Bard College Launches New Master in Environmental Education Program

ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y.— In a world that will soon be supporting 10 billion people, there is a critical need for educators who can teach a “users manual” for the planet. In support of that goal, Bard College is now accepting applications for fall 2018 for a new master of education degree in environmental education.

The program aims to help create an informed and engaged citizenry, supporting progress toward a just, prosperous, and sustainable future. Through intensive academic training, real-world professional experience, and career-development opportunities, the program will enable graduates to pursue successful, high-impact careers in private schools, NGOs, government land management agencies, sustainability offices, private land conservation organizations, museums, environmental education centers, and consulting firms.

Despite the growing need, “surprisingly, there are only a handful of environmental education master’s programs like this in the entire United States,” says Eban Goodstein, director of Bard’s Center for Environmental Policy. “We are looking for applicants who want to open people’s eyes to the profound human connection to the natural world, for both economic well-being and spiritual renewal.”

Students pursuing the M.Ed. will take a carefully curated program that combines core environmental education offerings with graduate courses from the Center for Environmental Policy and the Master of Arts in Teaching Program, as well as electives from other Bard graduate programs. The nine-month, first-year core curriculum is taught at the main Bard campus and integrates the study of environmental education and communication, including a January-term intensive course focused on place-based and outdoor education, with environmental science and policy, curricular development, and pedagogy.

After completing the first-year courses in late May, students are no longer expected to be in residence at Bard. During the second year, each student pursues an extended, high-level professional internship. Placements include schools, museums, research institutes, and NGOs in the Hudson Valley, New York metropolitan region, across the United States, and globally, utilizing the well-developed professional networks of Bard CEP and the Bard MAT Program. In the final semester, students complete a master’s degree capstone project under the direction of a Bard faculty member, while attending capstone seminar classes online.

In addition to the new M.Ed. degree, Bard offers M.S. degrees in environmental policy and Climate Science and Policy, and a low-residency MBA in Sustainability, based in NYC. Bard also offers the Master of Arts in Teaching degree, leading to New York State grades 7-12 teacher certification in biology, literature history, and mathematics. For more information, please contact Caitlin O’Donnell at the Bard Center for Environmental Policy, [email protected] or visit bard.edu/cep/program/ms-education.
  
 (7/28/17)
 

This event was last updated on 01-17-2019

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