COLLEGE PARK, MD (May 12, 2014) – For the first time, the University of Maryland, College Park (UMD), a preeminent research institution, will award graduate degrees in marine and environmental sciences jointly with the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES), one of a few academic institutions in the country with a singular focus on environmental science.
In 2013, the Maryland Higher Education Commission granted UMCES the authority to award M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in marine and environmental sciences jointly with UMD. This May, UMD and UMCES will award four joint degrees.
"We appreciate how swiftly our partners at College Park have implemented the joint degree program," said Donald Boesch, president of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. "Working together, I am positive that we are creating one of the premier graduate environmental science programs in the nation."
UMD and UMCES are long-time partners in graduate education and classroom instruction. Every year, nearly 100 UMD graduate students study and work alongside UMCES scientists through the Marine-Estuarine-Environmental Sciences (MEES) Program, a nationally ranked interdisciplinary graduate program. Housed in the UMD College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences, MEES is a multi-institutional program of the University System of Maryland (USM).
“The MEES Graduate Program trains students to become leaders in environmental sciences nationally and internationally,” said Charles Caramello, Dean of the UMD Graduate School. “By offering this program jointly with UMCES and other USM campuses, we are expanding and enhancing research opportunities for USM graduate students who will go on to shape the world’s understanding of the environment.”
More than 500 students have graduated from the MEES program since its inception in 1978. Though the partnership between UMD and UMCES spans 36 years, this is the first year it will be officially recognized on the diplomas of MEES graduates.
“The diploma and joint degree will explicitly recognize the role of UMCES in the training and success of MEES graduates,” said Professor Ed Houde, Vice President for Education at UMCES. “The joint degree will make UMCES even more appealing to students who seek excellence in academics and research opportunities.”
About the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science
The University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science conducts cutting-edge research into today's most pressing environmental problems and trains the next generation of environmental scientists to help guide our world toward a more sustainable future. From the mountains to the sea, five research centers located throughout the state include the Appalachian Laboratory in Frostburg, the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory in Solomons, the Horn Point Laboratory in Cambridge, the Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology in Baltimore, and the Maryland Sea Grant College in College Park.
About the University of Maryland Graduate School
The University of Maryland, USM’s flagship university and one of the nation's preeminent public research institutions, houses over 250 graduate degree programs, enrolls nearly 11,000 graduate students, and confers approximately 2800 graduate degrees annually. The Graduate School provides strategic leadership for graduate education at UMD, working closely not only with the university’s twelve colleges and schools, but also with national and international organizations such as the AAU Association of Graduate Schools, the Big Ten’s Committee on Institutional Cooperation, and the international research university consortium Universitas 21.
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