The degree program prepares students for a wide range of professional careers that require knowledge of biology, chemistry, or earth sciences in order to address environmental issues.The program is administered by the department's graduate faculty, which includes Cleveland State faculty, research scientists at the Lerner Research Institute of the Cleveland Clinic, and several Cleveland State University adjunct faculty members from other local institutions.

Faculty research in the environmental science area includes plant and animal ecology, speciesevolution, urban ecology and geology, remote sensing, local flora and fauna, microbiology, population genetics, ecological physiology, parasitology, modeling, pollution, waste management, and aquatic biology. The department is active in several cooperative projects that provide additional research opportunities for graduate study. The Cuyahoga River Watershed Project, supported by a group of local institutions, including several colleges and universities and the Ohio EPA, involves an interdisciplinary study of the ecology of an urban river. The OhioView consortium studies the application of remote sensing to a variety of environmental issues.

The MS degree program, with its research thesis focus, prepares students conceptually and technically for careers in applied or basic research in academic, government, or business settings. The graduate program attracts teachers, environmental scientists, and management and staff in diverse businesses with an environmental focus. The graduate program is open to full-time and part-time students, as well as to non-degree students who are preparing themselves for entry into a degree program or are seeking to keep abreast of new developments in their field of interest.