Faculty Affiliation

Arts and Science

Degree Programs

Environment and Sustainability

MES

• Concentrations:
  • Adaptation and Resilience;
  • Global Change Science;
  • Social Sustainability;
  • The Sustainability Transition

Overview

The goal at the School of the Environment is to create and interpret knowledge on environmental issues through outstanding academic programs, and to provide students with the skills, knowledge, and experience necessary to make a substantive difference in the world. We are focused on creating new knowledge, training future leaders, engaging and forging partnerships with the wider community, and contributing to positive environmental and social change from the local to the global scale.

The School of the Environment acts as a hub for researchers and students from many different disciplines spanning the social sciences, natural sciences, and humanities, bringing together many different perspectives to bear on today’s pressing environmental challenges. Faculty and instructors make up a diverse community collaborating across departments, schools, and Faculties at the University of Toronto and beyond.

Contact and Address

Web: environment.utoronto.ca/graduate/mes
Email: grad.director.env@utoronto.ca or grad.office.env@utoronto.ca

School of the Environment
University of Toronto
33 Willcocks Street, Suite 1016V
Toronto, Ontario, M5S 3E8
Canada

Master of Environment and Sustainability

Program Description

The Master of Environment and Sustainability (MES) is a full-time, one-year program designed for students seeking the transdisciplinary research skills needed to understand and develop solutions to the many environmental and human well-being challenges and opportunities facing us in the 21st century. The transdisciplinary perspective means research 1) that is problem focussed, rather than discipline-focussed, starting from problems in the world and working back to the knowledge required to address those problems; and 2) involves active engagement with non-academic partners in active processes of co-production of knowledge.

The program builds on the strengths of the School of Environment’s undergraduate programs and its two interdisciplinary graduate collaborative specializations in Environmental Studies and Environment and Health. Upon graduation, MES students will have acquired a transdisciplinary perspective on environmental issues, learned to use methodologies and tools relevant to environmental protection and sustainability solutions, and will be well prepared for a variety of careers in the private and public sectors or for further studies at the doctoral level.

Minimum Admission Requirements

• Applicants are admitted under the General Regulations of the School of Graduate Studies. Applicants must also satisfy the School of the Environment's additional admission requirements stated below.

• An appropriate honours bachelor's degree (HBSc or HBA) that includes at least a minor in environment, sustainability, or a closely related field from a recognized university with a minimum standing equivalent to at least a University of Toronto B+ in each of the final two years of study.

• Applicants should have completed a combination of major(s) and minor(s) spanning more than one discipline or have equivalent interdisciplinary experience.

• A letter of intent.

• Two letters of reference.

Program Requirements

• Coursework. Students must successfully complete a total of 4.0 full-course equivalents (FCEs) as follows. Students will undertake research leading to the preparation of a thesis.

  • 1.5 FCEs in core courses:

    • ENV1103H Living Labs for Applied Sustainability

    • ENV1197H Research in Environment and Sustainability, Part 1

    • ENV1198H Research in Environment and Sustainability, Part 2

  • 1.0 FCE thesis: ENV1199Y (Credit/No Credit)

  • 1.5 FCEs in electives chosen from the list below, from one of four concentrations.

Program Length

3 sessions full-time (typical registration sequence: F/W/S)

Time Limit

3 years full-time

Core Courses

2.5 full-course equivalents (FCEs):

Elective Courses

1.5 FCEs chosen from one of the following concentrations:

Concentration 1: Adaptation and Resilience

Concentration 2: Global Change Science

Concentration 3: Social Sustainability

Concentration 4: The Sustainability Transition