Director
|
Massoud, May
|
Professors
|
Jaafar, Hadi (FAFS); Zurayk, Rami (LDEM); Massoud, May (FHS)
|
Associate Professors
| Doummar, Jouanna (Earth Sciences); Yehya, Alissar (CEE); Salam, Darine (CEE); Makdisi, Karim (PSPA)
|
Background
The Interfaculty Graduate Environmental Sciences Program (IGESP) is a multidisciplinary field of study which leads to the master of science degree in environmental sciences with four possible majors: environmental technology, ecosystem management, environmental health, and environmental policy planning.
Together, these majors ensure adequate coverage of all environmental and sustainable development issues prevailing in Lebanon and the Arab World, in their various ecological, economic, political, and social dimensions.
The program has been designed to cater to the rising demand for environmental scientists in the Middle East region. The specificity of the region’s environment is reflected both in the program’s academic and educational perspectives.
Founded in the mid-1990s, the IGESP program- recognizing Lebanon’s unique environmental, societal, and cultural diversity also understands that various environmental problems affect the integrity of the country’s ecosystems. Accordingly, IGESP adopts a holistic approach to resolving those problems and offers a course of study designed to address both the most salient environmental issues as well as more specialized topics.
IGESP draws on the resources of various faculties/departments and provides opportunities for study and research in the field of the environment in its totality. While the program caters mostly to physical and natural sciences students, it is offered to students holding a bachelor’s degree in any approved relevant discipline of engineering, natural or social science, or humanities. It provides graduates with the necessary tools to assess diversified and multidisciplinary environmental issues. The program focuses on enhancing students’ research, analytical, problem-solving, and critical-thinking skills by emphasizing the case study approach to learning and solving environmental problems.
Like all programs at the American University of Beirut, IGESP is registered in the US through the New York State Education Department.
Mission
The mission of the AUB IGESP program is to contribute to building the environmental capacity in Lebanon and the region through human resources development as well as research and community involvement. The essence of the program lies in its interdisciplinarity. The program is firmly based on a holistic view of the environment that integrates the ecological, technical, health, and socioeconomic dimensions. We aim to train creative, flexible, and cross-curricular graduates capable of appreciating, building on, and applying cutting-edge knowledge for the management of the environment. Our graduates are empowered with exceptional technical, managerial, critical evaluation, research, and reporting skills.
Vision
The IGESP program aspires to be the leading interdisciplinary program bridging environmental education, research, and service through close partnership with academic institutions and civil society actors.
General Information
The degree of master of science (MS) in environmental sciences is offered with four possible majors:
- Ecosystem management in the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences (FAFS)
- Environmental health in the Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS)
- Environmental technology in the Maroun Semaan Faculty of Engineering and Architecture (MSFEA)
- Environmental policy planning in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS)
The program draws on the resources of various departments of the faculties of Agricultural and Food Sciences (FAFS), Arts and Sciences (FAS), Engineering and Architecture (MSFEA), Health Sciences (FHS) and Medicine (FM), and it provides opportunities for study and research in the general field of environment.
The program provides graduates with the necessary tools for professional practice and/or the pursuit of higher education. It is administered by an interfaculty committee that coordinates with the graduate committees of the faculties concerned.
Criteria for Admission
To be accepted into the program, applicants must:
- meet general university requirements for admission to graduate study.
- be recommended by the appropriate faculty graduate committee and accepted by the Interfaculty Coordinating Committee of the program.
- provide at least two academic letters of recommendation and one other professional letter if relevant.
- submit a detailed effective statement of purpose (400-500 words) for each major indicating the purpose for pursing graduate study in the particular field at AUB and specifying the applicant’s research interests and/or practical experience in the field. Note: The statement should be oriented to the major.
- have a background that is relevant to the major.
Applicants to the program may be admitted under the following categories:
- Graduate – if the GPA in the last 60 credits or the last two years is greater than 3.3.
- Graduate on probation – if the GPA in the last 60 credits or the last two years is less than 3.3 and greater than 3.0.
Adequate preparation to take any graduate course is decided by the academic adviser and the Interfaculty Graduate Environmental Sciences Program Committee (IGESPC).
Degree Requirements
Requirements for the degree of master of science in environmental sciences (any major), both thesis and non-thesis options, are tabulated below. The master’s degree with thesis option will normally require four regular terms to be completed. In both options, students are required to complete 30 credits of which 9 credits are core courses.
Course
|
Group
|
Thesis Option Credits
| Non-Thesis Option Credits
|
Core
| A
| 9
| 9
|
Electives
|
B
|
15
|
18
|
Thesis
|
|
6
|
|
Project
|
|
|
3
|
Total number of credits required for graduation
| |
|
30 |
Core courses, as well as basic and broad electives, are listed below. Other relevant electives not listed below may be accepted on a case-by-case basis. These courses are structured to provide students with a diversified and multidisciplinary background in environmental sciences. Students have to register for the core course offered by their faculty of concentration. Students are also required to select two other supplementary courses from the list of core courses approved by the program. Students may not select two core courses from the same faculty. Students can take other elective courses from other faculties after securing the approval of the adviser. Specific faculty/department requirements are defined under each respective faculty/department.
|
Group A |
Core Courses in Environmental Science |
Credits |
|
One course selected from the following ECOM core courses |
| ENSC 630/LDEM 630 | Natural Resources Management | 3
|
| LDEM 301 | Urban Greening | 3 |
| LDEM 302 | Green Infrastructure for Resilient Landscapes and Cities | 3
|
One course selected from the following ENVH core courses
|
| ENSC 640/ENHL 310 | Toxicology and Environmental Health Hazards | 3
|
| ENSC 641/ENVH 312 | Occupational Health | 3 |
| ENSC 642/ENHL 314 | Environmental Management Systems | 3
|
|
One course selected from the following ENVT core courses |
| CIVE 550 | Water Treatment and Laboratory | 3
|
| CIVE 551 | Wastewater Treatment and Laboratory | 3 |
| CIVE 552 | Waste Management and Treatment | 3 |
| CIVE 553 | Environmental Biotechnology | 3 |
| CIVE 555 | Air Quality Management | 3 |
| CIVE 654 | Environmental Bioremediation | 3 |
| ENSC 600/CIVE 655 | Air Pollution and Control | 3
|
|
ENVP core course |
| ENSC 650/PSPA 316 | International Environmental Policy | 3
|
|
Group B |
Examples of Major Electives |
Credits |
1. Ecosystem Management
|
| ENSC 631/LDEM 631 | Agricultural Pollution and Control | 3 |
| LDEM 632/URPL 641 | Geographic Information System | 3 |
| ENSC 633/LDEM 633 | Ecological Landscape Design and Planning | 3 |
| ENSC 634/LDEM 634 | Sustainable Landscape Planning and Management | 3 |
| ENSC 635/LDEM 635/ PSPA 3446A | Political Ecology of Water
| 3
|
| ENSC 622/CIVE 653 | Environmental Chemistry and Microbiology | 3 |
| ENSC 641/ENHL 312 | Occupational Health | 3 |
| ENSC 642/ENHL 314 | Environmental Management Systems | 3 |
| ENSC 652/CIVE 656 | Environmental Impact Assessment | 3 |
| ENSC 654 | Physical and Biological Resources in Terrestrial Ecosystems | 3 |
| ENSC 655/AGSC 301 | Statistical Methods in Agriculture | 3 |
| ECON 333 | Energy Economics and Policy | 3 |
| ENSC 662/ECON 338 | Economics of Natural Resources and the Environment | 3 |
| LDEM 300 | Directed Study in Ecosystem Management | 3 |
| LDEM 301 | Urban Greening | 3 |
| LDEM 302 | Green Infrastructure for Resilient Landscapes and Cities | 3 |
| BIOL 362 | Advanced Ecology | 3 |
| BIOL 363 | Population and Community Ecology | 3 |
| AGSC 376 | Resource and Environmental Economics | 3 |
| AGSC 384 | Political Economy of Middle East Development | 3 |
| CIVE 648 | Climate Change and Water Resources | 3 |
| CIVE 552 | Waste Management and Treatment | 3
|
ENSC 630/LDEM 630/ CIVE 633
| Natural Resources Management
| 3
|
| CIVE 654 | Environmental Bioremediation | 3 |
| ENSC 600/CIVE 655 | Air Pollution and Control | 3 |
| CIVE 659 | Environmental and Water Conflict Management | 3 |
| URPL 664 | Urban Land Use Planning | 3 |
| URPL 665 | Development and Planning Policies | 3
|
2. Environmental Health
|
| CIVE 601 | GIS and Geospatial Data Modeling | 3 |
| EPHD 300 | Principles of Epidemiology | 3 |
| PBHL 300 | Foundations of Public Health | 3 |
| PBHL 310 | Research Design | 3 |
| EPHD 310 | Basic Biostatistics | 3 |
| ENSC 600/CIVE 655 | Air Pollution and ControI | 3 |
| ENSC 640/ENHL 310 | Toxicology and Environmental Health Hazards | 3 |
| ENSC 641/ENHL 312 | Occupational Health | 3 |
| ENSC 642/ENHL 314 | Environmental Management Systems | 3 |
| ENHL 301 | Environmental Health and Sustainable Development | 1 |
| ENHL 307 | Food Safety | 3 |
| ENHL 308 | Tutorial | 1-3 |
| ENHL 320 | Special Topics in Environmental Risk Analysis | 3 |
| ENSC 652/CIVE 656 | Environmental Impact Assessment | 3 |
| ENSC 658/PSPA 343 | Environmental Conflict Resolution | 3 |
| ENSC 661/BIOL 363 | Population and Community Ecology | 3 |
| ENSC 662/ECON 338 | Economics of Natural Resources and the Environment | 3
|
| CIVE 659 | Environmental and Water Conflict Management | 3
|
3. Environmental Technology
|
| CIVE 550 | Water Treatment and Laboratory | 3 |
| CIVE 551 | Wastewater Treatment and Laboratory | 3 |
| CIVE 552 | Waste Management and Treatment | 3 |
| CIVE 553 | Environmental Biotechnology | 3 |
| CIVE 555 | Air Quality Management | 3 |
| CIVE 601 | GIS and Geospatial Data Modeling | 3 |
| CIVE 602 | Experimental Design and Statistical Methods | 3 |
| CIVE 650 | Water and Sewage Works Design | 3 |
| CIVE 651 | Processes in Water and Wastewater Treatment | 3 |
| CIVE 652 | Landfill Engineering Design | 3 |
| CIVE 653 | Environmental Chemistry and Microbiology | 3 |
| CIVE 654 | Environmental Bioremediation | 3 |
| ENSC 600/CIVE 655 | Air Pollution and Control | 3 |
| CIVE 656 | Environmental Impact Assessment | 3 |
| ENSC 651/CIVE 657 | Methods of Environmental Sampling and Analysis | 3 |
| CIVE 658 | Industrial Waste Management | 3 |
| CIVE 659 | Environment and Water Conflict Management | 3 |
| CIVE 685 | Environmentally Sustainable Renewable | 3 |
| CIVE 751 | Wastewater Reclamation and Reuse | 3 |
| ENSC 602/CIVE 755 | Air Pollution Modeling | 3
|
4. Environmental Policy Planning
|
| PPIA 301 | Public Policy and Practice | 3 |
| PPIA 304 | Development | 3 |
| PPIA 305 | Economics for Public Affairs | 3 |
| PPIA 306 | Political Economy | 3 |
| PPIA 307 | Politics of Policy-Making | 3 |
| PPIA 308 | Research Methods | 3 |
| PPIA 309 | Topics in Public Policy | 3 |
| PPIA 310 | Topics in Public Policy | 3 |
| PPIA 311 | Topics in International Affairs | 3 |
| PSPA 312 | Public International Law | 3 |
| PSPA 314 | The UN and International Politics | 3 |
| PSPA 324 | Government and Politics of Lebanon | 3 |
| PSPA 343/ENSC 658 | Environmental Conflict Resolution | 3 |
| PSPA 345 | Special Topics in Environmental Policy and Politics | 3 |
| PSPA 346 | Special Topics in Natural Resource Policy and Politics | 3 |
| PSPA 351 | New Public Management | 3 |
| PSPA 352 | Foundations of Public Policy | 3 |
| PSPA 360 | Public Policy Research and Analysis | 3 |
| ENSC 659/PSPA 362 | Public Policy and Administration | 3 |
| PSPA 373 | The Ethics of Public Administration | 3 |
| AGSC 376 | Resource and Environmental Economics | 3 |
| AGSC 384 | Rural Social Change, Development the Environment | 3 |
| ECON 333 | Energy Economics and Policy | 3 |
| ECON 338 | Economics of Natural Resources and the Environment | 3
|
| URPL 664 | Urban Land Use Planning | 3
|
| URPL 665 | Development and Planning Policies | 2 |
| CIVE 601 | GIS and Geospatial Data Modeling | 3
|
Students can take other elective courses from other faculties after securing the approval of their adviser.
Graduation Requirements
See General University Academic Information section in this catalogue.
Core Course Descriptions