Graduate School

Graduate School

Graduate school is schooling you do after finishing college. It’s a great way to prepare for a job that helps the environment. Graduate school can teach you the high-level skills you need for many green jobs; it helps you get a job and earn more money, too.

There are different kinds of graduate degrees. Master’s degrees usually take between one and two years, if you study full-time. You can earn many master’s degrees part-time and online, too. Professional degrees, like law degrees, often take three years, or more if you study part-time. Medical degrees take four years, with as many as six years of specialized training after that. Doctoral degrees often take at least six years.

No matter what kind of graduate degree you choose, you’re much less likely to be unemployed. People with graduate degrees are even more likely to have jobs than college graduates. And people with graduate degrees earn a lot more, too. On average, they earn between $1,327 and $1,714 a week. Compare that to $1,108 for someone with a college degree and $827 a week for the average worker.

These days, more and more universities are offering degrees and classes that can help their graduate students get good, green jobs. You can get graduate degrees in fields like public policy and law, sustainability management, hydrology, environmental engineering, environmental economics, and many, many others. But almost any graduate degree can be used to help the environment. Studying architecture, for example, can help you design buildings that are good for the environment. A statistics degree can help you use data to create less pollution. A fine arts degree can help you become a photojournalist whose photographs of nature or pollution stir people to action. In cases like these, taking some courses that relate to the environment can be especially useful. People with scientific and technical skills, like scientists and engineers, can find their skills to be in high demand when they finish their degrees.

Resources

There are lots of great resources for people interested in studying for green careers in graduate school. The Princeton Review offers lots of valuable information. Its Career Profile webpage can help you find out what kinds of degrees can lead to the kind of career you want. It can also help you find universities that offer programs in the fields you’re interested in. It has great advice on applying to grad school in addition to information about scholarships and financial aid. It even has a green college guide!

Another great resource is the website of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education. The organization helps colleges, universities and their students meet the environmental challenges we all face. It lists masters and doctoral programs across the country that can eventually help you get green jobs.

For more information about what work you can do with your green college degree, visit this webpage. It was put together by Arizona State University’s School of Sustainability.

Many New York City and New York State universities are leaders in training graduate students in fields that help the environment. The City University of New York (CUNY) and the State University of New York (SUNY) offer affordable, well-respected degrees at campuses that are close to home. SUNY has an entire college devoted to environmental sciences and forestry. The SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry offers both undergraduate and graduate degrees. In New York City, private universities, like Columbia University and New York University, are also leaders in this field.

Scholarships

There are a growing number of scholarships available to graduate students interested in studying for green careers. Check out the resources below to find out more about them. Since many of these listings come from articles, there’s some overlap. Also, many individual universities offer scholarships to students interested in environmental degrees. So remember to check out the scholarship offerings at the universities you apply to.

To find out more about studying for a green career and about graduate school, visit the websites listed here:

CUNY

CUNY Graduate Admissions Webpage

CUNY Green Classes and Degree Programs

SUNY

SUNY Graduate Admissions Webpage

Princeton Review and Other Graduate School Resources

Arizona State University Green Careers Listings

Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education

Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education Masters Program Listings

Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education Doctoral Program Listings

Princeton Review Graduate School Advice