Popular Interdisciplinary ES Graduate Programs Yale University, School of Forestry and Environmental Studies University of Michigan, School of Natural Resources Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences University of Wisconsin, Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment Donald Bren School of Env. Science & Management: UC Santa Barbara See the extended listing of graduate programs

Thinking about Graduate School?

Environmental Studies graduates are employed by federal and state agencies, private and public organizations, businesses, and consulting firms. Approximately 70% of Colby graduates eventually undertake graduate study and Environmental Studies majors are no exception. Many graduates go directly into consulting firms, non-profit activist organizations, government agencies, or research institutions and many of these graduates ultimately end up in some sort of graduate program. Others proceed to top graduate programs immediately after Colby. In recent years, Environmental Studies graduates have enrolled in graduate school programs in natural resource management, environmental education, public policy, regional planning, water quality management, toxicology, occupational safety, environmental law, environmental health, ecology, microbial ecology, geology, marine biology, and oceanography.

View a list of programs attended by recent graduates

Policy & Management Graduate Programs
We have two suggestions for students selecting a public policy program to enter for graduate study:
1. check with the program to learn the types and locations of jobs their recent graduates have accepted to see if these correspond to the kinds of opportunities you are seeking;
2. see if members of the faculty at that institution are working in areas of interest to you. If you enter the PhD program, you will be working closely with a faculty member on your dissertation and that relationship will work best if your interests overlap at least to some degree.

• Bard Center for Environmental Policy
• University of California, Santa Barbara, Bren School of Environmental Science and Management
• Columbia University MPA Program in Environmental Science and Policy
• Indiana University, School of Public and Environmental Affairs
• Kennedy School of Government at Harvard
• University of Maryland, College Park
• Princeton Univeristy, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs
• Yale University, School of Forestry and Environmental Studies

Environmental Studies/Science Graduate Programs
Five popular interdisciplinary environmental studies/science graduate programs are highlighted in the right column of this page. Selected other environmental studies or environmental science graduate programs are listed below.

• The Gaylord Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies - at the University of Wisconsin
• University of Montana, Environmental Studies Program

Law Programs
Most law schools offer a range of environmental courses. Even if you plan to specialize in environmental law, when comparing schools you should look beyond the number of courses offered and also consider: academic reputation; opportunities to participate in clinics; internship and clerking options (for example, a city may offer a wider range of these opportunities); and relevant law journals.

• Boston College Law School
• Georgetown University Law School
• Harvard Law School
• Lewis & Clark, Environmental & Natural Resources Law
• New York University School of Law: Center on Environmental & Land Use Law
• Northeastern University Law School
• Vermont Law School's Environmental Law Center
• Yale University Joint Program : Law School & School of Forestry and Environmental Studies

Environmental Education Graduate Programs
There are relatively few graduate programs that focus on environmental education, but this situation may change in the future. We have listed some Master's programs below. For students who wish to pursue a PhD in the field of Environmental Education, we suggest that they select a graduate school that has a strong PhD program in Educational Studies, Cultural Studies of Education, or Educational Foundations that encourages interdisciplinary studies across other graduate programs (such as Environmental Studies, Environmental Science, Biology). For further information contact Karen Barnhardt in our Education Program. Karen is also the advisor for Colby's Environmental Education minor.

• Antioch New England Graduate School
• California State at San Bernadino
• Canyonlands Field Institute
• University of Montana
• University of New Hampshire, Environmental Education
• New York University
• Prescott College
• Southern Connecticut University
• University of Southern Oregon

Natural Science Graduate Programs
Selected graduate programs in ecology, marine sciences, wildlife biology, and natural resource management are listed below. There are many programs covering these fields and we recommend consulting with program faculty for further recommendations.

• University of California at Berkeley
• Colorado State University, College of Natural Resources
• University of Connecticut, marine biology
• University of Delaware, College of Marine Studies
• University of Michigan
• Oregon State University
• University of North Carolina, ecology
• University of South Carolina
• Utah State University
• University of Vermont, School of Natural Resources
• Virginia Institute of Marine Science through the College of William and Mary
• University of Washington

Environmental Engineering Graduate Programs

• University of Connecticut, Environmental Engineering Program

Helpful Links in the Search for a Grad School:

Colby Links:

See an annotated list of graduate school programs related to environmental studies

Visit the Career Services website for prospective graduate students

Environmental Graduate Program Databases

Directory of Environmental Programs
created by the National Council for Science and the Environment, and the Center for Conservation Biology Network.

Ecology and Conservation Biology Databases

Conservation Biology Grad Program Database
maintained by the Society for Conservation Biology.

General Grad School Program Databases

An online guide and reference book for Graduate School Planning and Beyond
created by the National Academy Press for science, engineering and policy students.

Peterson's Education Center
A powerful search engine to find, organize and contact graduate schools.

GradSchools.com
Search for grad schools by concentration and region
   Environmental Studies programs in the Northeast

Application and Test Prep Links

Information about taking the GRE

The Law School Admission Council

LSAT Preparation Site

Helpful Links in the Search for a Financial Assistance:

• National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships
• FinAid: Graduate School Financial Aid Information