University of Michigan - Ann Arbor - School for Environment and Sustainability

About this program

The University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS) provides the intellectual challenges and scientific experiences that will prepare you to be a leader and agent of environmental sustainability. You will learn in the classroom, field, and lab. You will work on team projects with prominent client organizations or pursue independent research with world-renowned scholars. You will find internship opportunities in government, the private sector, and NGOs. You will be guided by faculty who are leaders in their fields. And you will join a worldwide community—8,000 strong—of alumni, students, scholars, and professionals who champion bold ideas for a better world.

• Our customizable learning experience offers all the benefits of a small, intimate school embedded in a world-class research university.
  
• Our interdisciplinary emphasis joins natural and social scientists, designers, and engineers within SEAS and inspires cross-campus collaborations.
  
• Our century-long tradition of active, place-based, engaged learning transforms knowledge to application.
• Our global engagement equips students to change the world.

Join us in helping to protect the Earth’s resources and achieve a sustainable society.

• Year partnership began: 2007
• Fellowships awarded per year (average): 2

Application requirements

Academic statement of purpose, personal statement, resume, three letters of recommendation, and transcripts.

Admissions process

Check the Coverdell Fellows box in the application and submit the essay to be considered for the program. When we inform you of whether or not you've been admitted into the MS/MLA program, we will also inform you of whether you've been accepted as a Coverdell Fellow.

Degrees awarded

Master of Science (MS) and Master of Landscape Architecture (MLA)

Benefits and opportunities

Net cost is equal to tuition/fees minus fellowship value. For some universities, the fellowship value includes non-tuition/fee benefits such as health insurance or housing. See cost savings details for more.

Estimated annual cost of living: $20,596

Cost savings details

Partial tuition waiver

Internship

Coverdell Fellows at the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS) fulfill their requirement through the completion of a master’s project.  Master’s projects pair teams of graduate students with external organizations to address a real-world environmental or sustainability challenges faced by the sponsoring org.  Projects last approximately 16 months and fulfill the opus research requirement for SEAS students (carrying equal academic weight to a thesis).  Examples of recent projects conducted by Fellows, include:

• Working with an Alaskan nature preserve and tribal communities to map habitat and inventory ecological systems for improved land and resource management; 

• Analyzing the social and economic response in coastal Oregon communities neighboring marine protected areas (which limit commercial fishing) – comparing resilience in economically stressed fishing communities and those with more diversified economies. 

• Recommendations for Habitat for Humanity of Michigan to improve energy efficiency and motivate reduced energy consumption in Habitat homes.

Other opportunities

Jobs for alumni

• Project Coordinator, Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy
  
• Habitat Blueprint Coordinator, NOAA
  
• REFRESCH Gabon Program Assistant
  
• U-M Energy Institute Consultant, PA Consulting Group
  
• Global Supply Chain Manager, Nike 
  
• Water Quality Specialist, Washtenaw County Water Resources
  

Nontraditional options