EPM celebrates start of the quarter
Summertime at UC Davis is quiet and empty. Most EPM students are off working on their Practicum projects and enjoying a well-deserved break from classes. Staff and faculty are working hard to prepare for the upcoming year. The end of September brings a sense of excitement as new and continuing students return back to campus. Buildings are once again bustling with inspired students, the streets are filled with bicycles.
New year, another orientation
Each year, prior to the start of Fall classes, EPM hosts a half-day orientation. This year, we took an in-depth look at program requirements, curriculum, the Comprehensive Exam and program expectations. We provided students with program, campus and off-campus resources. This year's orientation featured guest speakers from campus organizations such as the Institute of the Environment, Academic Student Union, GradPathways and the DataLab. After orientation, we celebrated the beginning of the academic year with a student mixer. Incoming and second year students had an opportunity to meet each other, enjoy good food and mingle with faculty and staff in an informal setting.
EPM welcomed the new cohort of 33 students and 26 continuing students back to campus last week for the first week of classes. Our new cohort includes international students from Myanmar, Costa Rica, Germany, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and China. We have several students from out of state, including Texas, Kansas, Maryland and Georgia. New students have a wide-range of backgrounds in Environmental Sciences, Engineering, Political Science, Anthropology, Public Health, Biology, and Geology. Their interests include climate change, lands management, conservation, water, environmental justice, renewable energy, and sustainable transportation to name a few.
Fall quarter instruction
This Fall quarter, we are pleased to welcome three external lecturers. External lecturers are an important addition to the boundary-spanning EPM program. Lecturers are professionals working in the environmental or policy field. They bring a wealth of on the job knowledge, experience and connections to the classroom. Dr. Julianne McCall, Co-Director of Precision Medicine at the Governor's Office of Planning and Research returns to teach "Policy Implementation and Development", a class that focuses on the policy process from start to finish. Jenn Phillips, Senior Policy Policy Advisor with the US Climate Alliance joins us to teach the "Professional Development Seminar", a 1-unit course that focuses on professional development. This quarter's Professional Development Seminar introduces students to different careers they could pursue in the environmental space and will feature different professional guest speakers. Lastly, Emily Zakowski, graduate of EPM and an Environmental Scientist with CalRecycle, returns to campus to teach the EPM "Career Bootcamp". The elective Career Bootcamp focuses on the application of professional skills for environmental policy professionals. You can learn more about our classes here.
We look forward to the great year ahead. Go Aggies!