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 Nicholas School.
Students interested in pursuing post-baccalaureate studies in the Nicholas
School of the Environment and Earth Sciences with an emphasis on social sciences
can apply to either program, but the type of education received and eventual
career path are quite different for the two programs. The professional program
(Master of Environmental Management) is meant to train practicing resource
and environmental managers. The doctoral program is intended to train future
researchers and professors.
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. 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, while the total MEM
program is about 100 students per 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 in Environmental Economics and Policy
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 members 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 on research related to environmental and energy markets, problems, and policies, employing methods from economic theory, econometrics, and other quantitative methods. See my web page for information on areas within which I do research. Ph.D. students I advise take much of their course work in the Economics Department at Duke and are required to pass certain qualifying exams. In addition, all Ph.D. students take a two course field in resource and environmental economics. Other fields may include public finance or industrial organization. Please see the following two documents describing the requirements and timeline for a Nicholas School Ph.D. focused in the area of environmental economics:
The EEP Ph.D. 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 typically 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. Typically, I might sponsor 1 (at most 2) new students each year. While we accept only a few doctoral students each year in the social sciences area, all who are accepted receive funding.