University of California, Santa Barbara
AC-4: Graduate Program

The program focuses on application and problem-solving and has three parts: the first-year core curriculum, the second-year work in one of seven specializations, and the Group Project or Eco-Entrepreneurship Project. The Bren School MESM degree involves core curriculum that provides a solid foundation in coupled human and environmental systems. The specializations offered by Bren School include Coastal Marine Resources Management, Conservation Planning, Corporate Environmental Management, Economics and Politics of the Environment, Energy and Climate, Pollution Prevention and Remediation, and Water Resources Management. Lastly, students complete a Group Project or Eco-Entrepreneurship Project focused around coursework that develops skills and experiences that help them pursue new technologies and strategies for addressing society's environmental and resource challenges.

The Bren School’s PhD program is designed to develop the broad knowledge, analytical powers, technical skills, and creative thinking demanded of leaders in Environmental Science & Management. The program is also designed to accommodate a wide range of research interests, from those highly focused in a particular discipline to strongly interdisciplinary ones. All courses offered by the Bren School are open to PhD students. Courses are also available in such other departments as Geography, Earth Science, Economics, Political Science, and Ecology, Evolution & Marine Biology, as well as others. PhD research topics can be as focused or interdisciplinary as the courses. Current research projects include "Economics of water management, including markets, pricing, auctions, and payments for ecosystem services;" " Using computational numerical methods to develop a better understanding of energy and material resource management problems that are dynamic over space and time;" and "Environmental impacts of energy technologies and agricultural systems, approaches for regionalizing life cycle inventory, and China's environmental issues."

The Economics and Environmental Science (EES) emphasis at UCSB instills the ability to use economic tools in developing environmental approaches and policies. The program's goal is to develop environmental economists who are able to conceptualize economic problems related to environmental issues, then apply appropriate quantitative and qualitative techniques to design and implement appropriate research methods.

The Interdepartmental PhD Emphasis in Environment and Society (IEES) launched in 2014 with the goal of providing UCSB doctoral students an opportunity to receive training and mentorship in interdisciplinary environmental studies and sciences beyond the scope of their normal degree programs. Analogous to a minor at the PhD level, the goal of the emphasis is to facilitate a deep understanding of how the environment is changing, how those changes affect human societies, and how political, economic and cultural forces in turn affect the environment. The emphasis creates a means for UCSB doctoral students to develop the integrative thinking and problem-solving skills necessary to lead the next generation of environmental scholars.