University of New Haven - Program in Environmental Sciences - Overview
Graduate Studies in Environmental Science
The University of New Haven graduate program in environmental science prepares students to become professionals in the broad-ranging fields that environmental science encompasses. The uniquely interdisciplinary graduate program offers studies in the areas of ecology, geology, chemistry, and legislation, and students find themselves spending as much time in the field as in the laboratory or classroom as they gain practical experience in their field of specialty.
The state of Connecticut, its coastline, and the Northeast serve as virtual labs for the program's many research projects, which run the gamut from soil science and toxicology to hydrology, wetlands ecology, and hazardous materials management.
Master of Science Degree Offers Variety of Concentrations
The Environmental Science program at the University of New Haven offers a Master of Science (M.S.) degree that is awarded on the completion of 5 core courses and an additional 9 courses taken in a specific area of concentration.
The 5 required courses include: Environmental Law and Legislation, Environmental Chemistry, Environmental Geoscience, Principles of Ecology with Laboratory, and a Research Project in the student's area of concentration.
Elective Concentrations
Students in the University of New Haven Environmental Science program may focus their elective studies on 1 of 5 areas of concentration. Once a concentration is declared, the student works with a faculty adviser to tailor an individual program of study.
The areas of concentration include: environmental ecology, environmental education, environmental geoscience, environmental health and management, and GIS and applications.
Environmental Ecology Concentration
In the Environmental Ecology concentration, students take classes such as Wetlands Ecology with Laboratory, where issues including wetland delineation and restoration are studied, and field trips focus on evaluation of the hydrology of soils and biotic communities in various wetlands.
Other courses may include Landscape Ecology, Environmental Microbiology, or Toxicology.
Environmental Education Concentration
Graduate students focusing on environmental education learn the many aspects of teaching in the field. Courses in this area include Elementary Science Teaching or the Environmental Education Instructors Clinic, in which students receive intensive field training in natural history and various environmental education instruction techniques.
Environmental Geoscience Concentration
A concentration on environmental geoscience includes courses studying issues such as groundwater geology, soil science, and subsurface assessment.
In the Glacial Geology course, students learn about glacial processes, landforms, and the relationships between glacial landforms and the materials that comprise them. The course includes 2 field trips in New England.
Environmental Health and Management Concentration
In the Environmental Health and Management Concentration, students take courses in topics such as epidemiology, industrial hygiene, and radioactivity and radiation in the environment.
Geographical Information Systems Concentration or Certificate
The Environmental Science program offers either a concentration or a certificate program in Geographical Information Systems (GIS). GIS technology increasingly plays a key role in environmental sciences, and the program offers instruction in basic as well as advanced techniques.
The certificate program focuses on the technology and application of computerized cartography and spatially referenced databases, commonly used in professions such as regional planning and management, and energy and natural resource protection.
Research Projects Probe Key Environmental Issues
Environmental science students collaborate with faculty to investigate a wide variety of environmental issues. In the research lab of department chair Roman Zajac, Ph.D., for instance, recent research programs included the application of landscape ecology approaches to sea floor ecology, the development of food web models for estuarine systems, and studies on the effects of salt marsh change on coastal ecology.
Recent graduate students' research papers and theses have dealt with issues such as the use of GIS in management of river and stream buffers, the status of neotropical and migrant birds in Connecticut, and the biotic integrity of coastal habitants of Long Island Sound.
Admission to the Environmental Science Graduate Program
Applicants seeking admission to the University of New Haven Environmental Science program should have an undergraduate degree in science with courses in biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry, and calculus. Candidates are also recommended to have introductory statistics and a course in physics.
University of New Haven
The University of New Haven is a private university located on 84 acres in suburban West Haven, Connecticut, just between Boston and New York. The university was founded in 1920, and it has an enrollment of 5,200, including about 1,700 graduate students and 3,500 undergraduates.