In August 2025, Middlebury’s Board of Trustees decided to close all in-person programs and two online programs at the Middlebury Institute. Fall 2025 was the last intake for the MA in Environmental Policy and Management.
Our Master of Arts in Environmental Policy and Management prepares you for a rewarding career building climate-resilient, sustainable, and equitable societies. Our model merges graduate coursework with professional experience. The core curriculum provides you with the key social and natural science fundamentals to understand the drivers of environmental change, and how to craft impactful policy solutions.
This is a STEM-designated, four-semester degree.
Students build their skills through internships during the school year and summer fellowships with local, national, and international organizations, capped by a professional practicum in their final semester. Through this approach, many of our students secure full-time jobs before graduation.
Your dedicated advisor from the Center for Advising and Career Services will guide you through skills development, interview preparation, networking, career exploration, and professional opportunities aligned with your experience, interests, and goals.
We have 80+ employers of our recent interns, and the Institute has partnerships with UNICEF and the GAO for unique opportunities.
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.
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:
You can also focus your coursework on the following specialized areas: sustainability management, natural resource and policy management, and ocean and coastal resource management.
See the curriculum for more details.
In your final semester, your studies will culminate in a full-time, semester-long practicum working in the field with an organization. This builds on the other real-world experiences you will have throughout your program. 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.
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.
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.
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 Scorse
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 LangholzOur flexible curriculum means you can customize your degree:
Check out the program details for your options.
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.
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.
The MA in Environmental Policy and Management is related to several other programs at the Middlebury Institute:
| by Angela Izi Nkusi
Environmental policy student McKenzie Ploen published a piece sharing her career journey from corporate supply chain management to ocean conservation in SEVENSEAS.
| by Caitlin Fillmore
Students have put their skills to work on a years-long data analysis and marketing project through a partnership between the Institute’s META Lab and the United Way of Monterey County.
| by Caitlin Fillmore
Tune in on May 26 to catch Miles Tepper in action on the legendary quiz show. His tip for aspiring competitors? Get out to local trivia nights here in Monterey!
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.
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