Graduate Programs

Certificate Program

This sequence of 15 semester hours is designed to meet the needs of student and working professionals preparing for leadership roles in environmental science or management. The graduate certificate is focused in two tracks, with specialization in risk management and industrial/institutional management. This program is especially useful for careers with regulatory agencies, industries seeking compliance with environmental regulations or focusing on environmental management systems, research facilities, and consulting firms providing state-of-the-art assessment, management, and remediation. The program will also prepare the student to continue graduate studies leading to higher degrees.

To receive a certificate in environmental studies, all students must complete 15 semester hours of credit from course work listed below. A grade-point-average of 3.0 or above must be achieved for all fifteen semester hours of credit.

Students may enter the Graduate School as a non-degree graduate student and obtain the Certificate. They may apply 9 sh of the 15 sh Certificate to a Master's degree.

Risk Management Track

The Risk Management track addresses the need to provide risk-based management decisions for assessment and cleanup of contaminated sites (Superfund, RCRA, brownfields, wildlife habitats) or environmental media (soils, surface and ground water, air, wetlands). This track is science based and is recommended for post-bachelor's students who are interested in broadening their science, health, and statistics background.

Industrial/Institutional Management Track

The Industrial/Institutional Management track addresses the need to apply management skills to environmental compliance issues in industry (waste handling, storage, disposal, permitting, and environmental audits) and institutions involved with research and laboratory testing. The track is technology based and is recommended for post-bachelor's students who are interested in broadening their engineering, operations management, safety, and regulatory background.

Background Requirements and Opportunities

Both tracks will draw students from diverse backgrounds. Opportunities exist to obtain graduate credit to develop backgrounds in environmental studies (science and technology) without repeating undergraduate level environmental curricula. In some cases, however, upper-division undergraduate prerequisite courses may be required to prepare the student for advanced studies. Some of these courses may not carry credit for a subsequent graduate degree. A background assessment will be provided on an individual basis. Graduates of accredited undergraduate programs in environmental studies, civil and environmental engineering, and in physical and natural sciences, may proceed with the Certificate Programs without deficiencies is most cases.

Master of Science Program

Program Description

The Center for Environmental Studies (CES) offers a multidisciplinary, interdepartmental Graduate Program leading to a Master of Science degree in Environmental Studies. CES is housed in Moser Hall  and draws its faculty and resources from the College of Arts and Sciences, the William Rayen College of Engineering and Technology, the Bitonte College of Health and Human Services, and the Warren P. Williamson, Jr. College of Business Administration. This program is intended for individuals having undergraduate degrees in environmental studies/science, other natural or social sciences, engineering, or health professions. It is designed to meet the needs of students and working professionals preparing for supervisory roles in environmental science (research and management), with emphasis on a risk-based approach to the solving of environmental problems.  The curriculum requires the student to broaden his/her knowledge with core courses in environmental studies, to deepen her/his expertise with elective courses in one of four disciplines, and to demonstrate abilities to prepare a scholarly thesis.  This degree will benefit students who are planning careers with regulatory agencies, industries seeking regulatory compliance or focusing on environmental management systems, research facilities, and consulting firms providing state-of-the-art assessment, management, and remediation.

Admission Requirements

Graduates of regionally accredited baccalaureate programs in environmental studies, civil and environmental engineering, and physical and biological sciences may proceed with the Master of Science degree without deficiencies, in most cases.  Graduates in social sciences and other programs may be required to complete coursework deficiencies in science and math.  Students must also demonstrate that their undergraduate program comprised study equivalent to that currently required for a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Studies at YSU (as stated in the Undergraduate catalog in the year of admission), especially with regard to mathematics and statistics, environmental chemistry, field and laboratory techniques, and environmental regulations.  In those cases where the undergraduate preparation is deficient in three or fewer courses, students may be admitted with provisional status and must remove the deficiencies by satisfactorily completing appropriate undergraduate courses with a grade of B or better.

An unrecalculated cumulative undergraduate minimum grade-point average of 2.7 (on a 4.0 scale) is required for admission without the Graduate Record Examination (general test).  For students with grade-point averages below 2.7, taking the Graduate Record Examination is required.  The Dean of the School of Graduate Studies may consider provisional admission of a student with less than a 2.7 grade-point average if a 1400 combined Graduate Record Examination score is achieved.

Degree Requirements

Each student admitted to the program will meet with the Director to choose members of the student’s Advisory/Thesis Committee.  The committee will consist of three to five faculty members in appropriate fields of expertise and one non-faculty professional. The non-faculty member must be in professional practice in an qualify for appointment as an Adjunct Graduate Faculty member at YSU.

Upon admission to the program, the student’s course of study will be devised through consultation with the student’s Advisory/Thesis committee.  The course of study will be based on the student’s area of specialization, background, and career interests. The core courses are science intensive whereas the choices of electives emphasize one or more of the following disciplines:

 (1) Chemistry and Chemical Engineering;
 (2) Biology and Health;
 (3) Environmental Engineering; and
 (4) Business Management.
 
 

The thesis shall advance knowledge in environmental science and be applicable to the solving of environmental problems.  The thesis will include a formal document and a draft article in journal format suitable for publication submittal.

Five prescribed core courses (15 s.h.), discipline-based electives (12 s.h.), and a thesis (6 s.h.) are required for the Master of Science degree. Upon completion of course work with a cumulative graduate grade-point average of 3.0 or higher, students must earn a passing grade of 75 percent on a comprehensive written examination, which may cover both completed course material and general environmental issues.

Six (6) semester hours of thesis work must progress according to the following prescribed milestones:

Prior to beginning thesis work, students will be asked to:
 choose a topic after 6 s.h. (of non-thesis coursework) have been completed;
 submit an outline after 12 s.h.; and
 submit a formal proposal after 15 s.h.
Each proposal must be reviewed and approved by all members of the Advisory/Thesis committee.

As thesis work progresses, students must submit:
 progress reports after 2, 4, and 6 s.h. (of thesis coursework) have been completed;
 a draft thesis document after 5 s.h.; and
 a final draft and draft journal article after 6 s.h.
Each document must be reviewed and approved by all members of the Advisory/Thesis committee.

After the final draft and draft journal article are deemed acceptable, students are required to defend the results of the research in an oral presentation before the Advisory/Thesis committee for final approval.
 
 
 
 
 
 

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