CFAES Give Today
SENR

School of Environment and Natural Resources

CFAES

Environmental Policy and Decision Making

The Environmental Policy and Decision Making (EPDM) major exposes students to both natural and human systems in the environment to address the complexity of topics like climate change, environmental justice, and resource stewardship. EPDM students can take a policy-focused approach to tackling these issues or learn methods for understanding and working with people to communicate environmental risk and encourage the public to engage in sustainable behaviors.  

EPDM students study the economic and social forces that impact decision making across society. This major considers how policies are formulated and implemented and what impact they will have on society, as well as how to best engage individuals and communities to respond to environmental challenges.

Meet current EPDM students

Specializations 

All EPDM students take a core set of courses that build a foundation in natural resources economics and law, environmental communication, and public policy. Students expand upon this foundation by specializing in one of three areas: 

Communication and Behavior Change: This specialization focuses on how to best communicate environmental, scientific, and risk information to public audiences. Coursework teaches students what motivates people to protect the environment and how to utilize this information to encourage the public to engage in pro-environmental behavior.  

Environmental and Social Justice: Students in this specialization take courses that examine the local and global inequities in access to and control over resources, the impact this has on livelihoods, and how corporations and policies can contribute to problems faced by disadvantaged populations and be a part of solutions. This specialization explores intersections between the environment, society, and community development. 

Policy and Governance: Students in this specialization delve into topics of public affairs and political science to learn about the role science plays in policy formulation, governmental procedures for policy implementation, and economic tools for evaluating policies for success over time.  

View the EPDM curriculum

Career Outcomes

On average 94% of EPDM students are employed or enrolled in graduate or professional school within six months of graduation with a reported average starting salary around $45k. Typically, 20% of EPDM graduates go directly into graduate or professional school, primarily law school. 

Environmental policy has implications in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. Specifically, government agencies are charged with complying with, setting standards for, and implementing environmental policies. Private companies are oftentimes contracted by public agencies to assist with environmental compliance efforts related to federal and state laws. Environmental nonprofit organizations oftentimes promote natural resources protection through lobbying and public advocacy efforts.  

Here are some examples of positions acquired by EPDM graduates immediately following graduation between 2018 and 2023: 

Land Steward, Big Sur Land Trust, California 

Natural Resources and Science Conservation Fellow, Conservation Legacy, Remote 

Public Health Fellow, Greening Youth Foundation and National Park Service, D.C. 

Sustainability Specialist, LyondellBasell, Texas  

Air Quality Regulations Natural Resources Planner, Maryland Department of the Environment, Maryland 

Legislative Aide, Ohio House of Representatives, Ohio 

Environmental Specialist, Ohio Department of Development, Ohio 

Environmental Policy Fellow, Ohio Environmental Council, Ohio 

Science and Technical Communications Specialist, Ohio EPA,  Ohio  

Environmental Health Specialist, Richland Public Health, Ohio 

Environmental Compliance Specialist, Speedway, Ohio 

Scientific Assessment Coordinator, US EPA,  Ohio  

Staff Assistant, U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Natural Resources, D.C. 

Public Engagement Intern, White House Council on Environmental Quality, D.C. 

Environmental Coordinator, Yukon River Inter-Tribal Watershed Council, Alaska 

Around half of EPDM grads continuing their education after their BS pursue a JD or law degree. Here are some of the universities graduates from 2018-2023 have attended: 

Cleveland State University       Vermont Law School 

Lewis and Clark Law School       University of Kentucky 

The Ohio State University       University of Southern California 

Selected additional graduate programs pursued by EPDM students upon graduation between 2018-2023: 

Indiana University, Public Affairs  

The Ohio State University, Environment and Natural Resources  

The Ohio State University, Landscape Architecture  

University of Nebraska Lincoln, Entomology 

University of Washington, Environmental Policy 

University of Tennessee, Library and Information Sciences 

University of Michigan, Urban and Regional Planning 

Yale Divinity School, Religion & Ecology