Using Your Degree
Program graduates are well prepared to craft meaningful careers or to pursue further graduate work. Program alumni work in research and activist-oriented non-profit organizations, local and state government agencies, tribal governments, and for-profit organizations. Alumni have also gone on to pursue Ph.D. degrees in disciplines such as history, political science, anthropology, and area studies. For an overview of the possibilities please refer to the statements below regarding how program graduates have used their M.A. degree.
"Sometimes I can't believe it myself, but the interdisciplinary E&C program has put me in a position to pursue the career I have always wanted but didn't think would be possible. The courses gave me the background, knowledge and skills that I needed to develop in order to move forward with my plans. Through the process of writing my thesis, I was able to make connections with some fairly high profile people in both the local community and globally working on the issues I care about most. The program encourages its participants to get involved with local organizations and network, and by doing this, I was able to find and land a job locally that I love. The E&C program set me up well to follow my chosen career path as far as it will take me."
Maggie Donovan-Kaloust, 2007
"After serving over 20 years and retiring from the Coast Guard, I sought out a graduate program that would help anchor me to my chosen retirement community. The combination of the curriculum in the Environment & Community program along with the character of the City of Arcata virtually ensured success in this goal. I've found it easy to engage in local community events and the local political scene.
My thesis was an analysis of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's Hydroelectric Licensing Process with the Klamath River as a case example. The Klamath Basin is a treasure trove of research waiting to happen. I found it enriching and rewarding working with the Tribes in the Basin and hearing their stories of struggle to restore the salmon habitat.
Since completing the Environment & Community program, I feel very fortunate to have been hired as a transportation planner by Winzler & Kelly Consulting Engineers in Eureka. Over the next 18 months, we will be completing an inventory of Tribal roads throughout the entire state of California under a contract with Caltrans."Jay Wright, 2006
"My thesis was on the social and political implications of water privatization globally. I focused on the political, philosophical and social classes. Before my masters I taught environmental education. I am now living in New York City and I recently got a permanent job in the education department at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens."
Rachelle Curran, 2006
"As a Program Manager with the non-profit Strategic Energy Innovations, I oversee programs in Humboldt County and across the state that guide schools, small businesses, and affordable housing providers towards accomplishing their sustainability objectives. Any graduate program should engender its students with the depth to critically investigate and eloquently express themselves on a given topic. Environment & Community did that for me-within the context of the ecological crisis-by ensuring my acquisition of the skills, background and connections I needed to get down my chosen career path."
Morgan King, 2003
I am an adjunct instructor in the Agriculture/Natural Resources Department at Santa Rosa Junior College. I love it. The Environment and Community Program gave me the freedom to focus my energies on topics that were important to me, like sustainable agriculture. Almost every paper I wrote had some focus on agriculture. So, while my degree is an MA in Social Sciences, I almost feel like a have a "minor" in Sustainable Agriculture. I took what we learned in our classes and seminars and applied it very differently then my friends from the program who are now earning PhD's in Sociology or directing non-profit organizations. That's the strength of the program. It brings together all these diverse people who are focused on making positive impacts on their communities and the environment, but the program gives them the space to choose how their skills can best do that.
At the same time that I was going through the program I was also working on an organic farm in Bayside, Redwood Roots, and gaining a lot of real world experience in the art of growing food. After the program I moved to Sonoma Co. and got a job managing a small organic farm here. So, when the opportunity to teach at the junior college presented itself, I not only had the degree to teach sustainable agriculture courses, I had the real world experience of doing it, too. A lot of junior colleges look at experience in the field as just as important as a degree, especially in these "hands on" fields like agriculture.
Over the past couple of years I have taught as much as half time, teaching Intro to Ag. courses, Beginning Organic Gardening, Warm Season Vegetable Production, and other in the dirt classes. But I also teach a class that has proved very popular, Introduction to Sustainable Ag., that is a theory based course. Lots of reading and discussion. I've designed it to look very much like a graduate course. This semester I am down to just that one class, because I recently accepted a position managing a new garden in the Napa Valley. I like the day to day work of a garden, but feel very lucky that I am still able to teach at the JC. It's extremely rewarding to work with students who are as enthusiastic about the subject matter as I am.Courtney Delello, 2003
The HSU Environment & Community program is an excellent program that provides a forum for people with a diversity of specific interests to come together around the common passion of engaging in research and dialog about society, the environment, and the very future of the planet. In particular, the E&C program helped me to pursue a PhD in Sociology at Indiana University through it's engaged and accessible faculty that provided guidance and challenged us to delve deeply into
serious questions. Additionally, the supportive and diverse cohort of students made courses active and full of dialog.
Finally, HSU and Arcata is a wonderful environment for tackling the challenges of melding the world of academia with the general community. I entered the Indiana PhD program with an advantage over other students because of the perspectives and experiences that HSU's E&C program afforded me.Todd Beer, 2003
"I graduated from the HSU MA "Globalization and the Environment" program in May, 2002. My tenure there paved the way for continued doctoral research investigating human-environment interactions and the socio-political dynamics associated with transboundary conservation along the Mexico - United States border. After obtaining my MA from HSU I was employed by the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife where I was part of a sustained research effort investigating Marbled Murrelet demography.
My experiences at HSU have proven immeasurable for my ongoing academic experience here at University of Georgia, Atlanta (UGA). Sterling Evans, together with the entire faculty and administrative staff at HSU, gave me the support and confidence to continue towards earning a terminal doctoral degree in Ecological and Environmental Anthropology at UGA. Combined, my MA and Ph.D degrees will allow me to land my dream job, working in the conservation field in a capacity that sustains biological diversity and cultural autonomy."Geoff Kelley, 2002
The Career Center at Humboldt State University provides help with job search, career counseling, resume and interview preparation. Students can go to Career Links and select Environment & Community under Majors to find links to related local, national and international organizations.
The Environment & Community program acts as an informal network to link students and graduates to temporary and full-time career-related jobs. As a program participant you will automatically receive emails about employment opportunities throughout the country.
Environmental Career Opportunities
http://www.ejobs.org/Syracuse University - Employment Resources in the Geosciences
http://libwww.syr.edu/research/internet/earth/jobs.htmlUniversity of Washington - Program on the Environment/Job Search Links
http://depts.washington.edu/poeweb/resources/job_listings.htmlEnvironmental Leadership Programs
http://www.elpnet.org/empopps.htmInternational Environmental and Development Web Portal - Internship and Jobs
http://www.iedonline.net/jobs_interns.htmhttp://www.iedonline.net/jobs_start.htm
UNEP Job Page
http://www.unep.org/Documents.multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=110&ArticleID=Environmental Career.com
http://environmental-jobs.com/Earth News Wire Job Board:
http://www.earthnewswire.com/index.php?option=com_forum&Itemid=89&c=2Enviro Network:
http://www.environetwork.com/Sustainable Development Jobs:
http://sdgateway.net/jobs/http://www.devnetjobs.org/