Next summer, Columbia University will begin offering a one-year masters degree in Earth Systems Science, Policy and Management, allowing students to combine preparation for careers as policy professionals with intensive scientific study. The new program is a collaboration between Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) and the Columbia Earth Institute and will be housed at Biosphere 2 Center, Columbia's "western" campus near Tucson, Arizona.

This new program takes a unique approach. Students will develop the professional skills taught in typical MPA management and policy courses — financial analysis, policy analysis, grant-writing, oral briefings, team building and the use of various computer programs — but will do so following a summer immersion in science and by using case studies presented exclusively on earth science.

This will allow students to practice solving real-world problems by analyzing the economic, political, ethical and management issues raised in the study of earth systems. Ultimately, they will understand and be prepared to address such global change issues as global warming and air, water and waste management concerns.

The program is designed to close what is seen as a growing rift in understanding between scientists and the professionals who make important decisions on science policy.

"There is so often a deep disconnect between scientists and the administrators who are responsible for setting science policy," said Steven Cohen, the program's designer and director. "This has led to a feeling among scientists that policy-makers are making decisions without a real understanding of what's at stake. In contrast, our graduates will leave with a better understanding of what it is they're regulating and managing."

During their year at the 250-acre campus, including a state-of-the-art Earth systems laboratory located in Arizona's Sonoran Desert, students will have hands-on science learning in Biosphere's different biomes including a rainforest, a million gallon saltwater ocean and coral reef, and a coastal fog desert.

In addition, Columbia has just built a $10 million student village for 300 students, allowing program participants access not only to state-of-the-art science facilities but also cutting-edge laboratories, libraries, dormitories and other living facilities.

The degree granted will come from Columbia University. The program's intensive focus on science allows students to earn their master's in only 12 months; Columbia's other MPA program takes 18 months to complete. This will make it easier for people from other countries, already working in policy without advanced degrees, to earn a Columbia MPA in a relatively short period of time.

The creation of this new professional degree program is a product of the realization that institutional, social and economic processes interconnect to both sustain and endanger the biosphere. It is part of an initiative by Michael Crow, Columbia's executive vice provost, to give science practical applications to improve the quality of human life.

"Columbia is a leader internationally in teaching both environmental science and public policy," Crow said. "By capitalizing on these two strengths, we hope to train the next generation of policy makers and scientists to work together toward global sustainability."

Lisa Anderson, dean of SIPA, said that the field of public policy increasingly demands more technical and specialized skills.

"The single most important challenge for public policy makers of the 21st century is to acquire the scientific literacy that will enable them to be effective stewards of our future," said Anderson.

Columbia is one of the first universities in the world to develop this approach to the field of environmental and earth sciences at the university level. One of the largest living laboratories in the world, Biosphere 2 Laboratory is equipped to conduct controlled experiments that imitate regional and global activities, allowing scientists to observe the ecological and biogeochemical responses of entire ecosystems to environmental changes, including processes that would be impossible to study in natural ecosystems.

Students will have the opportunity to work with internationally-renowned scientists who perform research at Biosphere 2 and to network with policymakers, developing relationships that will assist them throughout their careers. About one-third of the class will join the program straight from receiving their undergraduate degrees, while the rest already will have experience working in a variety of fields. Learning alongside a cohort of students from different backgrounds with a variety of experience also allows students the opportunity to develop a professional network among their peers.

Under the leadership of Charles Barry Osmond, an internationally renowned plant biologist, Biosphere 2's research is growing stronger in modeling, simulation and systems engineering.

"The scientific and educational mission of Biosphere 2," explains Osmond, "is to serve as a center for research, teaching and learning about the Earth and its systems; to catalyze interdisciplinary thinking and understanding about Earth and its future; to be a key center for Earth education and for outreach to industry, government and the general public and to focus public attention on the issues related to Earth systems planning and management."

In addition to providing a focus for research, the Biosphere 2 Center offers semester-long and summer programs for high school and undergraduate students. The facility's conference center and exhibits attract over 170,000 visitors annually.