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CofC Graduate Program in Environmental Studies

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United States
Charleston, SC
CofC Graduate Program in Environmental Studies

An interdisciplinary graduate program addressing environmental and sustainability issues from natura

As the field of environmental studies has expanded, so has our understanding of the complexity of environmental issues. Many different concerns, including those of the public, private industry, and the scientific community must be balanced to approach the environmental concerns facing our society today. In training students to handle the challenges posed by a career in the environmental field, exp

erts have found that an interdisciplinary course of study offers the most comprehensive preparation. An interdisciplinary program provides students with a basic understanding of all the factors affecting their work by giving them a scholastic background in the primary disciplines involved in the environmental field. This understanding compliments students' areas of specialty, supporting their focus in one discipline with knowledge about other aspects of the field. Our Master of Science in Environmental Studies (MES) program prepares students to deal with the complex nature of environmental issues through an interdisciplinary approach that capitalizes on the unique faculty and research strengths of the College of Charleston. The faculty at the College of Charleston contributes through the policy sciences and the natural science areas of biology, geology, mathematics, and physics.

09/01/2026

Join us on campus, Sept. 10, 5:30pm at the Rita Liddy Hollings Science Center, Room 101, to learn more about B.I.R.D.

Come support our graduate student, Rowan Hesting, as she is involved in this collaborative research project.

“Off the coast of South Carolina there are a series of wild islands that provide key habitat for nesting and migratory birds. But, these islands are under threat from overdevelopment, habitat loss, and sea level rise. B.I.R.D. Is a collaborative research project with the College of Charleston, Coastal Expeditions, and M.A.R.S.H. Project that works to understand, tell the story of, and advocate for these islands and the feathered friends who depend on them. Join the B.I.R.D. team at Flight Paths to hear the story of the bird islands and learn what we can do to make a difference. Bird is the word!” - Rowan

08/25/2026

🌎Student Highlight🌎

Katie Dietz is a graduate student in the concurrent program, Masters of Science in Environmental & Sustainability Studies and Masters of Public Administration. She works as a teaching assistant in GIS courses at CofC and as a research assistant for RISCC (Risk, impacts, and strategies for coastal communities) NSF Grant. For RISCC, she focuses on surface water flood modeling on Edisto Island, South Carolina. Katie’s primary objective is to assess flood vulnerability and mitigation strategies by utilizing mapping techniques to identify surface infrastructure most at risk of flooding. She aims to identify effective adaptation strategies and develop feedback-informed decision-making tools for the community.

Katie recently had the opportunity to attend the Esri conference in San Diego to learn more about the new additions to the GIS software!

08/21/2026

Meet the faces behind the EVSS instagram!!

Returning to the office is Adelaide, and she’s from Pennsylvania and graduated from Coastal Carolina University in 2025. Her research interests include sustainability reporting and coastal forest management.

Also returning is Meg, and she is from Chicago and graduated from Northern Michigan University. Her research interests include water quality and aquatic remote sensing.

We are welcoming Samantha to the team. Samantha is from Greenville, South Carolina and graduated undergrad with a Bachelors of Science in Earth and Environmental Science. Her research interests include sustainability leadership, cross-sector collaboration, and how different organizations can work across boundaries to address complex environmental challenges.

They will be managing the social media, writing newsletters, supporting the website, and outreach. We are so excited to kick off this fall semester and to grow connections in the community!

08/17/2026

Happy First Day of Class!

So excited to see our EVSS students on campus 🎓

Thank you Kudu for the coffee ☕️

08/14/2026

We had such a great Environmental & Sustainability Studies Graduate Program Orientation today! A huge thank you to all of our current students, alumni, faculty, and researchers who joined us to welcome our newest EVSS students and share their experiences, advice, and excitement for the year ahead.

We’re so thrilled to kick off the semester on Monday with such a great group of people. Here’s to a fantastic Fall 2026! 🌎💚

08/03/2026

Congratulations to all of our summer students who successfully defended their thesis 🎓📚

07/31/2026

We were honored to co-host the 2026 Gulf & South Atlantic Shellfish Conference alongside the South Carolina Department of Environmental Services!

Over the past few days, we had the opportunity to reconnect with so many of our incredible EVSS alumni as they presented research and shared their work supporting shellfish ecosystems across the Southeast. It was inspiring to see the impact our graduates are making in science, conservation, and coastal management.

We also met new colleagues, learned from experts across the region, and gained valuable insight into the challenges and opportunities facing our shellfish industry.

A huge thank you to our partners at DES and to everyone dedicating their careers to protecting our coastal ecosystems and ensuring a healthy, resilient future for shellfish and the communities that depend on them. We are grateful to be part of such a passionate and collaborative network!

07/22/2026

This past week concurrent student Rebecca Wood presented her research on mercury in the Charleston harbor at the global Goldschmidt geochemical conference in Montreal.

In Rebecca’s words, “Through the support of the NASA SC Space Grant and my advisors, Dr. Them and Dr. Harris, I was able to present my research at the global Goldschmidt geochemical conference. This research will provide exciting insights for the Charleston region and I can’t wait to continue developing it with the College of Charleston’s EVSS program.”

07/16/2026

🌳 Alumni Highlight 🌳

Rebecca Fanning is an alumna of the concurrent program who completed her thesis, Legacies & Trajectories to Inform Piedmont Stream Restoration, with Dr. Courtney Murren.

Rebecca currently is the Town of Sullivan’s Island’s Director of Resilience & Natural Resource Management. They recently celebrated the Town of Sullivan’s Island’s Native Tree Guide receiving a communications award from the American Society of Landscape Architects. This project was a collaboration with the SC Forestry Commission and designed by Surculus, a local firm with major native plant chops. She said it was such an honor to get to work with them on this project, and the results are simply stunning, packed with great information and visually engaging, as well.

Rebecca has supported the program by teaching Green Places, Open Spaces in Fall 2023, mentoring students as they mapped the campus canopy and explored ways to strengthen urban biodiversity. She also comes to campus often for the Sierra Club chapter meetings held in Rita first Thursdays of the month and always look forward to a great lecture and spending time with great people there.

07/14/2026

Why study Environmental & Sustainability Studies in Charleston? 🌿🌊

Because the Lowcountry is your classroom!

From nonprofits like Lowcountry Land Trust, Coastal Conservation League, Charleston Waterkeeper, Green Heart Project, The MARSH Project, The Nature Conservancy, Surfrider, SC Aquarium, Carolina Ocean Alliance, SC Environmental Law Project, The Sustainability Institute, Audubon SC and Charleston Climate Coalition plus many more to government partners like the City of Charleston, Charleston County, SC DNR, SC DES, SC Sea Grant, SC office of Resilience, Charleston County Parks, Clemson Extension and Mount Pleasant Waterworks, you’ll be surrounded by leaders making a real impact.

Add in private firms and for profit organizations like Weston & Sampson, McCormick Taylor, and Mead & Hunt, Coastal Expeditions, Casual Crabbing with Tia, Native Plants to the People plus community groups like the Sierra Club, Charleston Green Drinks, the Charleston Area Beekeepers Association, and the Native Plant Society, and you’ll find endless opportunities to network, volunteer, intern, and launch your career.

And this is just to name a few!!

The passion, collaboration, and energy for environmental work here in the Lowcountry is unmatched and we can’t wait for you to be part of it. 💚

Address

Charleston, SC
29401

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 5pm
Tuesday	9am - 5pm
Wednesday	9am - 5pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm
Friday	9am - 5pm

Website

http://mes.cofc.edu/

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