Master of Environmental StudiesGraduate Program on the Environment

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Overview of MES Program

For Prospective Students

For Current Students

Registration and Academic Policies

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When to Apply

The Admissions Office begins accepting applications in September. First admissions decisions are based on a review of all completed applications submitted by November 15. Thereafter, applications will be considered as they are received and reviewed.

Once an application is complete, the review process generally takes six to eight weeks. Admissions notification letters are sent by mail. Applicants receiving offers of admission to the program are required to confirm their participation in writing and submit a $100 non-refundable tuition deposit to the college's Office of Admissions.

We urge prospective students to plan ahead and complete their applications as early as possible to ensure full consideration. Admission to the MES program is competitive; available spaces are offered to the most qualified candidates as their respective applications are received and reviewed.

Academic Credit

You accumulate academic credit for work accomplished and levels of performance reached and surpassed. Credit, expressed in quarter- hours, will be entered on your permanent academic record when you fulfill academic obligations defined by the faculty. Evergreen will not accept credit twice for the same course work.

Academic Honesty

Academic honesty is a necessity in a learning community. It makes coherent discourse possible, and is a condition for all sharing, dialogue and evaluation. All forms of academic dishonesty, including cheating, fabrication, plagiarism and facilitating academic dishonesty of others are violations of Evergreen's Social Contract.

Cheating is defined as intentionally using or attempting to use unauthorized materials, information or study aids in any academic exercise. Plagiarism is defined as representing the works or ideas of another as one's own in any academic exercise. It includes but is not limited to copying materials directly, failing to cite sources of arguments and data and failing to explicitly acknowledge joint work or authorship of assignments. Refer to the full policy in the MES Student Handbook (Word | PDF), which is distributed at orientation.

Academic Standing and Incompletes

All graduate students are expected to perform at a high academic level. An incomplete will be granted only in cases of extenuating circumstances and must be removed by the end of the following regular quarter (excludes summer quarter). An incomplete not removed by the deadline will automatically be recorded as no credit. Partial credit will not be awarded.

Should a student fail to receive credit for two successive quarters of core course work (including repetition of course work), the student will not be allowed to register for further course work, effectively resulting in the dismissal from the graduate program.

Amending Faculty Evaluations of Students

Any student who feels a faculty evaluation is incomplete, inaccurate or otherwise in error may seek to have the evaluation amended. Within 30 days of the date the final evaluation is received, the student must meet with, or write to, the faculty member who signed the evaluation. If satisfactory resolution is not reached, then, in the case of a team-taught program, the student is expected to talk with or write to the program's faculty team. If the evaluation still has not been amended to the student's satisfaction, the student has 30 calendar days to request a hearing from an academic dean. Copies of the form to request a hearing from a dean, as well as copies of the policy for amending student records, are available at the academic deans' offices, LIB 2211. Evaluations cannot be amended once a transcript has been issued.

Applying to Graduate

Students eligible to graduate must submit an application for graduation to the Office of Registration and Records by the appropriate date, usually during he first week in April.

Confidentiality of Records

Evergreen complies with the federal Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, which establishes fair information practices regarding student records at U.S. colleges and universities. Copies of Evergreen's policies may be obtained from the Office of Registration and Records or the Dean of Enrollment Services.

Credit Limit

MES and MPA students may register for a maximum of 12 credits during any given quarter. Credits earned beyond this limit will not be recorded.

Evaluation

Evergreen's credit system distinguishes between quantity and quality. The quantity of your academic work is recognized by an award of credit based on satisfactory completion of program, contract or course requirements. The quality of your work is addressed in a written evaluation.

At the end of the quarter you meet privately with the faculty member who leads your seminar. This faculty member will write a narrative evaluation of your work. You will write a self-evaluation discussing your accomplishments, new understandings, learning environment and goals for the future.

Leave of Absence

If unforeseen circumstances or emergencies arise while students are enrolled in the MES Program, students may petition the director of the program in writing for a leave of absence. If granted, such leave is limited to one year. After that period, non-returning students will be considered to have dropped the program. Re-entry will require permission of the director of the program.

Portfolio

In addition to the official transcript housed in the Office of Registration and Records, you can also maintain your own portfolio. Your portfolio could include official descriptions of all your programs and contracts and copies of faculty and self-evaluations (particularly those self-evaluations not in the official transcript). You could also include examples of your best work and any other pertinent information.

The portfolio is your personal academic biography, which you can share with faculty during your learning experience, with doctoral program faculty and with prospective employers during interviews.

Registration and Records

Registration and Records keeps your official academic records and transcripts, maintains student directory information and issues student identification cards. Before the fall quarter begins, first-year graduate students register during an orientation scheduled by your program approximately a week before classes start. After that, you will be sent program information and a priority appointment for online registration using Gateway. To avoid late fees, all students are encouraged to register prior to the beginning of the quarter.

Transcript

The transcript is the main record of your academic achievement at Evergreen. Maintained by the Office of Registration and Records, your transcript will include all work done for credit, the official description of the program or contract, faculty evaluations of your work and, when required, your own evaluations. Once the evaluation is accepted in the Office of Registration and Records, a copy is sent to you.

All faculty and self-evaluations are mailed when a transcript is requested, although graduate students who also attended Evergreen as undergraduates may choose to request transcripts of their graduate work only. Please allow two weeks for processing between receipt of your request (and accompanying $10 fee) and mailing of the transcript. Evergreen reserves the right to withhold transcripts of students who are in debt to the institution. If you need more information on this issue, contact the Office of Registration and Records.

Waivers from Core Programs

In the MES Program, the interdisciplinary nature of each component of the core sequence makes redundancy improbable. Thus, core programs cannot be waived.