|
About the
Program: 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.
A Pioneering
Program
We have designed the Environmental MPA Program
by combining 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).
An Appreciation
of Earth Systems
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.
A
Hands-On Craft Approach to Teaching Public Policy
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.
 |
The skills and concepts include an understanding of:
- the connections between policy intent,
program design, organizational capacity, and political
feasibility;
- the relationship of program to organization
and organization to budget;
- the design of studies that are methodologically
rigorous and defensible within the constraints of available
resources;
- environmental economics, politics,
policy, and management;
- public and environmental ethics;
- perceptions of environmental quality
and environmental values, and how to explain science to
nonscientists and manage the work of scientists;
- how to manage organizational change
and innovation;
- how to work in groups and deal with
group conflict;
- professional communication, including
memo and report writing and the conduct of formal oral
briefings.
|
A
New Breed of Environmental 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.
A Unique
Educational Experience
This twelve-month program takes place at Columbia University’s
Morningside Heights campus in New York City. |
