Graduate School and Careers
Graduate School | Career Preparations | Career Trends | Job Listings
Graduate School
The Program on the Environment's B.A. in Environmental Studies can be the first step toward a variety of graduate programs of study. PoE alumni are completing graduate studies in fields ranging from forest resources to public affairs to landscape architecture. Transitioning from undergraduate studies to a graduate program requires strategic course selection, visioning about your educational and career goals, researching programs, and advance planning for Graduate Records Examinations (GRE) and admissions deadlines for various schools and programs. PoE Advisers are available to help you research options for environmental graduate studies. Additionally, see the following online resources:
- Rice University's Directory of Environmental Programs
- UW Graduate School Admissions Information
- Graduate Record Examinations (GRE)
Preparations
- Use the Washington State Environmental Services Directory
This directory lists more than 500 companies, organizations and individuals in more than 100 environmental categories. Use this site to find environmental consulting firms, non profit organizations and governments agencies who hire environmental professionals. Bookmark the websites of organizations you are interested in working for, and frequently check the job listings page for each company. Even if you are a freshman just starting at UW, it is important to become familiar now with the kind of credentialing that these organizations require. - Visit the Career Center on the first floor of Mary Gates Hall to review job openings, obtain career counseling, and learn about the Campus Recruiting Program and the many other services that the Career Center provides. These services are free until you graduate, at which point the Career Center will assess fees associated with these services.
- Attend the Environmental Opportunities Fair in October and the Environmental Career Fair in January.
At each fair you can meet with recruiters from private, nonprofit and government environmental agencies. It’s ideal to start doing this in your freshman year, so that you’ll know what coursework and experience these employers are expecting you to have when you graduate. - Attend as many panels and sessions as possible during Career Discovery Week in January.
- Attend the Environmental Studies Alumni Showcase in spring. For details on the showcase and to find out what Environmental Studies alumni are doing, see Alumni Profiles.
Career Trends
- Green Career Brochure: The four-page brochure is aimed at high school students and college freshman and sophomores who are thinking about pursuing the environment as a field of study. The brochure shows the wide range of "green careers" by listing job descriptions and showing young people in a variety of professional activities.
- Environmental Career Trends: These tables are taken from the document "Environmental Career Information" prepared by the Program on Environment in the Spring of 2002. Includes data and projections on environmental employment and salaries.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Provides occupational employment and wage estimates and projections.
Job Listings
Internet Directories
- AmeriCorps
- BiologyJobs.com
- CampusAccess Internship Engine
- Dream Green Jobs
- EE Link -- Environmental Education Resources on the Internet
- EnviroNetwork
- Environmental Career Opportunities
- Environmental Careers Organization
- Environmental Careers World
- Environmental Jobs and Careers
- Idealist.org
- International Jobs Center
- Jobs.com Environmental Jobs
- North American Association of Environmental Education (NAAEE)
- Orion Grassroots Network
- State Public Interest Research Groups
- Sustainable Business
- Sustainable Development Gateway
- Ubiquity Environmental Careers Page
Listserves
- Western WA Environmental Education List
List Owner: Stephanie Raymond, People for Puget Sound
To subscribe send a message to requests@pugetsound.org with the
following message: subscribe ee - Center for Water & Watershed Studies
List Owner: Leslie Wall
To subscribe contact Leslie Wall at cwws@u.washington.edu
Government Agencies
Federal Programs
- EPA Region 9 Environmental Careers Resource Guide
- USAJobs
- U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
- Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
- U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
- National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
- National Parks Service
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife
- Department of Energy
State Programs
- University of Washington Employment
- Washington State Job Opportunities
- Washington State Department of Transportation
- WA Department of Ecology
- WA Department of Fish and Wildlife
- WA Department of Natural Resources (DNR)
- WA Office of Community Development
