Programs

Bloomington Campus

Master of Public Affairs Joint Degree Programs

Master of Public Affairs–Master of Science in Environmental Science

This combined master’s program is a 60-credit ­hour program that gives the student more depth and breadth than is possible in a single degree.  M.P.A. and M.S.E.S. degrees are awarded concurrently after the student has completed the requirements for both degrees.

Application and Admission

The student must apply to and be accepted by both the Master of Public Affairs program and the Master of Science in Environmental Science program. The normal criteria for admission to each program apply.

Program Requirements

(60 credit hours) The combined M.P.A.–M.S.E.S. program requires a minimum of 60 credit hours distributed among four components: environmental science core, public affairs core, environmental science and policy concentration, and professional experience.

Public Affairs Core

Required Courses (15 credit hours)

SPEA-V 502 Public Management (3 cr.)
SPEA-V 506 Statistical Analysis for Effective Decision Making
(With consent of the advisor, may substitute
SPEA-E 538 Statistics for Environmental Science.
Credit not given for both SPEA-E 538 and SPEA-V 506.
Course should be taken in the first semester.)
(3 cr.)
SPEA-V 517 Public Management Economics (3 cr.)
SPEA-V 540 Law and Public Affairs (3 cr.)
SPEA-V 560 Public Finance and Budgeting (3 cr.)
Environmental Science Core Competencies

Requirements may be waived according to individual student backgrounds and professional objectives.

Required Courses (Typically 6 to 12 credit hours)

SPEA-E 526 Applied Mathematics for Environmental Science (3 cr.)
SPEA-E 527 Applied Ecology (3 cr.)
SPEA-E 536 Environmental Chemistry (3 cr.)
SPEA-E 552 Environmental Engineering (3 cr.)
Capstone

Required Course (3 credit hours)

Choose one of the listed capstone options from either the M.P.A. or M.S.E.S.

Students must fulfill the professional presentation requirement.

Program Options

All M.P.A.-M.S.E.S. joint degree students must complete the M.P.A. core requirements. Joint students can pursue one of four concentration options.

1. Environmental Management Concentration
(24 credit hours)

Required Courses (24 credit hours)
Four of the following courses:

SPEA-E 515 Fundamentals of Air Pollution (3 cr.)
SPEA-E 518 Vector-based Geographic Information Systems (3 cr.)
SPEA-E 519 Applied Remote Sensing of the Environment (3 cr.)
SPEA-E 520 Environmental Toxicology or
SPEA-E 410 Introduction to Environmental Toxicology
(3 cr.)
SPEA-E 539 Aquatic Chemistry (3 cr.)
SPEA-E 545 Lake and Watershed Management (3 cr.)
SPEA-E 554 Groundwater Flow Modeling (3 cr.)
SPEA-E 562 Solid and Hazardous Waste Management (3 cr.)

Four of the following:

SPEA-E 512 Risk Communication (3 cr.)
SPEA-V 507 Data Analysis and Modeling for Public Affairs (3 cr.)
SPEA-V 510 Government Regulation in Market Economies (3 cr.)
SPEA-V 516 Public Information Management Systems (3 cr.)
SPEA-V 541 Benefit-Cost Analysis of Public and Environmental Policies (3 cr.)
SPEA-V 562 Public Program Evaluation (3 cr.)
SPEA-V 565 Environmental Conflict Resolution: Theory and Practice (3 cr.)
SPEA-V 571 State and Local Environmental Management (3 cr.)
SPEA-V 625 Environmental Economics and Policy (3 cr.)
SPEA-V 643 Natural Resource Management and Policy (3 cr.)
SPEA-V 645 Environmental Law (3 cr.)

2. Environmental Systems Analysis and Modeling Concentration
(27 credit hours)

Required (27 credit hours)
The following three courses:

SPEA-E 560 Environmental Risk Analysis (3 cr.)
SPEA-V 507 Data Analysis and Modeling for Public Affairs (3 cr.)
SPEA-V 539 Management Science for Public Affairs (3 cr.)

Four of the following courses:

SPEA-E 515 Fundamentals of Air Pollution Control (3 cr.)
SPEA-E 518 Vector-Based Geographic Information Systems (3 cr.)
SPEA-E 519 Applied Remote Sensing of the Environment (3 cr.)
SPEA-E 529 Application of Geographic Information Systems (3 cr.)
SPEA-E 539 Aquatic Chemistry (3 cr.)
SPEA-E 554 Groundwater Flow Modeling (3 cr.)
SPEA-E 555 Topics in Environmental Science (modeling related) (3 cr.)

Two of the following courses:

SPEA-V 541 Benefit-Cost Analysis of Public and Environmental Policies (3 cr.)
SPEA-V 625 Environmental Economics and Policy (3 cr.)
SPEA-V 643 Natural Resource Management and Policy (3 cr.)

3. Specialized Concentration

(21 credit hours) Select four M.S.E.S. courses from one of the listed M.S.E.S. concentrations and three M.P.A. courses from one of the listed M.P.A. concentrations.

4. Any M.S.E.S. or M.P.A. Concentration

Any M.S.E.S. concentration plus 9 additional credit hours from a listed M.P.A. concentration
Or
Any M.P.A. concentration plus 12 additional credit hours from a listed M.S.E.S. concentration.

Experiential Requirement

Each double master’s degree candidate must obtain professionally relevant experience through one of the following options: an approved internship (0-6 credit hours); advanced project; independent research/thesis; the award of prior professional experience credit; or an environmental science research project culminating in a master’s thesis. Students are encouraged to discuss with faculty members the relative merits of their experiences according to individual career objectives.

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