MPA-ESP Graduates Working as Environmental Professionals

The Master of Public Administration (MPA) in Environmental Science and Policy, sponsored by the School of International and Public Affairs and the Earth Institute at Columbia University, has graduated 248 individuals since launching in 2002.  Equipped with hands-on experience and decision-making and policy-analysis skills developed in the program, graduates move on to professions in government, private and non-profit sectors, relating to environmental policy.  Within each of these areas, our graduates are called upon to address environmental, resource and global change issues, specifically air, water, climate, energy efficiency, food, agriculture, transportation and waste management, among others.  Working as consultants, environmental and public health advisors, project managers, program directors, policy analysts, teachers, researchers and environmental biologists and engineers, our graduates continue to apply all that they have learned to the world.  According to Program Director and Earth Institute Executive Director Steven Cohen, “The program is succeeding in its fundamental goal of educating a new kind of environmental professional. Our graduates translate environmental science for policy makers and environmental politics for scientists. Our alumni are terrific—they are smart, energetic and dedicated to ensuring the planet’s sustainability.”

Of the 229 graduates of the program recently surveyed 158 responded to provide information on what they are doing today.  Eighty-four responded that they are currently working professionally, 8% have chosen to continue their education and 5% are traveling.  Average annual starting salary of an MPA ESP graduate is roughly $55,180. Twenty percent of the survey respondents that are now working professionally are working for government agencies, such as the City of New York, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Parks Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the United Nations Environment Program and the New South Wales Department of Environment and Climate Change, among many other national and international agencies.  Over twenty students have been honored as Presidential Management Fellows.  This highly competitive and prestigious fellowship selects well-qualified individuals, from a nationwide pool of candidates, who are committed to careers in the analysis of public policies and programs.

The private sector is well represented with 39% of graduates, both in the United States and internationally, working with firms including, AIG Environmental, Bear Stearns, Booz Allen Hamilton, Kinetix, Duke Management Company, Mitsubishi, TechLaw, Inc., Clipper Windpower, Inc. and EcoSecurities Ltd., among others.  Twenty-five percent of working survey respondents are in the non-profit sector employed by research or international organizations including Environmental Defense, GreenSeal, the National Resources Defense Council, the Earth Institute at Columbia University, CLF Ventures, Inc., and TransFair USA, a fair trade certification agency. 

Eight percent of the MPA in Environmental Science and Policy graduates who responded are currently continuing their education, pursuing law degrees, other professional degrees or PhDs in subjects ranging from marine biology to engineering.  These graduates are studying at Columbia University, the London School of Economics, New York University Law School, the University of Delaware, the University of Vermont, Hofstra University School of Law, University of Colorado Law School, Kyoto University, Rice University, Technische Universität München and Harvard University.

Today, MPA-ESP graduates reside all over the world, from the United States' East or West Coast to other countries such as Australia, Germany, Japan, China, Indonesia, Russia, India, Israel, Lebanon, Kazakhstan, Ireland, Mexico, Canada, Tanzania, England, Chile, Mexico, France, Ukraine, Senegal and South Africa.

Places of Employment:

Government and Intergovernmental Organizations:

City of Denver Parks and Recreation Department; Water Conservation Program; City of Flint, MI, Water Pollution Control Facility, The Center for Disease Control and Prevention; Region 9 of Environmental Protection Agency; Region 2 of the Environmental Protection Agency; Environmental Protection Agency, Clean Air Markets Division; Environmental Protection Agency, Climate Change Division; Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Pesticides Programs; Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Solid Waste/ Municipal and Industrial Solid Waste Division; Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response; Manhattan Borough President's Office; NASA; National Parks Service - National Heritage Areas Program; New South Wales Department of Environment and Climate Change, Australia; NOAA Climate Program Office; NYSOPRHP, Environmental Management Bureau; U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy; Environmental Policy Office in Ireland; The City of New York, Department of Health and Mental Hygiene; UCAR; U.S. Department of Commerce, NOAA, Budget Office; US Environmental Protection Agency, ENERGY STAR Commercial Buildings; US National Regulatory Commission; Volpe Center, part of US Dept of Transportation; UN world food programme; UNDP Global Environment Facility Project on Env. Health and Medical Waste; UNEP, Paris Secretariat; United Nations Environmental Programme; City of London, Energy Office; City of Bayonne/ Bayonne Economic Development Corporation (BEDC); the City of New York's Office of Energy Conservation DCAS; NY Office of Management and Budget; NYC Dept. of Environmental Protection (Bureau of Water Supply) and the US Department of the Interior, Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute.  

Private Companies:

AIG Environmental; Architectural Energy Corporation (AEC); Aspen Environmental Group; Bear Stearns; Best Foot Forward, LLC; Blacksmith Institute; Booz Allen Hamilton; Cadmus Group; Cameron-Cole, LLC; Carbon Credit Capital; Carrollo Engineers; Con Edison NYC; EcoSecurities Group; EDS; Energetics, Inc.; ERM Inc.; Freelance Photography; Kinetix, LLC; Kohl's ; Lexecon; Louis Berger Group; Malcolm Pirnie; Michael Baker Engineering; Mitsubishi; Nacional Financiera; Navigant Consulting; Northwest Airlines; Parsons Brinckerhoff; PBS&J Inc.; Recycled Energy Development LLC; TechLaw, an environmental consulting firm in Boston;  Techphone; Texas Instruments; TFS Energy LLC; Best Foot Forward, Ltd.; Clipper Windpower, Inc.; Duke Management Company; Horizon Wind Energy; ICF International; Martin and Wood Water Consultants, Inc; Red Oak Consulting, division of Malcolm Pirnie Inc.; SRA International Inc.; Sustainable Energy Solutions; UMDNJ and Evolution Markets.  

Continuing Education:

College of William and Mary Law School; Columbia University; Gerard J. Mangone Center for Marine Policy, University of Delaware and the Global Forum on Oceans, Coasts, and Islands; GISS/DEES Columbia University; Kyoto University; New York University, School of Law; The London School of Economics; Rice University; Technische Universität München; Rotary World Peace Fellow at University of Queensland; Clark University and Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. 

Non-Profit Organizations:

ACCESS/CARE India; AVAAZ; Nassau County Family Court; Dui Hua Organization; The Nature Conservancy; Pew Center on Global Climate Change; Teach for America- Baltimore City Public Schools; California Wilderness Coalition; Energy Division Representative for the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity in Chicago, Illinois; Environmental Defense; Environmental Insurance Agency; CLF Ventures, Inc. (subsidiaries of the Conservation Law Foundation); Eutopianow.org; Global Roundtable on Climate Change at the Earth Institute; Green Seal; Homes for the Homeless/The Institute for Children and Poverty; Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; Network for New Energy Choices; NRDC; Ozone Transport Commission; Regional Plan Association; Social Compact; The Earth Institute at Columbia University; TNC; TransFair USA; California Environmental Associates; Democratic National Committee; Olympia School District; The Consortium for Energy Efficiency; Women and Girls Empowerment Program and Arizona State University; School of Life Sciences