The program is a 2-year master program leading to a Master of Science in Environmental Science. During these two years, the students will learn about the approaches to environmental sciences from a natural science and a social science perspective. Almost all courses are specially designed for this program, teaching is in English throughout. The international student group is mirrored by the international experiences of the lecturers and the close collaboration with lecturers from Duquesne University in environmental law and management.  During the entire study program a high-quality educational standard by small course sizes and strong direct interactions with the teachers.

Program Structure

The two-year program (4 terms) is structured in three phases: In the first phase (1^st and 2^nd term), the basic (inter-)disciplinary knowledge is the main focus in order to allow students with different backgrounds to obtain equal grounds in the different aspects of environmental science. Therefore, these first two terms mainly comprise mandatory courses, which cover 60 ECTS points in total. In the 3^rd term, student will concentrate on the optional part of the curriculum. A wide variety of elective courses and project oriented research will be offered in each of the key areas of the program to meet the interests of the students. In the forth 4^th term, the students will work on their master's theses, a 6-months research project in one of the research groups involved in IMES.

1st and 2nd term

Module	Course Structure (Changes might apply)
	Winter Term (1st Term)	Summer Term (2nd Term)
Module Atmosphere I
	Meteorology I	Meteorology II
Module Atmosphere II
	Chemistry of the Atmosphere
Module Biosphere
	Ecology I	Ecology  II
Module Environmental Medicine
	Environmental Medicine I	Environmental Medicine II
Module Environmental Law
	Introduction to Environmental Law	International Environmental Law
Module Environmental Management
	Environmental Policy and Management
Module Environmental Politics
	EU Environmental Policies and Policy-Making	Political Ecology
Module Environmental Cultural Ecology
	Introduction to Human and Environment Relations	Basic Concepts of Research in Hazard, Vulnerability, (…) Risk Management
Module Environmental Economics
		Energy, Resources, (…), and the Economy
Module Environmental Education
	Basic aspects of environmental education	Didactics of excursions
Module Geosphere
	Introduction to Environmental Geophysics	Landscape Formation
Module GIS
		GIS
Module Physical Hydrology
	Physical Hydrology
Others
	Introduction to Environmental Statistics
	Excursions	Excursions

3rd term

During the third term, each student is required to choose 2 advanced modules from the key areas of IMES, each module comprising 12 ECTS points and an integrated course of advanced environmental sciences (6 ECTS). At the end of the summer (2nd) term, a meeting is scheduled to discuss decisions on modules for the 3rd term.

For more details regarding the Modules (See Downloads).

4th term

During the last term, the student will work on an independent scientific project in one of the IMES-associated research groups. At the end of the 3rd term, a meeting is scheduled to discuss chosen master topics and supervisors as well as starting dates (preferably March 1st or April 1st). The topic is then officially issued by the IMES examination office. Within 6 month of the starting date, the student will submit 3 copies of the thesis (written in English) to the examination office. Preferably within 6 weeks of submission, there will be an oral defense of the thesis in front of a thesis committee consisting of the 2 referees and one professor from the examination office.

Teaching and Assessment

The program consists of lectures, seminars, workshops, laboratory sessions, excursions and projects. A mixture of assessment modes will be used: written and oral examinations, longer term papers, and field and laboratory exercises. The program is modularized and assessed according to the European credit transfer system (ECTS) standard.