Are you concerned about the impact of human behavior on the environmental? Consider an Online Masters in Environmental Management.
A degree in Environmental Management will expose you to a wide variety of career options. These employees are in high demand as more stress is placed on the earth’s resources. Environmental managers tend to be driven, passionate, and analytical, and may pursue careers as environmental planners, policymakers, or researchers.
While a Bachelor’s degree in a related field may qualify you for a few of these positions, a master’s degree will open you up to hundreds of new high-paying, high-status leadership positions.
What kind of Environmental Management degree should you get?
Many universities offer degrees in environmental management, but you should consider how you would like to spend your studies. Think about whether time in a laboratory matters to you, and if you are willing to travel. What kind of learning style do you have, and what program will best suit it?
If you are already working in the field of Environmental Management, you should consider an online degree. An online degree will provide you with the flexibility and convenience necessary to pursue your degree from any location, and at any time.
How much money do people make with an Environmental Management degree?
While average starting salaries will vary depending on experience and industry of choice, most environmental management professionals can expect to earn high wages. This is especially true as candidates advance in the profession and work their way into middle- or upper- leadership positions.
Typically, environmental managers will earn around $69,000 per year. The job outlook for this industry is excellent, with an expected 11 percent growth by 2026. This is much faster than average and is likely the result of increasing demands on the environment as a result of population growth, as well as a growing interest in preventing environmental degradation.
What can you do with a degree in Environmental Management?
With a degree in environmental management, you will be qualified to work in many settings. These experts utilize their theoretical and practical knowledge of the natural sciences to reduce waste, influence policy, and prevent pollution. You might choose to specialize in a particular area, such as sustainability or wildlife management, or work in a field that utilizes a broad range of skills.
While many environmental managers work in offices or laboratories, a growing number of professionals spend significant time in the field gathering data and monitoring local conditions. You might work for the federal government, or for a technical consulting service. Some graduates even go on to work full-time for engineering services or management firms.
What are the requirements for a degree in Environmental Management?
To enroll in a Master’s degree in environmental management, most universities will first require a Bachelor’s degree in a related field, such as Ecology or Biology. Some programs also require several years of relevant experience.
While enrolled in your studies, you will take a variety of hands-on and theory-based coursework. For example, you might take classes in natural resources policy or planning, or you may take a more business-oriented curriculum. Either way, most degrees can be finished in less than two years of full-time study.
What are the best Environmental Management degrees?
The best environmental management degrees are the ones that allow you to pursue elective courses that best meet your interests and career goals. Many programs will require students to take classes in specialty areas, such as sustainability, that provide them with greater depth in a given subject – making them highly marketable when it comes to hunting for jobs.
In addition, many programs include hands-on field experiences, internship opportunities, study abroad, or cooperative learning experiences that provide students with real-world training. These experiences are often integrated into online programs as well as those offered on campus, providing you with no excuse to not consider a highly flexible, convenient online degree in Environmental Management.
Through your coursework, you will learn how to
- Assess threats, hazards, and risks to the environment from an organization’s operations
- Analyze and communicate health, safety, and environmental risks
- Manage, plan, and conduct comprehensive environmental compliance, managerial, and liability audits for various industrial and commercial facilities
- Develop a team and manage an environmental project/program for an organization or government agency
- Use key technologies and software tools, such as Crystal Ball and ARC GIS
- Develop planning documents for watershed management and air quality programs
- Use different methods of measurement and modeling to complete the four core parts of a risk assessment
- Lead projects involving hazardous and municipal solid waste, pollution prevention techniques, and waste minimization
- Apply environmental economic principles to property rights, pollution damage and abatement costs, and cost/benefit analyses
- Develop strategies for protecting workers in the context of organizational and budgetary constraints
- Understand U.S. environmental and energy law and policy, including its development, implementation, and enforcement
- Apply best practices in land use management, including where to build, how to build, and when to build
Initial Requirement
- Orientation to Graduate Studies at UMGC (0 Credits, UCSP 615)1
(to be taken within the first 6 credits of study)
Core Courses
- Fundamentals of Environmental Systems (3 Credits, ENVM 600)
- Environmental/Energy Law and Policy Development (3 Credits, ENVM 610)
- Environmental Auditing (3 Credits, ENVM 641)
- Environmental Communications and Reporting (3 Credits, ENVM 643)
- New Technologies in Environmental Management (3 Credits, ENVM 644)
- Environmental Risk Assessment (3 Credits, ENVM 647)
- Principles and Practices of Waste Management (3 Credits, ENVM 649)
- Environmental and Natural Resources Economics (3 Credits, ENVM 650)
- Water Resources Management (3 Credits, ENVM 651)
- Principles of Air Quality Management (3 Credits, ENVM 652)
- Land Use Management (3 Credits, ENVM 653)
Career Preparation
This program is designed to help you prepare for high-level environmental management in a wide range of organizations, including industrial, commercial, governmental, and military. Possible career areas include environment and safety analysis, sustainability management, environmental policy analysis, and environmental management.