Master's Degree (M.Ed.) in Environmental Education

The Master’s Degree in Environmental Education enhances the knowledge, pedagogy, and potential of classroom and informal educators working for a more just, sustainable world.

Contact Information

Bryan Nichols

Associate Professor
Department of Curriculum and Instruction

Office Location: EC MC12 - 207E
Campus: Jupiter

nicholsb@fau.edu

The master’s degree in environmental education is open to students who have completed bachelor’s degrees in all majors. This university-wide, interdisciplinary curriculum includes 36 semester hours of credit. It can be completed one or two courses per semester by working professionals; for full time students looking to complement their degree with real world practical experience in an environmental education center setting, a limited number of graduate assistantships are available each year through FAU Pine Jog Environmental Center. Successful GA applicants receive fee waivers and bi-weekly stipends during their student employment.

There are three pathways to study environmental education at FAU:

1. Our long-established Master's Degree in Environmental Education, with alumni working across the U.S.
2. Our new Graduate Certificate in Environmental Education, for teachers, informal educators, and others who aren't sure they can commit to a full Masters but want to take the core courses in EE. These credits can count towards a Master's in EE if you want to continue.
3. Our new undergraduate honors program for preservice classroom teachers, the Major in Elementary Education with Honors in Environmental Education (EEhEE). This program shows new teachers how they can use nature, animals, their schoolyard, and local EE providers to enhance their K-8 teaching.

Undergraduates who wish to become fully certified classroom teachers should apply to the EEhEE program. Graduate with honors in a subject you are passionate about!

Prospective students interested in a Masters degree should apply through the FAU graduate school. Consider one of the graduate assistantships available from Pine Jog Environmental Education Center, which has a longstanding and successful relationship with the Masters program. Earn your Masters while getting valuable experience, tuition waivers, and a stipend!

The core EE courses and certificate are available to anyone eligible for graduate level coursework at FAU, including students in other programs like science or communications, and non-degree seeking professionals interesting in boosting their teaching and research knowledge and skills. Preference will be given to Masters and Certificate students. In the recommended order, the courses are:

SCE 6345 Perspectives of Environmental Education

Taught at the FAU Jupiter Campus (right off I95, easy parking), fall evenings. Learn about the past, present and especially the future possibilities of environmental education.

SCE 6151 Science: Elementary & Middle School (special section)

Taught at the Jupiter campus on spring evenings. Join students in the EEhEE program and learn techniques for modern, effective science education. The pedagogies covered are readily adaptable to students of all ages.

SCE 6344 Advanced Methods of Environmental Education

EE providers in Palm Beach and Martin Counties, select spring Saturdays. Visit with park staff, nature center educators, and wildlife rehabilitators who design programs and educate schoolchildren and the public in creative and amazing ways.

SCE 6644 Trend & Issues in Environmental Education

Fully online with biweekly synchronous sessions on fall evenings. Immerse yourself in the environmental and science education literature with high level discussions, and become an effective EE curriculum designer.

SCE 6196 Capstone Study in Environmental Education

Online and/or monthly meetings with professor. This is for Masters students only.

Palm Beach County is a large and diverse school district, and Palm Beach and Martin counties have some of the best environmental education programs and educators in the world. Environmental educators here work on sea turtle nesting beaches, Florida's first National Scenic River (the Loxahatchee), subtropical forests, the bird-filled marshes and swamps of the Everglades, and estuaries and coastal waters where encounters with manatees are common.

FAU EE programs incorporate the North American Association for Environmental Education's Guidelines for Excellence (accreditation underway).