and Public Affairs
Jason E. Smerdon
Adjunct Assistant Professor of Public Affairs, School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University
Storke-Doherty Lecturer, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Columbia University
E. Gail Suchman, Esq.
Adjunct Professor
School of International and Public Affairs
Special Counsel, Environmental, Energy and Climate Change, Stroock Stroock and Lavan
Sara Tjossem
Associate Director for MPA-ESP Curriculum
Lecturer
School of International and Public Affairs
Bogdan Vasi
Assistant Professor
School of International and Public Affairs
Department of Sociology
Paula Wilson
Adjunct Professor
School of International and Public Affairs
Lori Zaikowski
Adjunct Associate Professor
School of International and Public Affairs
Financial Information
The program's tuition and fees for 2008-9 will total $55,824. We estimate that living expenses are around $19,500; personal expenses and books are about $7,100. However, please keep in mind that these costs vary according to your personal choices.
There are fellowships available however, they are partial and must be used toward tuition. Fellowships awards are dispersed in three installments, at the beginning of each semester. If you are a candidate seeking a fellowship, you should fill out the fellowship application form when you apply for the program. You will be notified about the status of the fellowship application at the same time that you receive notification about acceptance
.
Other Information
The MPA ESP Program is a terminal professional degree program. It is not designed as a Master of Arts program that is followed by a PhD. SIPA offers a PhD in Sustainable Development and MPA graduates are eligible to apply for admission. In addition, many PhD programs will accept Columbia University credits, and your master’s degree work may be transferred to a PhD program; however, such transfer credit is always at the discretion of the institution offering the PhD.
