Jason Scorse, Director of the Center for the Blue Economy, teaches courses in environmental and natural resource economics, ocean and coastal economics, and behavioral economics. He has consulted for major environmental organizations including the Sierra Club, The Nature Conservancy, Earth Justice, and Oceana
Meet Jason ScorseMaster of Arts in Environmental Policy and Management
Become a leader in addressing the world’s toughest sustainability challenges, including climate change, ocean health, and environmental justice.
Our Master of Arts in Environmental Policy and Management prepares you for a rewarding career building climate-resilient, sustainable, and equitable societies. Gain professional experience through real-world projects with this STEM-designated, four-semester degree.
This program is also referred to as International Environmental Policy (IEP).
Start Term | Credits | Duration | In-Person |
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Fall or spring | 60 | 4 semesters | Monterey, California |
Find out if Environmental Policy and Management is right for you
Actively Addressing Today’s Environmental Issues
The International Environmental Policy Program is unique because we’re really creating the cutting edge agenda setters for policy in the world on really a range of sustainability initiatives across all seven continents, and pushing the envelope of really implementing the innovative solutions that are gonna solve the world’s pressing environmental problems.
Our student Anumung Dravon, and her project in Ecuador, which Sam is involved, that place, right where you guys have this project, is the most biologically rich place on the planet.
The reason that I chose IEP MBA is because I have three different skills and experiences that I wanted to mesh into one, and MIIS offered this really unique combination that I couldn’t find anywhere else.
MIIS prepares students for success by basically telling them that they have to write their own career path. And so we are educating people to really get into very niche fields that it’s hard to think of what degree you would get to get that job, and so it’s a very exciting path there in terms of networking, and conferences, and research, and fine tuning to end up at these really unique job opportunities that our students get pretty much without fail.
I’ve had this passion for ocean conservation since I was nine years old, but I didn’t know how to actually harness that into a career, and MIIS has taught me exactly how to do that.
One of the things that stood out to me at the institute, is the structure of the curriculum, which allows me to return to Haiti last summer, and conducted research on best agricultural practices by assessing their impact on deforestation, migration, and poverty. And also with the help of the Institute, I was able to share the finding of my research with policy makers from Haiti at a conference in Harvard, last November.
We take learning beyond the walls of a classroom by being very clear right away that the classroom experience is really only about a third of what we consider the full graduate experience. The other third being participation in all kinds of clubs, associations, conferences, extracurricular activities, and a third on the job training. Any major environmental organization, even some smaller ones that operate and moderate, we have a relationship with and routinely have students working with.
Through MIIS, I was able to get an internship last summer with a MIIS Alum, and through that connection, I met my current boss, which is my dream job, and I will continue to work there once I graduate. And that opportunity would not have been presented to me unless I were at MIIS, and had developed the skills that I have now.
I learned a lot of skill in biodiversity protection, and research design, and design analysis, which I’m using right now in my internship at the Santa Lucia Conservancy. I think my experience with the Santa Lucia Conservancy will give me the knowledge that I need to save the biodiversity in Haiti.
If you have a spark, something that drives you every single day, this is the place that can give you the skill set to create that change that inspires you.
If you’re the type of person who really wants to think of the affirmative and create the solutions for the future, this is the right program for you.
Transform Your Career
Career and Academic Advising
We integrate your career and academic advising, ensuring your coursework aligns with your career goals. The same advisor will guide you from course registration to preparing for interviews and negotiating new career opportunities.
Practical Experience
- You will gain the equivalent of two to four years of professional work experiences to add to your resume during the course of your master’s degree.
- Our Center for the Blue Economy (CBE) offers summer fellowships with top marine organizations as well as paid research assistantships.
- Monterey, California, is a center for marine and ocean conservation and policy, including the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
- Nearby Silicon Valley is at the heart of the green tech revolution, and the organic agriculture movement started in Santa Cruz.
- The San Francisco Bay Area has the highest concentration of environmental NGOs anywhere in the world.
- You will put theory into practice through a semester-long practicum in the field.
Internships
We have 80+ employers of our recent interns and the Institute has partnerships with UNICEF and the GAO for unique opportunities.
Careers
Our graduates find meaningful careers in government, business, and NGOs, including organizations like Oceana, Conservation International, and Microsoft. Many roles in the sustainability industry require a master’s degree and with a Middlebury Institute master’s, you will be in demand.
One Year After Graduation
Curriculum
Our interdisciplinary curriculum is a mix of core and specialization courses that will prepare you to be a solutions-oriented climate and sustainability leader. Build your expertise in:
- Conservation science and policy
- Environmental economics
- Climate policy and governance
- Data analysis
- Geographic information systems (GIS)
- Social and environmental justice
- Intercultural competence and a second language
See the curriculum for more details.
Specializations
Expand your career opportunities with a management specialization:
Professional Practicum
In your final semester, you will put theory into practice through a semester-long practicum working in the field. On-the-job supervisors and faculty mentors will work closely with you to make the practicum a bridge to full-time employment. Learn more about your practicum.
Faculty: Professors and Practitioners
While other graduate schools rely on teaching assistants, you will have direct access to our faculty. They’re active, engaged policy professionals who combine academic expertise with years of professional experience in water conservation, food systems, ocean ecosystem management, sustainable development, responsible mining, sustainability investing, “blue” economic development, and more. Our faculty are committed to your success, becoming your mentors and colleagues, and you will work closely with them on real-world consulting projects and research. Meet our faculty.
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Jeff Langholz is passionate about sustainability of the world’s natural resources. His teaching and research draw from extensive professional experience with the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and consultancies across North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia, and Africa.
Meet Jeff Langholz -
Lyuba Zarsky’s passion is promoting justice and sustainability in business and the economy. She co-founded and co-directed an NGO “think and do tank” on global security and sustainability and served on the Trade and Environment Policy Advisory Committee of the Office of the US Trade Representative.
Meet Lyuba Zarsky -
Fernando DePaolis teaches Data Analysis, Development Economics, and other advanced quantitative policy analysis courses. He develops research and teaches courses on the problems and solutions at the interface between large bodies of water (oceans and lakes) and urban agglomerations.
Meet Fernando DePaolis
Customize Your Environmental Policy and Management Degree
Our flexible curriculum means you can customize your degree:
- STEM designation: expanded career opportunities for international students and scholarships for U.S. students.
- Study a second language and/or intercultural competence.
- Career-oriented specializations: sustainability management, natural resource policy and management, and ocean and coastal resource management.
- Accelerated- and advanced-entry: complete your degree in two or three semesters.
- Joint BA/MA: earn a bachelor’s and master’s in just three years through this transfer program.
- Online MPA in Sustainability: if you want to study online, apply to this part-time and asynchronous related program.
- Peace Corps: Coverdell Fellows program for returned volunteers and an option to integrate Peace Corps service for potential volunteers.
Check out the program details for your options.
Center for the Blue Economy
The Middlebury Institute’s Center for the Blue Economy (CBE) is a research and academic center. CBE develops innovative ways to address critical ocean and coastal resource management issues, especially coastal climate adaptation and “blue” economic development. As an Environmental Policy and Management student, you’ll be eligible for a fully funded CBE summer fellowship with top marine organizations, as well as a research assistant position where you can work on cutting-edge research during your studies.
![Environmental Policy and Management Professor Jason Scorse and students at the beach discuss the environmental challenges facing our oceans today.](/institute/sites/default/files/2019-04/Jason-Scorse_Students_Beach.jpg?fv=iuie4kFZ)
![Aerial view of campus looking out to Monterey Bay and Fishermans Wharf.](/institute/sites/default/files/styles/1440x810/public/2021-04/aerial-view-campus-monterey-bay-fishermans-wharf_1440x810.jpg?fv=_Bxocn_1&itok=4a_191qc)
Sustainability Speaker Series
The Sustainability Speaker Series brings creative, pragmatic, and practice-based environmental professionals to campus. Lectures are free and open to the public. The series features some of today’s most influential leaders across a wide variety of fields. See upcoming speakers.
Scholarships and Financial Aid
More than 95 percent of students who request scholarship consideration receive institutional support. You may receive merit, need-based, partner, and external scholarships and financial aid, which are available to both U.S. and international students.
Your personal enrollment advisor can help you think through financing this important investment in your career development.
How to Apply
We take a holistic approach when considering your application, looking at your academic background, international exposure, professional experience, and career goals. We welcome applicants with or without work experience, and our program has numerous opportunities for you to gain professional experience before you graduate. This approach aligns with the Institute’s core values of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
We do not require GRE or GMAT scores for our master’s programs but competitive scores may strengthen your application and positively influence scholarship decisions.
Featured News
Read AllCould We Just Get Water from the Sky?
| by Mark C. Anderson
Millions of people worldwide struggle to find safe, clean water. An Institute professor and students are working to change that through research, advocacy and invention.
Professor Kristina Gjerde Honored along with Singapore Ambassador Rena Lee
| by Pace University
At a time when unprecedented marine heat waves warm 40 percent of the oceans, and much life at sea is endangered, the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University is proud to recognize two distinguished women for their leadership negotiating the world’s first legal agreement to safeguard biodiversity in the high seas. The 2024 Elisabeth Haub Award for Environmental Law and Diplomacy will be jointly awarded to Singapore’s Ambassador for International Law, Rena Lee, and Senior High Seas Adviser to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Kristina Maria Gjerde. Professor Gjerde teaches Marine Law at the Middlebury Institute each January, and we are so proud of her accomplishment!
What You Need to Know About Where Your Food Comes From
| by Mark C. Anderson
The current food system is about as bad as it gets, but environmental studies Professor Jason Scorse says individuals looking to make an impact on climate can start with smarter eating.
![William Franco, international environmental policy alumnus, smiling and standing outside by a marsh in Monterey](/institute/sites/default/files/styles/1440x810/public/2021-03/William-Franco_IEP-2017_smiling_marsh_1440x810.jpg?fv=x0JMmVoo&itok=09Ic23Kp)
Our graduates find careers designing and implementing sustainable solutions in fields as wide-ranging as conservation, sustainability management, ocean and coastal resource management, and climate policy.
Career Outcomes
- 93%
- employed or continuing education within one year of graduation
- 96%
- secured internships in 2019–2021
- 40+
- different employers of recent graduates