Environmental and Sustainability Studies & Public Administration Program

Concurrent Degree Program

The Environmental and Sustainability Studies and Public Administration Program will prepare you for the challenges of a career in the environmental field. Courses examine the development and implementation of public policy responses to environmental issues. You will also gain a greater understanding of how information should be used to assess societal risk and create policy. Through courses offered in the Master of Public Administration Program,  students learn how to effectively manage organizational resources and exposes them to the political settings in which policy is often developed.

The College of Charleston is located in the heart of historic downtown Charleston, S.C. – a thriving city that provides our students with a living laboratory in which to learn. Local industry experts will supplement your instruction by providing valuable, hands-on perspectives in their particular areas of expertise. You’ll also have ready access to an entrepreneurial business community, a complex and thriving arts scene and, most important for the study of environmental issues – diverse ecosystems.

In order to earn one degree, you will need to complete 12–13 courses. Depending on how many courses you complete at a time, you can earn the MPA or EVSS degree in about a year and a half. If you work on the two degrees separately, you will be required to earn a total of 77 credit hours for completion of the two degrees. However, through the concurrent degree program, the curricula of both master’s degree programs are combined in such a way that you can earn both degrees in an abbreviated period of time and with a required minimum of 60 credit hours.

A full list of the courses offered is available in the 2023-2024 Graduate Catalog.
Program of Study Form- Concurrent Degree Program

For more detailed information regarding the EVSS or MPA programs please visit their respecive websites: EVSS program website and MPA program website

Contact Information

Program inquiries can be sent to: espa@cofc.edu

Adem Ali
EVSS Program Director

Matt Nowlin
MPA Program Director

Lucy Davis 
EVSS Program Coordinator
843.953.2000

Marla Robertson
MPA Program Coordinator
843.953.6690