DURHAM, N.C. – The 51 Board of Trustees has approved the creation of a new Master of Environmental Management/Master of Engineering Management (MEM/MEMP) dual degree.

The new degree will pool the academic resources of 51’s Nicholas School of the Environment and Pratt School of Engineering, giving students access to the broad expertise of both. Students in all MEM concentrations can pursue MEM/MEMP degrees.

The first cohort of students will be enrolled in Fall 2009, but some students already accepted for graduate studies at both schools may begin taking courses as early as Fall 2008, said Lincoln Pratson, associate professor of sedimentary geology at the Nicholas School.  

Pratson and Jeffrey Glass, professor of electrical and computer engineering at the Pratt School, led the efforts to develop the MEM/MEMP dual degree. They predict demand for the program will be strong.

“As a society, we’re becoming increasingly aware of issues such as global warming, environmental links to human health, and the very real possibility that demand for fresh water may soon outstrip our natural supply. This is coupled with a growing understanding of the need for new energy sources in light of concerns over greenhouse gas emissions, rising fuel prices, overdependence on foreign energy and possible limits to the world’s oil reserves,” Glass said.

“Employers in both the public and private sectors are looking for leaders who understand how to implement sustainable technological innovations in the complex context of government policies, international market demands and environmental constraints,” said Pratson.

“The engineers and environmental managers who graduate from this new program,” he stressed, “will have the multidisciplinary skills and knowledge to do just that.”

The MEM/MEMP dual degree will require 60 credit hours, including a six-credit internship offered through the Pratt School’s existing Master of Engineering Management (MEMP) professional degree program, and a seven-credit requirement for completing a master’s project and master project seminar through the Nicholas School’s existing Master of Environmental Management (MEM) professional degree program.  

Graduate-level courses in finance, marketing, management and law, policy or economics will be required, along with core scientific and engineering courses in the student’s area of concentration. Between nine and 12 hours of coursework also will be required in what Glass and Pratson describe as “tools classes” – statistics, risk analysis, geospatial analysis, energy analysis, applied data analysis or financial analysis. Between six and 12 hours of electives can also be applied to the dual degree, depending on the student’s concentration.

The curriculum is designed to be completed in a minimum of four academic semesters and two summers, but many students will need to spend a fifth semester to finish the MEM master’s project. 

Students must apply and be accepted to both the Pratt School and the Nicholas School for admission to the program.

“It’s a rigorous program, to say the least,” said Glass. “We expect to attract the best and brightest.”

Students admitted to the program this fall will, by necessity, already be enrolled either at the Pratt School or Nicholas School. But by Fall 2009, Pratson and Glass expert the timely appeal of the dual degree to attract new students to both schools.

“The demand for dual or concurrent degree programs is rising sharply as students look for programs that give them a competitive edge in the global job market,” Pratson said. “Engineers and environmental managers are being asked to solve increasingly complex problems in the workplace.”

The new program complements other recent initiatives between the schools, including an Undergraduate Certificate in Energy and Environment that will allow students from all disciplines at 51 to study the energy system and the complex interrelation of technology, economics, policy and environmental science that affects it. The certificate program was approved this spring by 51’s Arts and Sciences Council and the Engineering Faculty Council. Enrollment will begin in fall.

“We believe many of the students who complete the certificate program as undergraduates will find it attractive to further their education by remaining at 51 to complete the MEM/MEMP graduate degree,” Glass said.  

Energy initiatives at the Pratt School and Nicholas School have received significant financial support in recent years, including a combined $10 million gift to the schools from Jeffrey and Martha Gendell of Greenwich, Conn. The Gendell gift supports five new Nicholas School and Pratt School faculty hires in energy fields; laboratory construction and equipment; facility and staffing resources; and the establishment of the Gendell Center for Engineering, Energy and the Environment for undergraduate education at the Pratt School, which was launched in November 2007 in collaboration with the Nicholas School. 

“Although the MEM/MEMP program was developed entirely independently of the Gendell Center, the education it provides supports the same vision, which is enabling students to address complex environmental issues,” Glass said. “It’s another example of the mission our two school share for forging a sustainable future.”