State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry
AC-4: Graduate Program

Graduate options in sustainable construction allow students with technical degrees to engage specific topics of current interest. The degree program's overall objective is to teach students to look at the broad environmental implications of the construction process, to be efficient and environmentally responsible in their use of materials, and to integrate current technology to a practicum or thesis, as appropriate to the graduate degree.

The study of responsible energy resources use and the development of sustainable sources of energy have become critical national and global issues. Energy concerns include the quality and quantity of energy resources, energy security, and the impacts of energy generation, transmission and use on the environment and human health. The Sustainable Energy (SE) program prepares graduates to lead in addressing these concerns through the development of professional competency in transdisciplinary research and analytical skills. SE graduates advance into careers in academia, sustainable energy administration and management, scientific research, consulting, environmental advocacy, and a variety of other specialized positions related to sustainable energy resources.

The Graduate Program in Environmental Science (GPES) supports interdisciplinary environmental research and teaching at ESF and offers unique graduate programs that serve the needs of our students. GPES is comprised of faculty from each of the seven departments at ESF who understand the importance of interdisciplinary collaborations to manage and solve critical environmental problems. GPES is centered on three study areas: Climate and Energy, Ecosystems: Land, Water, and Air, & Policy, Planning, Communication, and Society. The Climate and Energy (C&E) Study Area involves the study of topics including climate science, human dimensions, ecology, engineering, landscape design, policy, and renewable energy. The Ecosystems: Land, Water, and Aire (ELWA) Study Area involved the study of topics covering all major components of our environment and the connections between human society and ecosystems. The Policy, Planning, Communication, and Society (PPCS) Study Area focuses on people's relationships and interactions with natural and built environments, and examines how we value, communicate, educate, plan, design, manage, and make decisions about such spaces and their respective resources. This area of study also explores the design, creation, maintenance and change of human institutions as well as researching the complexities of social, cultural, and biophysical system interactions.

All other sustainability-focused graduate programs:
- Environmental Resources Engineering (M.S., M.P.S., Ph.D.)
https://www.esf.edu/ere/index.php
- Environmental Studies (M.S., M.P.S., Ph.D.)
https://www.esf.edu/academics/graduate/environmental-studies.php
- Landscape Architecture (M.L.A., M.S.)
https://www.esf.edu/la/

The CASSE program engages graduate students from across Syracuse University and ESF, preparing professionals who understand the economic, environmental, technical and social dimensions of sustainable enterprise.

The Certificate of Graduate Study in Environmental Decision Making provides an exposure to specialized environmental study that is relevant to students with related professional interests. The focus of this certificate is on environmental decision making, the processes by which stakeholders seek solutions to environmental problems. Environmental decision making can be defined as the process by which stakeholders in environmental outcomes engage in communications to seek solutions to environmental problems. Familiarly, decision making can refer to environmental policy making by governmental institutions, but a meaningful understanding of the topic in today's world will also include processes such as information acquisition and dissemination and such notions as negotiation, mediation, information policy and public participation as part of the decision making lexicon. The decision making focus furthermore expands the scope of "stakeholders" to include not only the institutions and agencies of government, but also the large variety of citizen-based nongovernmental organizations and the business and industrial private sector.

The environmental leadership certificate is fully online and prepares leaders who can tackle complex environmental challenges. Students in this program will develop leadership skills in the following areas:

- Advocating for a values-driven, sustainable culture
- Staying current with ever-changing, but absolutely critical local, regional,
national, and international policies
- Facilitating productive decision-making even in challenging situations
- Selecting appropriate tools, methods, and approaches to address society's most
challenging environmental problems
- Identifying team members and facilitating collaborative problem-solving
- Communicating and problem-solving across cultural, organizational, and
political boundaries

Science and Environmental Communication and Public Relations Management
https://www.esf.edu/envstudies/index.php