Second-Year Students

Congratulations on completing your first-year in EPM! Now you have most of the core courses under your belt, you have the opportunity to explore electives, concentrate on a specialization and prepare for the capstone Policy Clinic. Here is some useful information as you navigate through your final year of the EPM program.

Policy Clinic

Students at the Environmental Policy Symposium 2025 — 2025 Environmental Policy Symposium. Students enrolled in the Policy Clinic gather for a half day symposium and present their project findings.

The Policy Clinic is a focal opportunity for experiential learning that focuses on integrating a wide array of quantitative and technical tools on policy problems. During the Policy Clinic, students will be assigned to small groups and work in collaboration with an external partner on an environmental policy or management project. You can view more information about registration, timelines and the project selection process here. You can see previously completed projects here.

Practicum

After students have an approved Practicum Proposal, they may register for ENV 296: Practicum units (S/U graded). Students need six units of ENV 296 to satisfy the Practicum requirement. Units should be requested from the program coordinator every quarter you intend to register for units. The Instructor of Record (IOR) will be the Faculty Chair or other designee from the Comprehensive Exam Committee.

12-month track students are required to complete and register for Practicum units over the summer sessions. You can see summer session tuition rates here.

2-year track students generally begin their Practicum during the summer between the first and second years. For Practicums conducted during the summer, students may register in the following academic year. Students may split their units over multiple quarters. In cases where units are taken over multiple quarters, students will receive an Incomplete "I" grade until the program receives the Practicum Report and deliverables. You can see more information about the Practicum here.

Filing to graduate

EPM Class of 2025 at the Graduation Celebration — EPM Class of 2025 at the program graduation celebration.

There are several forms required for students to graduate. The program coordinator will prompt second-year students when these forms need to be completed.

Advance to Candidacy: Each student must file an official application to Advance to Candidacy through Gradsphere. This must be done at least one quarter before completing all degree requirements. The Graduate Program Coordinator (GPC) will provide instructions and support for submitting this form, typically in winter quarter of the student’s second year. For students in the 12-month accelerated track, this process usually takes place in spring quarter.
Filing Process Form: Students are responsible for completing and submitting the Filing Process form through GradSphere. This signals to Graduate Studies that the student is ready to be filed for graduation. Detailed instructions will be provided by the Graduate Program Coordinator.
Masters Plan II Report Form: Once all Comprehensive Exam components have been approved, the Faculty Advisor (serving as the Committee Chair) will submit the Master's Report Plan II via GradSphere on the student’s behalf. This submission must occur by the last day of the quarter for the student to be officially added to the degree list.

Commencement

To participate in the Graduate Studies Commencement, students must have Advanced to Candidacy by the appropriate deadline. 12-month track students may participate in commencement prior to completing degree requirements as long as they have Advanced to Candidacy by the appropriate date. You can see more information about commencement here.

The EPM program hosts a program specific celebration the day before Grad Studies Commencement. Students may see more information here.