Department of Environmental Sciences, College of the Environment
Graduate Faculty
Bauman, Jenise M., PhD, restoration ecology, plant and microbe interactions, invasion biology, biological statistics.
Barnhart, Charles J., PhD, energy analysis, life cycle assessment, societal energy use, early energy technology appraisal.
Bingham, Brian L., PhD, invertebrate biology, marine ecology, experimental design.
Bodensteiner, Leo R., PhD, fish ecology.
Bunn, Andrew G., PhD, climate change, paleoecology, energy, ecological models.
Bunn, Rebecca, PhD, belowground ecology, toxicology, restoration, energy, the application of statistics.
Hatch, Marco, PhD, marine ecology, coupled human natural systems, indigenous marine management, community based marine ecology.
Helfield, James M., PhD, ecology of rivers and riparian forests, terrestri alaquatic ecosystem linkages, watershed management and restoration.
Kastner, Sam, PhD, mixing and transport in the coastal ocean, including but not limited to river plumes, ocean surface waves, and the dynamics of hypoxia.
Khan, Alia, PhD, cryosphere-atmosphere-climate interactions, biogeochemistry, light absorbing aerosols, spectral geophysics.
Kodner, Robin, PhD, algal diversity and environmental interactions; microbial community structure and evolution over time; snow algae; marine phytoplankton; environmental genomics and bioinformatics.
Landis, Wayne G., PhD, environmental toxicology, population biology, risk assessment.
Love, Brooke, PhD, geochemistry, ocean acidification, hydrothermal systems, chemistry of volatiles in the marine environment.
McLaughlin, John F., PhD, terrestrial ecology, population biology, conservation biology.
McPhee-Shaw, Erika, PhD, ocean physics, coastal oceanography.
Montaño, Manuel D., PhD, environmental analytical chemistry, nanogeochemistry, colloid chemistry.
Rybczyk, John M., PhD, wetland ecology and management, ecosystem modeling, global climate change.
Sheikh, Imran, PhD, Energy Efficiency, Electric Power Systems, Energy and Environment.
Shull, David H., PhD, structure and function of marine benthic communities, pollution and marine ecosystems.
Sifuentes, Froylán E., PhD, renewable energy integration, building control and design, international energy analysis.
Sobocinski, Kathryn L., PhD, marine fish ecology, ecology and anthropogenic stressors in coastal ecosystems, fisheries oceanography, ecological and statistical modeling.
Sofield, Ruth M., PhD, aquatic toxicology, biochemical and genetic toxicology, environmental chemistry.
Strecker, Angela L., PhD, aquatic ecology, limnology, anthropogenic stressors.
Swisher, Joel, PhD, Energy efficiency and Carbon-neutral design.
Wallin, David O., PhD, terrestrial ecology, forest ecosystems.
Program Advisor: Dr. David Shull, David.Shull@wwu.edu, 360-650-3690
Program Description
The MS in environmental science draws upon course work from College of the Environment and the other colleges of WWU. It is directed toward the development and integration of scientific information in order to describe, predict and/or manage natural systems, and to assess human impacts on those systems. This specialization focuses on the transport, fate and toxic effects of chemicals in the environment, laboratory testing and field work, chemical analytical measurement of pollutants and the influence of nutritional factors on pollutant toxicity. Studies of chemical fate and toxicity at the biochemical, organismal, population and ecosystem levels.
Goals
The program prepares students to describe, predict and/or manage natural systems and to assess human impacts on those systems.
Students who succeed in our program typically have taken the following courses: calculus, general chemistry, biology, organic chemistry, ecology, and statistics.
Prerequisites
A bachelor’s degree and college-level course work including a minimum of either:
- One year of general chemistry, one year of general biology, and one course in statistics or data analysis, or;
- One year of general chemistry, one year of physics, two courses in calculus, one course in statistics and one additional physical science or engineering course, or;
- Commensurate coursework as approved by proposed faculty mentor.
Application Information
Admit Quarter: Students will be admitted into the MS in environmental science program fall quarter only.
Deadlines: Because maximum student enrollment is limited, all applicants are strongly encouraged to submit application materials by February 1. Review of materials will begin after that date and will continue until the enrollment limit is reached or on June 1, whichever comes first.
TA Deadline: To be considered for a graduate teaching assistantship, applicants should submit their application materials by February 1 and indicate in the statement of purpose how the prerequisites listed above have or will be met before starting the program.
Supporting Materials:
- An application for admission into the MS program in environmental science must include a one- to two-page statement of purpose indicating which specialization the applicant is most interested in, explaining why the applicant wishes to pursue graduate studies in environmental science, and what future expectations they have for the MS degree.
- The statement may indicate a preferred faculty advisor; students are encouraged to review faculty research interests as described on the College of the Environment website cenv.wwu.edu prior to contacting potential faculty advisors; students are admitted into the program only upon agreement of potential faculty advisors.
For further information, write or consult Ed Weber, the College of the Environment Graduate Program Specialist, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225-9079, 360-650-3646, Ed.Weber@wwu.edu.
