Master's in Climate Science and Policy

The primary goal of this course is for students to develop a sound working knowledge of the components of Earth’s climate system and drivers of climate change, both natural and human-caused.  These include investigations of the circulations of the ocean and atmosphere and their dynamic interactions; carbon and other biogeochemical cycles; radiation balance; the greenhouse effect and other factors that force climate to change; and feedbacks in the climate system. Among secondary goals are to provide guidance on where to obtain authoritative scientific information and climate data; how to extract key messages from highly technical, jargon-laden articles; and how to critically evaluate non-scientific sources of climate science information such as reports in major media.   Special emphasis is placed on developing comprehensive understanding of climate interventions – geoengineering and bioengineering approaches aimed at reversing anthropogenic warming of the global climate system that are likely to become a central theme in climate policy over the coming decade. 

Learning Outcomes:

• Fundamental understanding of the workings of the climate system and the science of climate change to equip students for careers in the climate policy arena.  

• Foundational understanding of the scientific processes at work in both the natural/pre-industrial and current anthropogenically-perturbed atmospheric systems 

• An introduction to earth system models and their application as indispensable tools for understanding Earth’s past, present and future climate.

• Appreciation of the methods and rationale of science, importance of observations, and nature of evidence and scientific uncertainty

• Ability to understand and synthesize papers from the primary scientific literature 

•  Robust understanding of proposed climate interventions as potential pathways towards – and possibly pathways to avoid – achieving a sustainable global climate.

Agriculture is responsible for roughly one quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions, while global food, fiber and fuel production is under increasing risk of climate extremes.  Yet there is a movement supporting a radical transition toward food producing systems that both present important opportunities for carbon sequestration and are also climate resilient.  This course covers the key themes of climate risk to food production, with a special focus on small-holder vulnerabilities to food insecurity, and the myriad ways in which soil health, perennialization, conservation of crop genetic diversity, and cropping system complexity can address resilience and mitigate emissions.  Fundamental scientific concepts such as carbon and nitrogen cycling, water use efficiency, and the role of biodiversity in supporting resilience are explored through readings from the peer-reviewed literature and opportunities to conduct simulation modeling in collaboration with local farms to assess strategies to mitigate greenhouse gases.

After completing this course, students will:

• Have a thorough comprehension of the ways in which agriculture contributes to global greenhouse gas emissions, in particular the non-CO₂ GHGs;
• Understand the science behind and opportunities for “natural climate solutions” in farming systems and how these practices contribute to broadly regenerative systems;
• Be able to distinguish between “technical” and “economic” potential with respect to mitigation potential of various practices, and associated uncertainties;
• Understand the value of and efforts to conserve traditional, small-holder farming systems and crop genetic diversity for improving climate resilience to meet the needs of future populations.
• Be comfortable with vocabulary, units of analysis and concepts used in the peer-reviewed literature on climate change and farming systems;
• Have skill in locating, reading, and interpreting the science literature for the purpose of conveying key concepts to a non-expert audience through both written and oral work.

The study of economics involves both a normative and positive frame; this year-long course offers both. We trace and analyze various schools of thought and their proponents including Smith, Marx, Keynes, and Hayek, which allows us to view current policy debates through multiple historical and value lenses. While economics has traditionally  emphasized efficiency, modern economics has sharply pivoted towards values of sustainability, fairness, equality, and justice. This course incorporates these vital principles to assess the constraints and promises of policymaking, especially when paired with statistical tools that permit rigorous empirical testing of theories. The combination of theory and practice fosters students to hone their worldviews and value frames as well as acquire practical  professional skills.

Learning outcomes:

• Recognize and appreciate competing value frames that inform policy
• develop practical empirical skills to quantify, measure, and test the efficacy of various policy interventions
• learn statistical mechanisms to identify causal linkages between policy interventions to outcomes

This course provides students with an introduction to the fundamentals principles of environmental law. We begin with an overview of the US legal system and then move on to assess key federal, state, and local environmental laws and regulations. Towards the end of the class, we will also study the international environmental lawmaking process, with a focus on the international climate regime that has developed under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Throughout the course, we will consider the political economy of environmental regulation and the interests of different stakeholders, including environmental justice communities. 

Upon completion of the course, students should have an understanding of the following concepts:

• The structure and goals of major federal environmental laws including the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and the National Environmental Policy Act
• The administrative lawmaking process as well as the procedure for challenging administrative rules 
• The history and present goals of the environmental justice movement
• The relationship between federal, state, and local bodies of law

Students will also gain experience interpreting judicial opinions and other legal texts, including federal and state statutes. 

This course introduces students to quantitative tools used for analyzing data, understanding the nature of causality, and developing policy. Through real-world applications, this course focuses on developing a logical structure underlying statistics and eschewing formulaic learning. A deep understanding of statistics allows students to recognize that statistical methods (such as the t test, ANOVA, and regression) form a logical and nested progression.

Learning Outcomes:

• Ability to explain statistical concepts rigorously in plain English

• Understand the nature and meaning of causality

• Develop an appreciation for connections among geometry, trigonometry, and statistics

• Test any hypothesis using a logical sequence of steps

• Write code in a programming language such as STATA or R

Communication skills are crucial to educators’ and policymakers’ ability to mobilize against structural environmental and climate change injustices.  Recognizing this, in the Communication course at Bard CEP, students work to become inclusive and inspiring writers and speakers.  Students learn how to take audience and purpose into account as they read, synthesize and communicate complex science, economic and policy information. The course covers both academic and professional written and oral genres: the blog post, memo, lit review, cover letter, slide presentation, interview.  

This course supports students’ ability to:

• frame their writing/presentations for differing purposes and audiences, with an emphasis on engaging community stakeholders
• find and evaluate relevant research and communicate it accessibly and accurately 
• support a reader through an argument via effective introductory/concluding material, coherent sections and paragraphs, thoughtfully placed transitions, precise word choice, and clear, concise, sentences
• craft and deliver visually engaging, effectively structured, and memorable slide presentations
• analyze their own and their classmates’ writing and presentations and give and receive constructive feedback

Oaxaca is one of the most highly biodiverse and culturally diverse states in Mexico, as well as its poorest. In the January class, we work with Zapotec and Mixtec communities in the Sierra Juarez and Sierra Sur mountain ranges, who play a critical role in conservation and watershed health. (or water management?) Historically marginalized by the Mexican state and elites, these communities are now exerting significant control over how they manage their forests and water and in the process, developing new opportunities for sustainable business and improving livelihoods.  The January class will provide us with an overview of how new partnerships to support these efforts are built between communities, state agencies, international non-profit organizations and corporations, as well as within communities. Understanding the dynamics of building trust within a system in which many indigenous communities have had little faith, is a critical conceptual component of the trip.  Students will also have an introduction to the different forms of indigenous land tenure and local governance structures that facilitate accomplishing shared goals within communities and their partners. In addition, the class will provide students with a basic framework of conducting team-based research in the field, from note-taking to triangulation and analysis.

Using ESRI GIS software and associated apps, students will receive formal instruction in the fundamentals of using spatial information, conducting spatial analysis, and producing high-quality cartographic products. Students will learn how GIS may be used as a tool for identifying and assessing environmental justice (EJ) issues at the local, regional and global scale. Students will apply these GIS skills and knowledge base to a team-based research project focused on an environmental justice problem. The course culminates in a presentation session, where students show their analysis and results to their peers, professors and the greater Bard community.

After taking this course, a student will better able to:

• Perform geographic inquiry - ask spatially-based questions, acquire and evaluate data, develop methods, and summarize results
• Produce effective maps for decision-making through traditional cartographic techniques as well as web-based applications 
• Use GIS in creating solutions to environmentally and inequity-based problems

The content of the Food/Energy Policy course is continually updated to reflect cutting edge policy and legislative issues.  It is generally supported with invited speakers who span a spectrum of stakeholders from sustainability coordinators in private sector food companies to labor organizers working on protecting farmer worker rights to legal defense organizations working on banning toxic pesticides, in the case of food policy, or for energy policy, state-level regulators developing policy on off-shore wind to electric vehicle experts speaking on charging infrastructure.  Students engage in teams to develop policy position statements for presentations to stakeholders to gain skill in integrating across competing interests.

This course supports students’ ability to:

• Explore specific policy challenges and solutions in the food or energy system arenas that may lead to the radical change needed to address these global issues;
• Draw on the disciplinary expertise they are gaining in their economics, science, law and politics courses to take “theory into practice”;
• Understand the perspectives of various stakeholders on an issue, and explore the art of compromise in policy formulation.

Extended Professional Internship

The extended professional internship is a unique feature of the Bard CEP program. In the second year of study, all students complete a four-to-six month, high-level internship in locations ranging from Washington, D.C., to New York City, Texas, Oregon, and Alaska; across the world in Thailand, South Africa, Geneva; and close to home, in the Hudson Valley. Some recent internship experiences are captured in this video.

The internship typically forms the basis for the students' Master's Capstone Projects. Between 30% and 50% of internships turn directly into jobs. The internship is a major item on our graduates' resumes, and supports development of their career networks.

In their own words . . .

“My internship experience through Bard CEP was a unique life and career experience. I was a project assistant for WASTE, a Dutch NGO (nongovernmental organization), working on implementing an integrated solid waste management system in Haiti. Being engaged in fieldwork for six months helped me to truly understand the realities while allowing me to perform to my highest capabilities. The opportunity launched my international development career and helped me grow as a young professional. I am currently working at VNG International as a policy advisor.” —Rachel Savain ’12

Placement Options

Bard CEP helps students find internship opportunities with a variety of institutions, and is continuously expanding its list of internship sponsors. The internship allows students to follow their preferred areas of specialization locally, elsewhere in the United States, or abroad. The internship gives students an applied focus to their degree and an opportunity to learn in a professional setting the job-specific skills they will use upon graduation. Internships also expand professional networks, often leading directly or indirectly to employment. 

Students can pursue two different Master’s Capstone avenues: (1) the Thesis, which is designed to help students understand evidence-based policy formation by generating a research question, developing its proof and communicating these ideas to a potential policymaker audience, and (2) the Project, which is designed to replicate a professional experience, either in the form of a consulting project or a communication piece.

Students begin to formalize capstone ideas the summer after their first year, in consultation with an advisor on the faculty. The internship allows students to explore policy issues and usually serves as the springboard for the capstone.

The content of the Food/Energy Policy course is continually updated to reflect cutting edge policy and legislative issues.  It is generally supported with invited speakers who span a spectrum of stakeholders from sustainability coordinators in private sector food companies to labor organizers working on protecting farmer worker rights to legal defense organizations working on banning toxic pesticides, in the case of food policy, or for energy policy, state-level regulators developing policy on off-shore wind to electric vehicle experts speaking on charging infrastructure.  Students engage in teams to develop policy position statements for presentations to stakeholders to gain skill in integrating across competing interests.

This course supports students’ ability to:

• Explore specific policy challenges and solutions in the food or energy system arenas that may lead to the radical change needed to address these global issues;

• Draw on the disciplinary expertise they are gaining in their economics, science, law and politics courses to take “theory into practice”;

• Understand the perspectives of various stakeholders on an issue, and explore the art of compromise in policy formulation.

The Leadership and Careers course helps prepare spring-semester, final-year students for their first professional position after Bard CEP.  With a focus on storytelling, the course supports students as they set career goals and refresh their job application materials and interview skills.  It encourages their development as leaders, and especially as antiracist leaders, foregrounding work around emotional intelligence, self inquiry, and learning agility.  Finally, it introduces students to fundraising and grant writing basics, while interrogating the current dynamics around philanthropy and non-profit management structures.

This course supports students’ ability to:

• understand their own professional vision and goals
• present their knowledge and skills effectively to future employers
• advocate for themselves through the hiring process
• help lead their organizations in justice work
• assess their strengths and areas for growth as leaders
• pursue funding for projects

The Capstone Seminar offers a platform for students to present successive iterations of their capstone research. Students discuss the policy problems and methodological challenges they encounter in their work, along with different ways of dealing with them. The seminar also offers students the chance to receive feedback from their peers and the Bard CEP faculty, and to focus on effectively communicating the results of their research. 

Student-Driven Capstone 

At Bard, the Master's Project provides the opportunity for students to develop true mastery in their chosen field of interest, ranging across topics such as water, energy, biodiversity, toxic pollution, and environmental justice. Unlike at many other schools where a capstone project is derivative of a faculty member's research interest, at Bard, students develop their own capstone topics, typically focused on solving an environmental policy problem identified during the student's internship. In these cases, students devote an entire year to practical work in the area in which they are passionate: six months of hands-on experience, coupled with six months of academic analysis and reflection through their capstone work. This kind of mastery provides a strong foundation for career success. Each Master's Project is carefully mentored by two Bard CEP Faculty members, including a primary and secondary advisor.