Introduction
Students in the University of California, Santa Cruz's Coastal Science and Policy Program (CSP) are early career leaders in sustainability from across the globe. The program gives students hands-on training, strengthens their networks, and helps them redeploy where they are needed most. Students in this program develop a range of skills, interdisciplinary knowledge, and pragmatic approaches to become more effective leaders at developing practical solutions to coastal sustainability challenges, from watersheds to the open ocean. Small cohorts of students hailing from California, additional U.S. states and other nations experience in-depth interaction with faculty members, professionals and practitioners. The curriculum and composition of student cohorts aim to advance justice, equity, diversity and inclusion in coastal sustainability.
In year one of the two-year master's degree program, students take courses on concepts and approaches from the natural and social sciences, including biophysical, ecological, social, economic, policy, leadership, and communication dimensions. The first year also entails a guided, strategic process for each student to co-design their own second-year capstone project and identify a capstone partner organization from the non-governmental, government or private sectors. Students additionally participate in workshops to strengthen communication, technical, and leadership skills and in seminars with diverse leaders to build their professional networks. In the second year, each student works full-time alongside their selected partner organization to conduct the solutions-focused capstone project and participates weekly in a virtual capstone seminar. Students also use the summer between years one and two to gain training in specific skills or to start their capstone project. At the end of the second year, students present on their capstone work and how it advances a solution to a challenging coastal issue in writing and via an oral public presentation. With the combination of focused courses, skill set development, and practical experience, graduates are well prepared and highly competitive for diverse job opportunities in the growing fields of coastal science and policy. Although the focus of most material is coastal or marine, the principles and practices learned by the students are applicable across geographies and sectors.
The program focuses on practical training to provide integrated, scalable solutions to social and ecological challenges under five interconnected themes that leverage UCSC’s existing leadership in coastal sustainability:
- Coastal Resilience and Climate Change
- Conserving Biodiversity and Sustaining Ecosystem Processes
- Fisheries and Aquaculture
- Coastal Policy
- Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
- Innovation for Coastal Solutions
Preparation for Graduate Work in Coastal Science and Policy
Students admitted to the Master of Science (M.S.) in Coastal Science and Policy Program will have completed a bachelor’s degree at a four-year university in a field relevant to coastal sustainability. Relevant fields are diverse and include the natural sciences (e.g., biology, earth sciences, chemistry, oceanography), social sciences (e.g., economics or business, human ecology, political science, sociology), interdisciplinary programs (e.g., environmental studies and sciences) and engineering. Regardless of undergraduate major and/or minors, specific additional requirements prior to admission include at least one course in writing and one course in statistics; as well as coursework in at least two of the following three areas: biological sciences, physical sciences, and the social sciences (including policy and economics). Students are not expected to have identified a faculty adviser prior to joining the program. Students from underrepresented and diverse racial, ethnic, cultural, socioeconomic, and disciplinary backgrounds are encouraged to apply. We anticipate that competitive applicants to the program will have additional experience from either post-baccalaureate professional jobs or a combination of coursework, internships, professional jobs and research, in relevant fields.