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Deciding which college to attend can be a daunting task. For many, it will be the most important decision that they make in their lives. To make an informed decision, you have to consider a lot of variables, such as cost of attendance, financial aid, student-teacher ratio, academics, student life, and more. These factors will either positively or negatively impact the quality of education that you receive.

Do you want to acquire a master’s degree in environmental science but don’t know what institution you should attend? Well, if you are as ambitious as I was in my late teens, then you want to attend a top school, instead of an average or mediocre one. Fortunately, we have already done the legwork for you. To help you find the right school for your interests and goals, we’ve compiled a list of 2022’s best master’s in environmental science programs.

What institution did we omit from this list? Leave your suggestions in the comment section below.

1. Stanford University, Stanford, CA

Stanford is a prestigious leader in academia—unequivocally one of the best institutions in the nation. Many of Stanford’s individual departments and schools are top-rated; more than 16,000 learners attend the University. Stanford has a master’s of science (MS) in environment and resources degree that is distinctively a dual graduate degree program. Once learners finish the core classes in environmental science and management, they select from among eight course tracks.

2. Yale University, New Haven, CT

Yale’s master of environmental science (MS) degree is a two-year degree program that offers hands-on experience through research-related projects and fieldwork. Learners work directly with advisors to design their degree program and research, resulting in a highly individualized degree experience.

3. Duke University, Durham, NC

Duke has a master of environmental management (MS) degree that emphasizes leadership formation. Students, therefore, not only learn how to examine natural environments and ecosystem health, but they also learn how to manage said environments. This is a two-year degree program that culminates in a master’s project.

4. Columbia University, New York, NY

Columbia has a master of public administration (MPA) degree in environmental science and policy. This degree program is perfect for learners who want to enact sustainability through policy and organization management.

5. University of Chicago, Chicago, IL

UChicago’s MS in environmental science and policy degree program is one of the best in the country. This two-year degree program works directly with the Argonne National Laboratory to give learners a hands-on, research-based academic experience. This is also a policy-focused degree program, requiring classes such as environmental science and policy, the policymaking process, principles of microeconomics and public policy, and environmental economics.

6. University of Penn, Philadelphia, PA

Penn’s master of environmental studies degree enables learners to tailor the curriculum to their passions and career goals. Working directly with an advisor, learners will find their focus and sharpen research skills in an area of their interest.

7. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC

UNC offers an MS in environmental sciences and engineering degree with a focus on environmental policy analysis. This degree program focuses on the intersection of business, problem-solving, climate change, and policy.

8. University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA

For learners who want a humanities-based education, USC has a master’s (MA) degree program in environmental studies. This degree program focuses primarily on environmental policy. Classes will discuss the following topics: sustainable cities, multivariate analysis, environmental impacts, and California coastal zone science and policy.

9. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI

Michigan’s School for Environment and Sustainability has a graduate degree in environmental informatics. This is a perfect degree program for learners who want to collate and assess crucial data sets in service to sustainability. This is an interdisciplinary degree program with course options that include: remote sensing of environment, applied ecosystem modeling, environmental spatial data analysis, and GIS and natural resource applications.

10. Queens College CUNY, New York, NY

Queens College’s master of arts (MA) degree in geological and environmental science degree program is perfect for learners who want to concentrate primarily on the geological aspects of climate change. There are also many ways to specialize, and each path fully prepares learners for rewarding careers in research. Options include atmospheric sciences, chemical oceanography and paleoceanography, urban ecology and limnology, and geomicrobiology.

11. Tufts University, Medford, MA

Tufts University is a private research institution that is organized into 10 colleges. Nearly 12,000 coupled undergraduate and graduate learners attend Tufts. The School of Engineering has a master’s in environmental policy and planning degree. This degree program trains learners to become leaders in the development of environmentally sustainable communities.

12. University of California – Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA

For learners who want to work on leadership development, UCSB has a master of environmental science and management degree program. This two-year degree program gives learners both a theoretical foundation and hands-on learning experience through the Eco-Entrepreneurship Project.