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What CES Graduates Do

The flexibility of the Environmental Studies degree allows preparation for many different careers and areas of further study. Since "what could I do if I had an ES degree?" is a common question asked by potential concentrators, we provide the following information. The majority of CES graduates currently are active in environmental professions or are furthering their studies of environmental fields. In the recent CES alumni/ae survey (conducted in 1993), 76% of the respondents stated they were addressing environmental issues at least occasionally as a part of their current job; 55% stated they were addressing environmental issues most or all of the time. In general, CES graduates remain professionally committed to working towards environmental improvement. In addition, 82% of the survey respondents stated they were currently addressing environmental issues as a part of non job-related efforts. Individuals who have completed a CES degree (AB, ScB, or MA) go on to address environmental problems in their communities and in our society.

Out of CES' first 154 AB alumni/ae (class of 1992 and prior), 76 have reported that they are pursuing or have completed at least one graduate degree. These degrees divide as follows: JD (19), MA (12), PhD (11), MS (11), MD (9), MPP or MPA (8), MBA (4), MEd (3), and MPH (2). The PhD degrees have been granted in fields ranging from government and economics to oceanography and pathology. Few students enter advanced degree programs directly following graduation; many first work for several years or more.

The following list of selected alumni/ae highlights some of the types of jobs and of graduate and professional schools chosen by CES graduates of the AB program. To give some sense of progress over time, the list includes examples from several graduating classes. Because the ScB Environmental Science degree program is new, CES has no direct evidence on what those graduates will do. However, a sizable number of the AB Environmental Studies graduates had strong science backgrounds and may serve as an indicator of what the ScB Environmental Science graduates may do.

  • Class of 1981 -- Intern, then Researcher at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) in DC; Staff Assistant for a U.S. Senator working on an environmental committee; JD from Yale Law School; now Staff Attorney for NRDC in their international division;
  • Class of 1982 -- Master of Science in Technology and Policy and PhD in Applied Economics, both from MIT; currently Economist, Antitrust Division, US Department of Justice; continued research in nuclear power, electric power and aerospace industries;
  • Class of 1982 -- Environmental Technician for local government in Texas; PhD in Environmental Science and Engineering from Rice University; Environmental Specialist, Groundwater Management Section, Amoco Corporation;
  • Class of 1983 -- Intern in Washington, D.C. for the Religious Action Center; Master of Arts in Hebrew Letters, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religious Studies; Rabbi in Los Angeles; now Director of Congregational Relations, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, assisting congregations with community involvement and social action programming;
  • Class of 1983 -- Agricultural Extension Agent as a Peace Corps volunteer in Burkino Faso; USEPA, Hazardous Waste Programs Branch; JD from Fordham Law School and Editor of Fordham Environmental Law Report; Associate with a NY legal firm;
  • Class of 1984 -- Intern and then Environmental Consultant for a variety of organizations, working on hazardous waste and energy issues; Master of Environmental Studies from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies; currently a PhD student in Urban Studies and Planning at MIT;
  • Class of 1985 -- Toxics Coordinator, then Water Quality Director, then Assistant Director at Save the Bay; then Principal Policy Associate at the Office of RI Governor Sundlun, with responsibility for the environment; then a staff member in the office that is organizing the National Institute for the Environment, now working for a non-profit organization in Chicago.
  • Class of 1986 -- Intern for the Environmental Action Coalition in New York; Environmental Consultant for two years; Science Teacher in a rural Zimbabwean school for one year; Science Teacher at a Quaker school in Philadelphia; now attending Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science, focusing on extraction, characterization, and bioassay of medicinal plant compounds;
  • Class of 1986 -- Yale Medical School and Preventive Medicine Residency Program at UC Berkeley, including a Master of Public Health degree in Epidemiology, with research and residency work on issues of environmental health; Fellowship at the Centers for Disease Control, Office on Smoking and Health;
  • Class of 1987 -- Staff Member at the Atlantic Center for the Environment; Peace Corps Volunteer in Costa Rica; graduate program in Resource Management at Duke; now Instructor in Costa Rica for School for Field Studies;
  • Class of 1988 -- Conservation Intern at National Wildlife Federation; Environmental Consultant on solid waste management issues; Master of Public Policy, UC Berkeley; Research Associate concentrating on environmental and economic issues that have an impact on water supply management;
  • Class of 1989 -- Policy Analyst with the New York Department of Environmental Conservation, working on air quality protection; on leave from the Harvard School of Law to direct a regional association of air pollution control officers.
  • Class of 1990 -- Teacher of environmental science, physical science, and life science at the middle- and high-school levels in Providence; currently middle school Science Teacher in Colorado;
  • Class of 1990 -- Intern with the Narragansett Bay Commission, then worked with USEPA in the DC office on indoor air pollution; now a graduate student at the Harvard School of Public Health
  • Class of 1991 -- Visiting Graduate Student at the University of Zimbabwe in tropical resource ecology ("Preserve Planet Earth" International Rotary Scholar); CES Self-Study Coordinator; currently attending the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, studying environment and development policy;
  • Class of 1992 -- Environmental Science Research Assistant at Abt Associates, Inc., currently a PhD candidate at UC Berkeley.
  • Class of 1993 -- Wrote for High Country Times, now editor for Greenwire, an electronic environmental journal
  • Class of 1993 -- Works for the World Bank on environmental issues.
  • Class of 1994 -- Indoor Air Pollution division at U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
  • Class of 1994 -- Founder and operator of an environmental education program in Kenya
  • Class of 1995 -- Fellowship to conduct an AIDS education program in Thailand.
  • Class of 1995 -- Medical school at Washington University
  • Class of 1996 -- Teaching in a public school in New York City
  • Class of 1996 -- Northeastern University Law School