 Mark Hayes visits a 2x1 GW coal-fired
power plant in Shanghai as part of a study examining the trade-off between coal and natural gas in new power plants in China. |
Students in the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Environment and Resources achieve a truly integrated understanding of environmental processes and problems and gain the necessary tools to address issues in the real world. IPER has two degree components: a Doctorate of Philosophy (PhD) and a Master of Science (MS) in Environment and Resources. The interdisciplinary PhD degree builds upon and integrates the disciplinary environmental science, engineering, and policy already being taught in Stanford's departments and schools.
The MS in Environment and Resources is designed to provide training in interdisciplinary environmental problem solving for students simultaneously enrolled in Stanford’s professional Schools of Law, Business, and Medicine, in conjunction with the JD, MBA, or MD degrees, respectively. There is no stand-alone IPER Masters program; students may only apply to the MS in Environment and Resources if accepted and enrolled in one of Stanford’s three professional schools.
IPER offers both PhD and MS students a rigorous but flexible graduate curriculum, with several shared core classes that provide the foundation on which each student constructs a unique and customized academic pathway. All IPER students are expected to make significant headway along each of three intellectual dimensions:
(1) Recognition and evaluation of the linkages between physical and biological systems, and understanding of the potential environmental consequences associated with the dynamics or evolution of these joint systems.
(2) Recognition and evaluation of the interplay between human activities and the Earth system, and understanding of how human influence on the environment (e.g., through methods of production or patterns of consumption) are affected by social and economic institutions, legal rules, and cultural values, and how resources and environment in turn affect human actions and decision making.
(3) Development of skills for gauging the potential impacts of alternative public policy options for dealing with environmental problems, for evaluating such policy alternatives according to various normative criteria, and for integrating scientific research into policy formulation.
The program is flexible to enable students to focus on their greatest interests. For example, a student with a strong interest in the relationship between commercial fishing and coral reef habitat might concentrate on biology, international relations, and economics; a student aiming to understand the environmental impacts from agricultural production decisions might focus on the interplay between economics, biogeochemistry, and hydrology; and a student especially interested in the design and evaluation of policies to curb emissions of greenhouse gases might learn about scientific, technological, and economic issues, as well as gain skills in policy analysis, evaluation, and implementation.
Please use the links at the top of the page to access information regarding the program's course of study, including degree requirements, course descriptions and a research overview.
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