Master’s of ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY...pragmatic skills to translate those ideas into tangible action. This interdisciplinary master’s program will prepare graduates to navigate

Master’s of

ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY

2 ADMISSIONS REQUIREMENTS AND APPLICATION INFORMATION: WWW.UOTTAWA.CA/ENVIRONMENT/GRAD-PROGRAMS

One of the things that has repeatedly struck me

in my work on environmental sustainability is how

interwoven the issues are. Climate change is as much

about energy and the global economy as it is about

poverty and water. Biodiversity is not only about the

richness of life, but is also the foundation of human

society. Similarly, policies are interconnected — how

we manage agricultural, economic and social policy,

for instance, has vast implications for environmental

sustainability, and vice versa. Although we have

long recognized these inter-relationships, we

have struggled as a society to adopt policies that

effectively address environmental challenges. We

must transform our economy to reflect these realities

and align price signals with social and environmental

values.

This new graduate program is designed to do just

that — train professionals to have the skills needed

to transition us to a new economy, to sustainable

communities, to a better future. The program’s

unique curriculum gives students a common

foundation in key environmental concepts from

several disciplines, teaches methodologies specific

to environmental decision-making and creates

opportunities for students to apply these skills to real

problems both in and out of the classroom. Students

gain professional skills that are usually learned on the

job, such as oral communication, team leadership,

project management and negotiation. It is a rigorous,

cutting-edge program meant for students who are

serious about wanting to help create the public policy

and actions that will lead society to change.

If you are someone who is passionate about

environmental issues, wants a meaningful career and

is not afraid of hard work, I invite you to apply to be

part of this ground-breaking initiative.

– Nathalie Chalifour, PhD, Founding Director

DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE

“Moving towards a truly sustainable future

requires leaders who have an understanding

of the current barriers, and how they might

be overcome. This requires understanding

the scientific, economic, legal and political

dimensions of sustainability – understanding

that the MES program is specifically designed

to deliver.”

SCOTT FINDLAY, PHD Associate Director (Graduate Studies)

Institute of the Environment


IS THIS PROGRAM FOR YOU?Are you passionate about the environment and do you want to direct that energy into

your work?

Are you interested in influencing change, either through public policy, greening business

or hands-on action, leading to a more sustainable future?

Are you a creative thinker who enjoys exploring unconventional perspectives when

seeking out solutions?

Are you a recent graduate who is searching for a meaningful career that aligns with your

values?

Are you working in government, the private sector or civil society and wish to deepen your

capacity for integrated problem-solving?

If you are seeking a career that makes a difference in the community, the Master’s of Environmental Sustainability may be right for you.

DO YOU HAVE QUESTIONS? WOULD YOU LIKE TO PLAN A VISIT TO THE CAMPUS TO LEARN MORE?

Please contact the Academic Coordinator:

Telephone: (613) 562-5895

Email: [email protected]

WE LOOK FORWARD TO SPEAKING WITH YOU!


LEARN AND SOLVE PROBLEMS IN A BROADER

CONTEXT: Deconstruct the scientific, economic,

legal and political elements of environmental issues

and apply evidence-based techniques to finding

effective policy solutions.

REAL-WORLD EXPERIENCE: Combine course work,

research and practical experience, working with

external partners through a capstone course.

PROFESSIONAL SKILLS: From engaging with the

media to preparing policy briefs, learn professional

skills needed in a sustainability career.

PRIME LOCATION: Located in the nation’s capital,

the University of Ottawa is steps away from where

the country’s environmental policy is made and

where many NGO’s, think-tanks and industry

associations are headquartered.

PEER LEARNING IN A COHORT: Attend courses

exclusive to the program as one cohort; having

different disciplinary backgrounds in the classroom

simulates the kind of interactions encountered in

sustainability careers.

DEVELOPMENT FOR ANY STAGE OF YOUR

CAREER: The program is suitable for recent

graduates as well as mid-career professionals who

meet the competitive admission requirements.

BRINGING MEANING TO YOUR WORK: Train for a

career that aligns with your values, providing you the

tools needed to channel your energy into becoming

an agent of change in society.

PRAGMATIC. RIGOROUS. REAL.Environmental challenges are multi-faceted — they do not fit within one particular

discipline, nor do they get resolved by policies that ignore the scientific, economic or

political realities that created them in the first place. To be effective, solutions must

be developed using integrated, systems-based thinking and by professionals with the

pragmatic skills to translate those ideas into tangible action. This interdisciplinary master’s

program will prepare graduates to navigate key environmental sustainability issues using

a real-world approach to education, bringing practice into the classroom and learning into

the community. The program is designed to address a growing need in the marketplace for

sustainability professionals who can influence decision-making through deep understanding

of the problems and the interconnected processes through which they persist.


REAL, MARKETABLE SKILLS UPON GRADUATIONThe Master’s of Environmental Sustainability prepares graduates for a variety of careers

through which one can influence environmental policy and practice, and to do work that

reflects their passions. Students of the program will graduate with professional skills that are

in high demand for careers in environmental sustainability. Students will learn to:

DECONSTRUCT ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY CHALLENGES with an

understanding of their scientific, economic, and political underpinnings.

CRITICALLY EVALUATE AND INTEGRATE KNOWLEDGE from key disciplines in

environmental sustainability.

DEVELOP EFFECTIVE EVIDENCE-BASED POLICY SOLUTIONS AND STRATEGIES for

adoption in a given socio-economic and political context.

PERFORM CRITICAL EVALUATION of sustainability policies, reports and regulations.

DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT sustainability plans and strategies.

COLLABORATE WITH DIVERSE STAKEHOLDERS in the context of environmental

decision-making and creative problem-solving.

COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY about environmental sustainability issues in diverse

settings.

TRANSLATE AN ETHIC OF INTEGRITY, entrepreneurialism, efficiency and justice into

environmental solution-building.

CAREERS THAT MAKE A DIFFERENCE

BE A CATALYST FOR CHANGE

SUSTAINABILITY MANAGERfor an industry association

SENIOR POLICY ANALYSTfor government

ENTREPRENEUR for an environmentally progressive company

LEADERof a sustainable community initiative

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR of a non-governmental organization

Energy Efficiency

OFFICER

POLICY ADVISORto a Minister

RESEARCHERfor a sustainability think tank


DEVELOPING AND HOSTING WORKSHOPS,

conferences and lectures as well as offering career

development resources.

CREATING OPPORTUNITIES for students to engage

with professors and fellow students from a range of

faculties in a bilingual milieu.

TAPPING INTO EXPERTS AND DECISION-MAKERS

FROM GOVERNMENT, INDUSTRY, AND NGOs

in the national capital region, across Canada and

internationally.

OFFERING A GATEWAY to academic, student and

community-based environmental sustainability

initiatives.

INSTITUTE OF THE ENVIRONMENT

Made up of business, environment,

policy and academic leaders,

Sustainable Prosperity (SP) is a national

initiative that harnesses leading-edge

thinking to advance innovation in policy

and markets, in the pursuit of a greener,

more competitive Canadian economy.

SP actively helps broker real-world

solutions by bringing public and private

sector decision-makers to the table with

expert researchers to both design and

apply innovative policies and programs.

The Institute of the Environment (IE) is the University’s hub of research, teaching and

activities relating to environmental sustainability. The IE supports students’ learning and

success by:

SUSTAINABLE PROSPERITY — CANADA’S GREEN ECONOMY THINK-TANK LOCATED

AT THE INSTITUTE OF THE ENVIRONMENT.

PROGRAMSTRUCTURE

BUILD FOUNDATIONSTake courses in science, economics, law and

policy. The courses are coordinated to foster

a deep understanding of the connections

and tensions between the disciplines, and

the particular vocabulary, methods and

perspectives inherent within each.

INTEGRATELearn methodologies to critically evaluate the

scientific, economic, legal and political underpinnings

of environmental problems and inform decision-

making based on evidence from multiple fields.

Students may choose between two options: CAPSTONE PROJECT

with research paper (1 year) or THESIS PROJECT (2 years).

The program begins in September for all students. Students may

study part-time after one full-time term.

To view the courses that are part of this program, please visit

www.uottawa.ca/environment/grad-programs

*Currently, compulsory courses for the program are offered in English. In the future, they will also be offered in French. In accordance with the regulations of the University of Ottawa, examinations, assignments, and the research paper or thesis

may be written in the official language of the student’s choice (either English or French).

APPLYUsing a current topic like climate change, learn to synthesize

information about the problem from multiple disciplines, and using

the robust methodologies taught, develop creative, rigorous and

effective solutions for change.

Students in the research paper option conduct their research as part of the capstone course, in which students

work on a current sustainability issue in partnership with a public or private sector

or local community group.

Thesis students pursue in-depth research in partnership with a committee of

faculty members engaged in diverse sustainability projects.

THE TRANSITION TO A SUSTAINABLE ECONOMYFrom carbon taxes to feed-in

tariffs, economic instruments

are part of the policy toolkit for

progress on many sustainability

problems. Students in our program

can engage with Sustainable

Prosperity, a green economy

think-tank based at the Institute

of the Environment that is leading

the charge on helping Canada

transition to a more sustainable

economy.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE How Canada and the rest of the

world choose to produce and

consume energy in the future will

have profound implications for

everyone. Students in this program

can join faculty and students from

across campus working in labs,

in classrooms and with partners

in the public and private sector

on finding sustainable and ethical

ways to power the future in the

context of a changing global

climate.

TOXICS, SCIENCE AND LAW When deformed frogs and

changing birth ratios call into

question the regulatory framework

for the management of toxic

substances in Canada, how do

science and law interact to identify

effective solutions? Students can

participate in the development

and evaluation of innovative

approaches to bring science into

the courtroom, and community

issues into political discussions.

Learn from and work alongside leaders in environmental sustainability inside and outside

the university community. Below are only three examples of the many areas of research

underway at uOttawa.

BE PART OFTHE ACTION


SOME OF OUR PROFESSORS

“Building an environmentally sustainable economy is probably

the greatest challenge of our time. The problems are complex,

and solving them requires multi-dimensional skills.”

STEWART ELGIE, PhD

Associate Professor, Faculty of Law Director, Institute of the Environment Chair, Sustainable Prosperity

“The demand for people who can bridge the gap among the

social and biological sciences will continue to grow in the field of

sustainability.”

DAVID RUNNALLS

Visiting Professor, Institute of the Environment Senior Fellow, Sustainable Prosperity Past President, International Institute of Sustainable Development

“All the important problems of today are, by definition, complex.

Finding and implementing effective solutions demands that

decision-makers not only appreciate this complexity but have

the skills, knowledge and attitudes required to exploit it.”

C. SCOTT FINDLAY, PhD

Associate Professor, Department of Biology Faculty of Science Chair in University Teaching

“Graduates of this program will be trained to better integrate

scientific knowledge and environmental policy — a skill

increasingly in demand in the workforce.”

DANIELLE FORTIN, PhD

Professor, Department of Earth Sciences Faculty of Science

“In the past we concerned ourselves with localized environmental

problems that could be solved through local resources. Today, we are

dealing with environmental problems that are global in scope and

political in nature.”

JACKIE DAWSON, PhD

Assistant Professor, Department of Geography Canada Research Chair in Environment, Society & Policy

“The arguments for and against environmental policies are often

presented in extremist formats. The truth is much more nuanced, and

involves far less doom and gloom.”

NIC RIVERS, PhD

Assistant Professor, Department of Economics Canada Research Chair in Climate and Energy Policy

“The challenges raised by sustainability require us to organise

our study and research around the problems we face as we try to

decarbonise the economy, deal with water scarcity and pollution, or

address the crisis of biodiversity, rather than around the disciplines

that structure academic life.”

MATTHEW PATERSON, PhD

Professor, School of Political Studies Faculty of Social Sciences

“Modern economics provides the toolkit for understanding how the

natural environment and the human economy interact and co-evolve,

and as such is essential in environmental policy design and operation.”

ANTHONY HEYES, PhD

Professor, Department of Economics Canada Research Chair in Environmental Economics

“Today, ensuring the protection of the natural environment, whether

it’s protecting biodiversity, limiting pollutants or dealing with climate

change, is not just a scientific challenge: it’s also a tremendous social,

economic and political challenge.”

LUC JUILLET, PhD

Associate Professor, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs Faculty of Social Sciences

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INSTITUTE OF THE ENVIRONMENTwww.uottawa.ca/environment/grad-programs

University of Ottawa1 Stewart StreetOttawa, Ontario K1N 6N5(613) [email protected]

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Master’s of ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY...pragmatic skills to translate those ideas into tangible action. This interdisciplinary master’s program will prepare graduates to navigate