INFORMING ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY WITH SOUND SCIENCE: CURRICULUM AND THESES OF EARTH SYSTEMS SCIENCE & POLICY PROGRAM, CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY MONTEREY BAY

As the interface between science and policy becomes increasingly important, specialized university science programs can provide two key strategies for informing environmental policy. First, focused student theses can provide timely data for the decision-making community. Second, students empowered with scientific skills and a firm understanding of policy will embody a growing workforce that recognizes their role in fostering functional environmental policy through sound, relevant science. The Earth Systems Science and Policy (ESSP) program at CSU Monterey Bay achieves those goals through a strongly interdisciplinary set of courses and pedagogical experiences. ESSP produces graduates with scientific/technological skills and a broad exposure to environmental, social, economic, ethical, and legal aspects of environmental policy. A required service learning component facilitates student involvement with real-world policy building processes. The program includes the following three components. (1) Lower division undergraduate work builds broad understanding of earth systems science and policy with courses in calculus, physics, chemistry, biology, geology/hydrology, environmental economics, environmental justice, service learning, and certificate-awarding courses in GIS and GPS. (2) Upper division students choose from a number of subject concentrations, including Coastal and Marine Ecology, Watershed Systems, or Scientific Education. Upper division courses commonly include policy-driven science supported by lecture, fieldwork, independent projects, and oral presentations. Historical and immediate environmental issues help focus specific scientific topics. (3) A required senior thesis (capstone project) is institutionally supported through courses that facilitate proposal writing, literature retrieval, thesis organization, refined writing skills, and strong oral presentation skills. The undergraduate experience culminates in a “capstone festival,” a public symposium where each student presents their project. A program overview and a partial list of the approximately 150 thesis titles completed between Spring 1999 and Fall 2002 are available at http://essp.csumb.edu/capstone/.