Master of Science in Environmental Policy and Management-Capstone Option

RECOMMENDED AS FIRST PROGRAM COURSE. REQUIRED AS ONE OF FIRST THREE PROGRAM COURSES. This course presents the research methods commonly used by environmental scientists and professionals. The course will prepare the student to understand the scientific method, the principles of research design, and the statistical analysis of data. The course is intended to provide the student with a foundation in research methods that will be employed throughout the their graduate program

This course focuses on the analysis and resolution of complex environmental management issues. Environmental Management investigates the use of management tools and strategies to resolve complex environmental problems and controversies, including application of adaptive management, structured decision-making, and negotiation principles, and incorporating stakeholders, economic drivers, and the human element. Environmental leadership, collaboration, and conflict resolution will be emphasized, with due consideration to the use of sound scientific data in environmental decision making. Students will be expected to use critical thought, innovation, and creativity to formulate an adaptive management plan for a highly controversial environmental issue or policy as their course final project.

This course is a qualitative and quantitative study of the public and private economic costs and effects of environmental programs, industrialization, regulation, and international and national environmental policies, among other issues.

This course is a study of the major legal, regulatory, and policy framework that encompasses environmental programs and projects in the United States and with international political, commercial, and non-governmental institutions. The primary learning approach used in this course will be case studies.

This course is an advanced study of environmental issues from a moral and philosophical approach. Issues raised in the course and through student research and writing will include: the moral obligation or lack thereof, to preserve and protect the environment; the ethical presumptions that underlie environmental policy; the traditional theories of moral philosophy applicable to contemporary environmental problems; and the potential for a new concept of the relationship between humanity and nature.

This course presents an introduction to the dynamics of ecosystems and the effects of toxic substances on its living and nonliving components, and incorporating human health issues and concerns. Students will examine the regulatory framework for environmental contaminants issues and detail the federal regulations, policies, and guidelines under which current environmental remediation is done. A key aspect of the course will be the application of risk assessment principles through case studies to gain an understanding of how to develop remediation plans and restoration alternatives that meet or exceed established regulatory guidelines.

This course provides an overview of what is known about natural hazards, disasters, recovery, and mitigation, how research findings have been translated into policies and programs; and a sustainable hazard mitigation research agenda. The course also provides an examination of past disaster losses and hazards management over the past 50 years, including factors--demographic, climate, social--that influence loss.

In recent years, water resource management in the United States has begun a shift away from top-down, government agency-directed decision processes toward a collaborative approach of negotiation and problem solving. Rather than focusing on specific pollution sources or specific areas within a watershed, this course will present this new process, considering the watershed as a whole, and seeking solutions to an interrelated set of social, economic, and environmental problems. Through readings, discussions, and current and historical case studies, students will explore a wide range of threats to the productivity and health of watersheds and explore new, collaborative approaches to watershed management.

This course is an introduction to the philosophical and practical principles of green and sustainable design through the exploration of environmental issues, sustainable materials and methods, and public policy and decision making. Sustainability principles, policies, and programs that encourage and guide current initiatives are analyzed. Innovative strategies for implementing sustainable projects, programs, and practices are investigated through the review of case studies and completion of a final course project.

Landscape planning and ecology is a rapidly developing area of study that explicitly examines the effects of spatial pattern and scale on ecological processes that unfold over areas of several square miles or larger. Thus, landscape ecology and planning provides many concepts, tools, and approaches that will enhance the effectiveness of endeavors such as watershed management, ecosystem management, design of conservation reserves and green infrastructure, and smart growth. The goal of this course is to give students a firm grasp of the concepts of landscape ecology and planning and how they can be applied to enhance the effectiveness of environmental policy, management, regulation, and assessment.

This course focuses on the study and review of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) and related environmental legislation. Emphasis will be on the practical, rather than the theoretical, application of NEPA requirements. Students will conduct detailed analyses of the environmental assessment process, and assess the environmental, societal, and economic impacts of large-scale federal projects and programs. Course assignments will require students to write and review environmental impact documents, formal letters of comment, and procedural documents.

This course will provide the student with a solid foundation in Geographic Information Systems (GIS), powerful tools used for the collection, analysis and display of spatial data. The true link between GIS and intelligence studies is the ability to make informed decisions based on the data available, by assigning weight in terms of importance to the various datasets, and finally creating associative analyses to determine a course of action pertaining to a person, group, nation or region. This course will help the student to achieve this important objective. (Prerequisite: INTL500). Note: The ESRI course software will not run on computers using Macintosh [3 Semester Hours]

The Master's Capstone Seminar option includes a thesis, or a major research project or paper in lieu of the final comprehensive examination, which has no credit hours. Those who elect this option may reduce their electives by three semester hours to accommodate the seminar option credit. This option is desirable for those students who wish to focus on specific subject matter of an interdisciplinary nature or who would like to continue their education at a higher level. Students electing this option must use this as one of the graduate electives.