All students must meet the Requirements for the Master's Degree
Overview
The Master of Climate and Environmental Policy / Master of Science in Natural Resources (MCEP/MSNR) Dual Degree Program offered by Vermont Law and Graduate School's Environmental Law Center and the University of Vermont’s Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources gives students an opportunity to deepen their graduate education by integrating significant aspects of the complementary disciplines of environmental law, policy, and science. This pathway can also be completed with VLGS’s Master of Energy Regulation and Law (MERL) degree, following the same structure and requirements.
Each school applies its own grading system to students in the program. Students must be in good academic standing at both schools to remain in the program. Each school issues its own transcript.
After completing the requirements for either degree, students will receive a diploma from the appropriate school and may attend graduation.
Specific Requirements
Minimum Degree Requirements at the University of Vermont
Students in the Dual Degree Program may earn both degrees with a total of 43 credits, of which at least 6 coursework credits must be at the 6000-level. Students must meet each school's degree requirements, including required courses and thesis or project preparation. Students take a minimum of 22 credits at VLGS toward the MCEP degree and a minimum of 21 credits at UVM toward the M.S. (Natural Resources) degree. Students may transfer a maximum of 9 credits from VLGS to UVM, and 12 credits from UVM to VLGS. Courses to be transferred must meet the requirements of the Dual Degree Program. Transferred credits may be applied toward both degrees.
Students have a maximum of 5 years to complete the Dual Degree Program. Course credits to be transferred must be taken within that 5-year period.
| Requirement Description | Credits | |
|---|---|---|
| NR 6060 | Envisioning a Sust Future | 2 |
| NR 6070 | Applied Ecol., Env. & Society | 2 |
| 15 to 27 credits of course work in related fields | 15-27 | |
| A public research seminar presented at the annual graduate student symposium | ||
| A research proposal | ||
| A comprehensive examination | ||
| At least 3 credits of project research (NR 6392), or 6 to 15 credits of thesis research (NR 6391) | ||
| An oral defense of the thesis or project is required of all students | ||
Comprehensive Examination at the University of Vermont
A written comprehensive examination is required for all Master's students. Generally taken during a student's third or fourth semester, the examination will cover broad knowledge of the student's discipline. The questions and content of the examination and its form (written, or both written and oral depending on the requirements of each concentration) are decided upon by the Studies Committee and will be discussed with the student well in advance of the exam.
The format of this exam will be as follows:
- In no instance will the written exam period be less than 2 days or more than 7. The committee members will specify whether students will have access to outside materials such as books, lecture notes, articles, reading notes, etc., to develop responses. In order to encourage succinct and focused writing, committee members are encouraged to specify a maximum page length for answers to each question.
- The primary advisor will collect the questions from each committee member and provide the student 1 set of questions per day (day defined as 8-12 hours). The student will send the answer(s) to the full committee at the end of each day.
- For those in concentrations whose Studies Committees elect to require an oral exam, the oral exam will focus on the subject areas from the written exam, particularly any weak areas. The oral exam, when applicable, will follow within 1 month of satisfactory completion of written exam. The underlying intent is an opportunity to provide clarity to weak areas of the written portion of the exam. Therefore, questions are limited to the subject areas originally designated and seek to discern if students have the knowledge that is essential to understand information in their field of study.
- The oral exam, as applicable, shall be presided over by the Chair of the Studies Committee. Its recommended duration is 2 hours and should not exceed 3.
Requirements for Advancement to Candidacy for the Degree of Master of Science at the University of Vermont
Successful completion of any required courses, and at least 15 graded graduate credits earned at UVM in compilation of the graduate GPA. A GPA of 3.00 or greater is also required. After successfully completing both the Thesis/Project Proposal and Written/Oral Comprehensive Examination, students will be advanced to candidacy for the M.S.