Environmental Studies: Master's Level

Admission Requirements

  • Students who wish to enrol in the Collaborative Specialization in Environmental Studies (CSES) offered by the School of the Environment must first apply to and be accepted into a master's program in a degree-granting unit, also called a home department or home unit. Information about applying to a master's program can be found on the School of Graduate Studies website as well as on the respective websites of participating degree-granting units.

  • Prospective students who are planning to enrol in the CSES are strongly encouraged to submit copies of the documents outlined on the School of the Environment website by the application deadline established by the degree program admission committee in the home department. Applicants should contact the home department they are applying to in order to confirm its application deadline. The School of the Environment also allows potential students to enrol in the CSES beyond the deadline set by their home department, provided that students will be able to complete the CSES requirements by the time they are ready to graduate from their degree program.

Specialization Requirements

  • The requirements listed below must be completed in combination with that expected for the master's degree program of the home department. These are normally counted as electives toward the degree program requirements of the student’s home department. Typically, students complete up to 1.0 full-course equivalent (FCE) and conduct research on an environmental topic. Please note that requirements in some participating programs may vary. Therefore, students are encouraged to check the calendar entries for their respective home department degree programs. The School of the Environment also offers students in the non-thesis master's degree stream the opportunity to complete an internship in fulfilment of the CSES, unless they have an internship component built into their degree program. The CSES requirements for each participating degree program are listed on the School of the Environment website under the Collaborative Specialization in Environmental Studies.

Master's Degrees Coursework Option

  • Complete the mandatory core course ENV1001H (0.5 FCE).

  • Complete one elective course (0.5 FCE) from the School's list of approved courses. Courses (including Special Topics) that have an environmental focus but are not included in the School’s approved list can be counted as an elective, pending approval from the Graduate Associate Director.

  • Complete an environment-related internship of approximately three months full-time employment (ENV4444H; 0.5 FCE or ENV4444Y; 1.0 FCE), unless students have an internship requirement included in their degree program.

  • Produce a brief research paper on an environment-related topic, which may be related to the internship experience (ENV5555Y; 1.0 FCE), unless students have a research paper requirement included in their degree program.

Note: Master's students who are enrolled in a coursework-based degree must complete 30% of their program requirements within their collaborative specialization. For a complete and most up-to-date list of CSES requirements by each participating degree program for master's students in the coursework option, please visit the School of the Environment website and click on the home department or degree program.

Master's Degrees Thesis Option

  • Complete the mandatory core course ENV1001H (0.5 FCE).

  • Complete one elective course (0.5 FCE) from the School's list of approved courses.

  • Write a thesis in the home department on an environment-related topic.

Note: For a complete and most up-to-date list of CSES requirements by each participating degree program for master's students in the thesis option, please visit the School of the Environment website and click on the home department or degree program.