Interdisciplinary Master's Degree in Environmental Management Studies
VCEMS supports a Master's curriculum that is interdisciplinary and focuses on environmental business, management and technology. To apply for this individualized masters program, students must first enroll in the School of Engineering, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Please see the VCEMS Admission page. For further details, contact Professor James Clarke.
Requirements
Students are expected to complete a core curriculum of 8 courses that provide a foundation in economics, law, engineering, management, and quantitative methods. Four of the eight core course are predetermined and listed below. Student may then select from the remaining courses listed below to complete their course requirements (24 total hours for thesis candidates and 30 hours for non-thesis students). Thesis candidates must complete an additional 6 hours for thesis credit (for a total of 30 hours). The faculty advisory committee may adjust this list based on the interests and needs of individual students, current course offerings, and alternatives that fulfill the same basic purpose. The thesis requirement consists of conducting environmental management/science research and preparing a manuscript suitable for publication in a respected peer-reviewed journal.
Civil and Environmental Engineering/Assessment (2 courses) * Environmental Assessments (ENVE 264) Geographic Information Systems (CE 259) Environmental Characterization and Analysis (ENVE 273)
Environmental Management (2 courses) * Environmental Risk Management (ENVE 275) Corporate Strategies for Environmental and Social Responsibility (MGT 622) Project in Environmental Strategy (MGT 556)
Law (1 course) * Environmental Law (LAW 732) Advanced Environmental Law International Environmental Law Superfund MGT 455 Law & Business: Private Environmental Law and Voluntary Overcompliance
Public Policy Relevant courses from the following areas: Public Health Political Science Religion/Ethics Law
Partial Listing of Course Abbreviations and School Designations
Please visit Vanderbilt's On-Line Course Catalog for a complete listing of all school catalogs. The school catalogs provide course descriptions, credit hour information, instructors, etc.
CE Civil Engineering - School of Engineering ENVE Environmental Engineering - School of Engineering MATH Math MGT Management - Owen School MT Management of Technology - School of Engineering LAW Law - Law School PSY Psychology - Graduate School
In the descriptions below, figures in brackets, e.g., [2], refer to credit hours for each course. With the advice and written consent of a sponsoring faculty member and the Committee on Instruction, students may register for an individually structured course. Courses listed below are tentative. The schools reserve the right to change the arrangement or content of courses, to change the texts and other materials used, or to cancel any course on the basis of insufficient enrollment or for any other reason.
CE 259. Geographic Information Systems. Principles of computerized geographic information systems (GIS) and analytical use of spatial information. Integration with global positioning systems (GPS) and internet delivery. Includes GIS software applications. SPRING. [3]
CE 310. Probabilistic Methods in Engineering Design. (Also listed as MT 312) Applications of probabilistic methods in the analysis and synthesis of engineering systems. Review of basic probability concepts, random variables and distributions, modeling and quantification of uncertainty, testing the validity of assumed models, linear regression and correlation analyses, Monte Carlo simulation, reliability analysis and reliability-based design. FALL. [3]
ECON 283. Economics of Natural Resources and the Environment. Economic theory and analytical tools involved in environmental and resource problems: air and water quality and hazardous waste management. Prerequisite: 231. FALL. [3] Russell.
ECON 231. Intermediate Microeconomic Theory. . Development of the techniques of analysis for problems of resource allocation. Theories of choice and production for individual economic agents in competitive and monopolistic environments. Behavior of markets. Determination of prices, wages, interest, rent, and profit. Income distribution. No credit for graduate students in economics. Prerequisite: one semester of calculus. FALL, SPRING. [3] Conley, Jiang.
ECON 309. Econometrics. . Analysis of specification errors in single equation estimation of economic relations and introduction to the estimation and application of simultaneous equation models. Prerequisite: 307 or consent of instructor. SPRING. [3] Li.
ENVE 264. Environmental Assessments. Design and conduct of environmental assessments to evaluate risks posed by infrastructure systems or environmental contamination. Impact analyses for sources, infrastructure modifications, due diligence environmental audits, and contaminated site remedial investigations. Prerequisite: senior standing or consent of instructor. FALL. [3]
ENVE 273. Environmental Characterization and Analysis. Introduction to the acquisition and interpretation of environmental data. Principles of chemical measurement, sample collection and sample program design; laboratory safety and good laboratory practices; analytical instrumentation and methods; quality assurance and quality control; and statistical interpretation of data. Hands on experience is gained in combination with demonstrations featuring state-of-the-art analytical instrumentation. Prerequisite: junior standing, CE 226, ENVE 271, or consent of instructor. SPRING. [3]
ENVE 275. Environmental Risk Management. (Also listed as MT 265). Development of environmental safety programs for technological operations. Focus on defining an environmental risk management process and program implementation, performing risk assessments, determining and selecting appropriate risk reduction strategies, and influencing risk management decisions internally and externally. Extensive use of case studies drawn from the chemical and energy-producing industries. SPRING. [3] Abkowitz
LAW 732. Environmental Law. Introduction to the role of the legal system in addressing problems of environmental disruption, with special emphasis on problems of pollution. Discussion of traditional and evolving legal remedies for the control of pollution, including recent federal legislation. Analysis of federal statutory materials will focus on the Clean Air Act and its implementation. [3]
MGT 455. Law & Business: Private Environmental Law and Voluntary Overcompliance. Over compliance Examines cutting edge environmental business and legal issues by focusing on how firms identify, shift, disclose and manage risks. Corporate managers that engage in M&A activity, investment banking, commercial lending, and manufacturing all confront environmental compliance and remediation costs. These costs are often "hidden" and can end up dramatically affecting the value of a company. The course includes mock negotiations over the environmental aspects of the purchase of a company and examines the extent to which private indemnities, bank loan covenants and other provisions in agreements steer corporate behavior. The course also examines how private firms seek to minimize their costs and environmental impacts (and improve their share value) through environmental management systems, assessments of the life cycle of their products, and through other voluntary steps. Note: The course is part of the Law and Business program, but students who are not in the Law and Business program are encouraged to enroll. There are no prerequisites. Not offered 2004/2005. 2 Credit(s)
MATH 234. Methods for Initial and Boundary-Value Problems. (Formerly 245) Construction of the solutions to initial- and boundary-value problems for partial differential equations using separation of variables in conjunction with Fourier series and integrals. Emphasis on obtaining explicit formulas for the solutions of various problems involving the heat equation, the wave equation, and Laplace's equation. Prerequisite: elementary differential equations. Recommended: linear algebra. FALL, SPRING. [3] Xia.
MGT 322. Managerial Economics. The class studies the behavior of consumers and firms in a market economy. Topics include bilateral bargaining, auctions, supply and demand, costs, competition, monopoly, oligopoly, the organization of firms and markets, and strategy. [2] Froeb.
MGT 371. Operations Management. Is an overview operations management in both service and manufacturing organizations with an emphasis on international operations. Topics include operations strategy, process analysis, quality control, queuing, enterprise planning systems, lean manufacturing, and supply chain management. 2 Credit(s)
MGT 381. Managerial Statistics. Principles of statistical analysis and inference, including descriptive statistics, probability theory, statistical estimation, tests of hypotheses, analysis of variance, and regression and correlation analysis. [2] Cooil.
MGT 427. Economics of Organizations. Until recently, economics largely ignored the internal organization and operation of the firm. However, new developments in agency theory and game theory have made it possible to analyze the roles of information and incentives inside the firm. The course seeks to provide students with the knowledge and powerful thinking tools that will help them to understand the internal organization. Prerequisite: 322. [2] Cohen.
MGT 441. Organization Design. Considers traditional and innovative designs for organizational structures and processes within business organizations. Topics include environment and structure, corporate culture, power and politics, decision making, and new organizational designs. Prerequisite: 342. [2] Daft.
MGT 556. Project in Environmental Strategy: This is an interdisciplinary group project involving engineering, law, and business students who jointly analyze the environmental risks and opportunities facing a local company. The result of this group project will be either (or both) a "pollution prevention assessment" designed to assist the company in achieving an environmentally sound business operation, or an "environmental strategic plan," designed to offer the firm suggestions for marketing their product or firm. In both cases, the emphasis will be on identifying risks and opportunities for the firm that will ultimately help its bottom line. Prerequisite: 455 and either 457 or 567 which may be taken simultaneously with the project. (Non-OGSM students must have completed environmental law or environmental engineering courses.) [2] Cohen.
MGT 622. Corporate Strategies for Environmental and Social Responsibility. "Environmental management" and "corporate social responsibility" have traditionally been viewed as necessary evils that add to the cost structure of business. More recently, some firms have begun to shed this old view of environmental and social issues and begun to embrace socially responsible behavior as a competitive strategy. Rather than treating the environment and social issues as an added cost, they view them as added opportunities to differentiate themselves in a competitive marketplace. For these companies, environmental and social responsibility are integrated into the core business functions and strategies of the company, and these concepts help them obtain and maintain a competitive advantage. This course explores this growing trend and its implications for business in today's world and beyond. We explore what leading companies are doing in areas such as fair wages, privacy concerns, affirmative action, sexual harassment, employee rights, worker safety, consumer safety, animal testing, human rights and environmental considerations. Particular attention is paid to understanding whether or not these activities provide firms with a competitive advantage in the marketplace. [2] Cohen.
MGT 567. Environmental Issues in Marketing. This course focuses on 1) who is the "green consumer"?; 2) trends in green (who and what is being advertised; use of internet; 3) environmental marketing regulation; 4) voluntary verification programs (product labels, internet sites); 5) corporate environmental reports; 6) partnerships and conflicts with environmental groups; and 6) global market issues. Prerequisite: 361. [2] Cohen.
MT321. Technical Project Management. Organizational and human factors involved in the management of technical projects. Systems life-cycle approach used in characterizing project tasks and work flow. Influence of organization’s structure, behavior, and processes. Skills needed to develop project team and direct and control project work. Project work definition, scheduling, budgeting, control, and performance evaluation methods. SPRING. [3] .
MT322. Quality Management. Fundamentals of quality management and continuous improvement in the technology-based company. Influence of organizational culture on the use of specific methods, and approaches toward achieving quality. Customer value concepts and measurement; management of quality to enhance the customer’s value. Prerequisite: 310, or consent of instructor.SUMMER.[3]
PSY 304a-304b. Quantitative Methods and Experimental Design. Principles and methods for the design and analysis of experiments and for the investigation of individual differences. Principles of experimental design, descriptive and inferential statistics, and introduction to multivariate analysis. [3-3] Tomarken.
