Environmental Resource Management, M.S.

Environmental resource management has become an area of national and international significance. Resource managers, typically in the public and private developmental sectors, face increasingly complex technical problems that cut across several of the more traditional educational disciplines. In addition to the fundamentals of biological and chemical environmental processes, managers must be knowledgeable in local and global cause and effect relationships of human activities in the development and use of environmental resources. Resource managers must also understand the legal and regulatory aspects of resources management. Recognizing these multidisciplinary needs, the master’s degree program in environmental resource management is closely associated with the environmental science program at Florida Tech and includes both university coursework and an internship with a regulatory agency, NGO or private company that manages environmental resources. Graduates are well prepared to effectively interact with engineers, scientists, managers and politicians.

Admission Requirements

Students applying for admission to the environmental resources management program should have undergraduate majors in science or engineering, or sufficient coursework in the physical and life sciences and engineering to readily understand the fundamental biological, chemical and physical relationships important in environmental resource management. In some instances, additional preparatory work in some areas may be required at the beginning of the program. The prospective student is advised of such requirements before final acceptance. Each applicant is strongly encouraged to arrange for a conference regarding program content and qualifications with faculty and the program chair or other faculty member before arriving on campus to begin an academic program.

General admission requirements and application procedures are presented in the Academic Overview  section.

Degree Requirements

The degree requires satisfactory completion of 30 credit hours of required and elective courses. Included in the total are 24 credit hours of required courses and internship, and six credit hours of selected elective topics as specified in a master’s program plan developed in conjunction with the student’s advisor. An internship document is required by the academic unit, and the student makes an oral presentation of the internship assignment to the graduate seminar or a professional society meeting and to the student’s internship advisory committee. Thesis or internship registration must be continuous from the initial registration until graduation.