California State Capitol Building located in Sacramento
Training the next generation of environmental leaders

The Master of Science in Environmental Policy and Management

affiliated with the UC Davis Institute of the Environment, provides advanced training in applying environmental science to real-world environmental policy and management issues. The program leverages the position of UC Davis as among the world’s strongest campuses in environmental and natural resources research and science.

The EPM program sets itself apart by targeting students with interdisciplinary backgrounds who seek applied professional careers in environmental policy and management. The focus is on building quantitative skills for practice-oriented careers in environmental policy and management.

About us

The EPM program is designed to address needs in several areas:

  • Students and employers often ask for better and more formal preparation to bridge the differences between scientific academic background and policy and management work, with emphasis on communicating technical information in various management and policy contexts.
  • Increased attention is being placed on the co-development of science for policy and management. Doing so requires training individuals with the interdisciplinary skills to understand both communities.
  • Environmental problem solving increasingly requires more analytical capability within a political and economic decision-making framework.
  • Real and rigorous problem-solving skills involving analysis, communication, and negotiation are needed for students with scientific backgrounds involved in policy-making and management positions.

 

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EPM News

Finding Balance: How EPM Students Manage Graduate School, Work, and Life

Graduate school is a balancing act. Between coursework, internships, commuting, and personal commitments, finding time to recharge can feel like a challenge. Yet for many students in the Environmental Policy and Management (EPM) program, balance isn't about doing everything perfectly; it's about creating routines that make busy weeks more manageable. We spoke with four incoming second-year EPM students, Marisa Rodriguez, Kiri Basher, Kulsum Hussain, and Faith Sunga, about how they navigate graduate school while gaining valuable professional experience. Although each student has a unique career path, their experiences reveal common themes of organization, self-care, and finding small ways to recharge.

To the Fifth Assessment and Beyond

This project partnered with the Governor's Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation (LCI) to evaluate California's Fifth Climate Change Assessment, identifying opportunities to improve collaboration, communication, and support for author teams to strengthen future statewide climate planning.