A MENV class goes out into the field at the Greenbelt Plateau. (Courtesy of MENV.)
Ryan Patterson was looking for a reason to get up in the morning.
Bored with his career in finance, the licensed certified public accountant says he decided to switch to an environmental career after living in Southern California during a drought. Simultaneously, he read about renewable energy companies failing and he realized his finance background could help such environmental companies succeed.
鈥淚 felt like I could make a big difference,鈥� Patterson, 26, said.
Patterson said he needed to return to school to achieve his goals, but he didn鈥檛 want to pursue a second undergraduate degree.
Instead, he enrolled in 抖阴旅行射 Boulder鈥檚 program, a professional environmental graduate degree designed for new and early-career professionals.
Like Patterson, those enrolled in the program are interested in the environment and sustainability, yet many come from other professional backgrounds, such as finance, accounting, engineering and information technology. They are looking to broaden their skill sets and open new career avenues for themselves.听
Depending on their interests, MENV graduates can enter a wide variety of fields, such as environmental consulting, food production systems, city or municipal planning, transportation, consumer products, natural resources, or oil and gas.
Students specialize in the following available tracks:
- Policy & management
- Renewable & sustainable energy
- Social and environmental entrepreneurship
- Sustainable food systems
- Sustainability planning & management
The 17-month program includes core courses, specialization courses, electives, skills courses, and a capstone project.The core courses include classes in ethics and collaborative leadership, in which students interact with government leaders, nonprofits and private corporations. These courses are designed with a 鈥渟ystems approach鈥� for thinking about problems from the perspective of multiple stakeholders (government, private sector and communities) in relation to multiple dimensions of sustainability (economic, environmental and social).
The skills courses can include advanced classes in statistics, math, geography, sociology and economics, as well a law class in legislative law and policy drafting and a journalism class in science writing.
Students in the interdisciplinary program, which is administered by 抖阴旅行射 Boulder鈥檚 Environmental Studies Program, complete a year-long capstone project in partnership with a public, private or nonprofit institution. 抖阴旅行射 Boulder鈥檚 Program in Environmental Design, Colorado Law school, Leeds School of Business and Department of Economics are part of the curriculum. Off-campus partners include The Nature Conservancy, the National Park Service, Rocky Mountain Institute, City of Boulder, City of Denver, Eco-Cycle, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, Aspen Skiing Company and Vail Resorts, among many others.
Patty Limerick discusses the importance of natural resource management in the American West with MENV students. (Photo courtesy of MENV.)
鈥淚t鈥檚 a boots on the ground approach,鈥� said Patterson. 鈥淭he opportunity to get your hands dirty before entering or reentering the workforce is immensely valuable when we start looking for jobs."
He hopes to manage development projects for businesses that focus on low-carbon energy, such as wind and solar companies.
Ready for change
Though the program is in its first year, MENV has already attracted 34 students from all over the country and one student from Sri Lanka.
鈥淪tudents here are ready for a change,鈥� said Joel Hartter, associate professor and MENV faculty director. 鈥淭hey are in careers that they want to advance. They鈥檙e looking for a program that focuses on the environment or sustainability and takes a broad approach.鈥�
MENV links students with professionals throughout the state and even the country. Students don鈥檛 attend classes on Fridays. They use the time to engage with outside professionals through workshops, field experiences and luncheons provided by the program.
鈥淥ur core strength is the diversity of experience we give our students,鈥� Hartter said. 鈥淭he program teaches them to be conversant across different disciplines.鈥�
Jumpstarting her career
After graduating from college, Carly Snider accepted an internship with a Boulder nonprofit, B Lab, but she soon realized she needed to develop better leadership skills to advance her career.
To help improve her skills, Snider, 23, decided to enroll in the MENV program.
"The capstone project is the reason I am back in school,鈥� Snider said. 鈥淚 wanted to have one foot in academia and one foot in the professional world.鈥�
For her capstone project, Snider plans to continue working for B Lab, which supports and builds a community of businesses that meet high standards in social and environmental performance. Her goal with her capstone is to help minority and small businesses become more aware of their social impact and environmental sustainability and provide the tools to help these businesses improve in those areas.
Hartter said MENV students are setting themselves up for new careers.
鈥淭hey are not sitting back. They are finding new ways to engage themselves and create professional opportunities,鈥� he said. 鈥淎t the end of the day, they need a job. But they are positioning themselves to become leaders in their fields.鈥�
