Johns Hopkins University

Climate change, population growth, energy consumption, habitat loss, water depletion and degradation, air pollution, and species extinction have increasingly come to the fore in minds of citizens around the world. To manage the Earth’s environment effectively, there is a need to understand the processes that shape the planet’s surface, control the chemistry of its air and water, and generate the natural resources on which humans depend. Our unique program is distinct in its focus on the interplay between science and policy. This program is founded on the premise that rational solutions to complex, twenty-first century environmental challenges require an in-depth understanding of applicable scientific principles and an appreciation for relevant political, ethical, economic, legal, and historical contexts. Graduates of the program develop combined expertise in science and policy that empowers them to become change agents and leaders in public and private organizations responsible for safeguarding our environment. Many of the program’s students are currently employed in environmental fields but wish to enhance their knowledge or move in new directions. Others seek to transition into the arena of environmental science and policy.

The program offers a flexible curriculum that allows students to customize their academic experience to suit their personal needs and interests. Courses are focused on wide-ranging issues such as imperiled global ecosystems, natural resources economics, and multinational environmental trusts and laws. The program is open to students with limited scientific background as well as those that already have a background in the environmental sciences. Core course work includes geology, hydrology, oceanography, meteorology, ecology, geographic information systems (GIS), and policymaking. Electives range across a spectrum from courses strongly oriented toward policy to ones focused more heavily on science. Electives are selected by students under the guidance of advisors.

The program was originally designed by members of the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Johns Hopkins, in conjunction with experts in applied science at regional and federal institutes and agencies. Students and faculty continue to collaborate in our accelerated BS/MS degree. Courses are taught by distinguished instructors with valuable experience in the academic, public, and corporate sectors. Many of the program’s alumni are highly successful professionals. Taking a holistic approach, curricula in the Environmental Sciences and Policy (ESP) program positions students to join and contribute to the global science community.