Master of Environmental Sustainability (MES)

Master solutions for integrated social, economic, and environmental sustainability

Our Master of Environmental Sustainability (MES) program was designed in consultation with employers to identify the most in-demand skills they seek in sustainability professionals today. And then we built those core skills into our accelerated one-year, 36 credit-hour degree program to ensure you will graduate with the skills that employers are looking for - and that you need to transform environmental science and policy into actionable solutions that promote sustainability practices in the public, private, or nonprofit sector. 

In this program, you’ll get management know-how and technical training that will prepare you to meet the growing demand for “green” jobs across the nation (World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs report identified sustainability specialists as the #2 fastest growing job)—all from the school ranked #1 for Environmental Policy and Management.

 

75% of O’Neill master’s students receive funding packages of at least 25%

Competitive funding packages are available to assist in making our top-ranked school affordable. 

Upon completion of this degree, international students will be eligible for the STEM OPT extension.

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The MES Program

1year

36credit hours

Choose one of five concentrations

By choosing one of our five MES concentrations, you will turn your area of interest into an area of expertise. Each MES concentration will be composed of both fundamental science courses and applications courses.

Just created this year, our newest concentration allows students to gain expertise intothe policy and planning behind environmental sustainability. You will have the opportunity to learn about applied ecology or environmental chemistry, along with law, management, and policy courses studying planning and community development, benefit cost analysis, environmental policies domestic or international), water policy and economics, sustainability in a Tri-Sectoral World, environmental economics and policy, environmental law, energy economics and policy, planning for climate change and resilient urban communities, as well as energy and climate law and policy.

This concentration will teach you how to be a forward thinker with skills in environmental protection including air, water, and waste management, and toxicology. You’ll develop the management and critical thinking skills necessary to remediate environmental threats posed by energy production and consumption, hazardous waste, and climate change before they can make a negative environmental impact. 

Our Municipal Sustainability concentration emphasizes actions that cities and towns can take to maximize sustainability at the nexus of energy, water, waste, sewage, housing, and food. Coursework will cover municipal management topics to ensure you know the challenges public agencies face and how to address them. This concentration will prepare you for careers in municipal sustainability, including water, waste, and power utilities operators, sustainability coordinators, and managers of parks, forests, and greenways. 

The MES Sustainable Water Resources concentration emphasizes the science behind water quality and availability to help you develop solutions for sustainable water management. In this concentration, you will have the opportunity to look at ecosystem aspects of water, such as sustainable management of fisheries, lakes, watersheds and wetlands, as well as developing skills in water quality and water resource management, applications of pollution prevention, and storm and wastewater management.

Recognizing our planet’s bounty while also respecting its limits, our concentration in Sustainable Natural Resource Conservation and Management will prepare you to better understand and manage natural resources and biodiversity. You’ll take courses that focus on a variety of ecosystems and how to manage them, including forest and wetland ecology and management, fisheries and wildlife management, and climate change impacts on natural resources.

Important dates

Fall Term: Classes begin in August

  • Priority Deadline: January 15
  • Final Deadline: May 1 

Get real-world experience during your Capstone

Capstone students work in groups on a complex problem, often for a real-world client. Some recent Capstones have included:

  • Assessing climate change impacts on natural resources
  • Evaluating and making recommendations for the National Water Quality Initiative
  • Creating a Holistic Sustainability Index for Indiana and the Hoosier Environmental Council