Program Description
es.ucmerced.edu
Contact: Martha Conklin, mconklin@ucmerced.edu, Environmental Systems Graduate Group Chair
Tomiko Hale, thale2@ucmerced.edu, Graduate Group Coordinator
The Environmental Systems graduate program trains students to tackle the most challenging problems facing our planet – water, soil, climate, energy and resources. Through understanding the Earth as an integrated system of atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere and biosphere that intersects human society, and engineered systems as intersecting with natural systems, ES students are uniquely poised to address critical research needs of the environment and its sustainability. Graduates are prepared for careers in academia, research, government and industry that integrate expertise from across engineering, natural sciences and social sciences. UC Merced’s unique geographical location, its relationship with neighboring institutions and its seamless integration of science and engineering render the ES program distinct from similar programs in California and elsewhere.
Environmental Systems faculty members are affiliated with the schools of Engineering, Natural Sciences, and Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts. A diverse group, our faculty members, graduate students and research scholars share interests in trans-disciplinary research of natural and human-impacted environmental systems involving:
- Water Resources and Climate
- Environmental and Ecological Engineering
- Sustainable Energy
- Biochemistry and Environmental Chemistry
- Ecology, Evolution and Biodiversity
- Conservation and Resource Management
Degree programs integrate scientific principles underlying the function and sustainability of natural and engineered environmental systems, as well as the policies affecting them.