Differences between the Professional Masters
and Doctoral Programs
It is important for prospective students to
understand the difference between the professional masters program and the
doctoral program at the
Master of Environmental Management
The Environmental Economics and Policy (EEP) focuses on the social side of environmental management, with a particular emphasis on economics, policy and law. Our students also take courses in natural sciences and quantitative methods. A strength of the program is the ability to draw on the offerings of the law school, business school, public policy institute, and the departments of economics and political science. The MEM program requires two years to complete and includes a masters project in which you show your ability to integrate material from various courses to address a particular environmental management issue. In a sense, the MEM program is the environmental management analog to an MBA.
The professional program accepts students from a variety of backgrounds, including science and interdisciplinary studies majors. However some preference is given to students with previous training in one or more of the social sciences. In any case, before entering the EEP program, students must have had at least one course in economics (an additional course in intermediate microeconomics is quite helpful, though not required), calculus, and statistics. The program is quite selective in its admission standards, with an acceptance rate of about 50 percent of applicants. Students are selected by a school-wide admissions committee. A limited amount of financial aid is available for accepted professional students. Approximately 25 students are admitted to the EEP professional program each year. Individual students are not required to have a specific faculty sponsor. Students in the Environmental Economics and Policy program find jobs in the government, non-profit, and corporate sectors.
Doctoral Program
The EEP doctoral program emphasizes acquisition of relevant bodies of theory and of the quantitative and analytical methods needed to do state-of-the-art research. The EEP doctoral program is not interdisciplinary in the sense that acquisition of knowledge in both the biological and social sciences is emphasized. Rather it is a social science program. Typically, faculty accept doctoral students not only on the basis of general academic promise, but also on the basis of mutual interests in specific research areas. Students that I work with focus their studies in the areas of economic theory, econometrics and natural resource and environmental policy. Ph.D. students I advise take much of their course work in the Economics Department at Duke and are required to pass qualifying examinations given by that department in microeconomic theory. In addition, all Ph.D. students take a two course field in resource and environmental economics. Other fields may include public finance, development economics, and project evaluation. Courses in water resources, ecology and other resource areas are available and students are encouraged to do a field in the natural sciences.
The program is exceptionally selective, with
an acceptance rate of about 5 percent of applicants. A solid background
in economics and mathematics (calculus and linear algebra) is necessary for
admission. Students must be sponsored for doctoral study by a specific faculty
member. Therefore, qualified doctoral applicants are encouraged to correspond
with me before submitting applications. While we accept only a few
doctoral students each year in the social sciences area, all who are accepted
receive funding.