Comments cpcoleman has made

Why get one degree when you can get two?

Kevin,

I am a professional graduate student at the Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences at Duke University and I just wanted to make an additional note on your article and some of the comments.  I am sure you heard from some of the career councilors, at least Karen Kirchof, about joint degree options that some of the schools mentioned offer.  I am actually pursuing two master degrees, a Master of Environmental Management (MEM) in Ecosystem Science and Conservation, and a Master of Forestry (MF) in Forest Resource Management, and many other students are pursing joint degrees as well.  A joint MEM/MF is very popular for managers hoping to work in forested areas (my focus is on the ecology, management, and restoration of forests and forested wetlands).  Many students here at the Nicholas School are pursuing joint MEM/MBA, MEM/JD, and MEM/MPP (Master of Public Policy)degrees as well.  Having multiple degrees allow you to 1) be more marketable, and 2) take two fields of study and merge them together.  I might be biased since I am a joint degree student, but I really feel that if you have a specific field you are interested in, a joint degree is the best bang for your buck.  Some of the joint MEM/MF students here at Duke are interested in land conservation work, wildlife management, using woody biomass for fuel, and carbon markets, amongst other things.  The joint MEM/MBA is very popular as well and I know that employers (particularly those that are graduates from the schools mentioned in your article) have much respect and regard for those that are on this tract.  It also usually takes less time to complete two degrees concurrently then separately.  It would normally take 2 years to complete one master degree, but in my case it will take me 2.5 years to complete two...pretty sweet deal.

Connor ColemanOn College grads hit the green job market -- here's what they'll find posted 1 year, 7 months ago 16 Responses