The Dual Degree Program

We hope you will find here answers to all of your questions about the program. If you do have additional questions, please feel free to contact the CONS program office, Dr. David Inouye (Director) or Dr. Jim Dietz (Associate Director).

In cooperation with the School of Public Affairs, we offer the option of a dual degree program. Graduates of this 60-credit program will receive the Master in Public Policy degree (with a specialization in Environmental Policy) in addition to the M.S. in Sustainable Development and Conservation Biology.

Rationale

As environmental problems become more scientifically and politically complex, employers and researchers in the environmental analysis and policy fields are increasingly looking to hire graduates who are well-grounded in the natural and life sciences, the workings of the public, private and non-government sectors, and the key policy analysis tools and concepts. In recognition of this demand, we have established this dual degree program.

This program benefits from the unique strengths of faculty in MSPA and CONS by bringing together expertise in policy and the life sciences, ecological economics, international development, and conservation biology. The program will increase the number of top-notch students in classes offered within existing master’s programs, help promote interdisciplinary education by providing advanced knowledge of life sciences to policy students and advanced knowledge of public policy to students in the life sciences, and expand opportunity for recruitment into Ph.D. programs in Public Affairs and Biology, and re-affirm the university’s leadership position in environmental education and research. For example, CONS graduates have gone on to Ph.D. programs at UM in PUAF, AREC, MEES, and GEOG, as well as BIOL, and to a similar array of programs at other universities.

Admissions and Retention Criteria

Prospective MPP/CONS students would need to apply to and be admitted independently to both the MPP and CONS programs. Applicants should submit a single online application, the PPCN graduate program, and then send copies of all other application materials to both the MPP and CONS programs. If a student is only accepted to one of the two programs, he or she will only be permitted to pursue that specific program. Students also have to meet the usual progress requirements for each of the two master’s programs to remain in the joint degree program. A full-time student should be able to complete the degree program in three years, and we anticipate that many of the participants will be full-time students.

Curriculum of the Joint Masters Program

After completing a total of 60 credits (‘Joint Masters’ column in Table 1), students in the proposed joint master’s program in Public Policy and Conservation Biology will receive two master’s degrees – a Master’s of Public Policy and a Master’s of Science in Sustainable Development and Conservation Biology. Students will:

(a) learn methods, concepts and tools of public policy analysis and implementation, with special focus on environmental policy;
(b) deepen their knowledge in economics and its application to environmental and development issues;
(c) learn methods, concepts and tools of conservation biology;
(d) hone their quantitative and modeling skills through theory and application;
(e) engage in independent research for projects and scholarly papers; and
(f) deepen and broaden their knowledge of environmental policy and conservation biology through elective courses. For PUAF course descriptions see this link.

Table 1. Joint Masters in Public Policy & Conservation Biology: Credit Requirements for the Dual Degree Program, and Current Requirements for MPP and CONS.