The task at the core of the graduate Environmental Studies program is the development of human institutions, organizations, and behaviors that restore and protect the environment, requiring careful study of both natural and human systems and their interdependence.

Members of the Master of Arts in Environmental Studies faculty have wide-ranging research interests, including environmental policy, environmental technology, environmental land-use planning, risk analysis, citizen participation, environmental health, energy studies, global climate change, water-resources policy and planning, brownfields redevelopment, and lake paleontology. They have published in leading journals in these fields. An MA faculty member is the American editor for the International Journal of Global Environmental Issues.

Students in the environmental studies program develop skills that are in high demand. These skills are particularly well suited to bridging the gap between science and policy. Students will become leaders in their communities' efforts to protect and/or restore environmental quality. Environmental studies graduates work in organizations such as environmental protection agencies; nonprofit environmental advocacy organizations; environmental education organizations; municipal governments; regional planning and resource agencies; and state and national parks and recreation areas.