Top 10 Colleges with Go Green Degrees

Environmental awareness and sustainability measures are growing around the world, especially in business practices. The U.S. Green Building Council posted an article discussing some of the sustainable practices that companies such as McDonald's, Chipotle, and Buffalo Wild Wings have put into place.

Consequently, this interest in "going green" and the creation of green jobs has spurred the growth of "green" degree programs at universities near and far. Here are ten colleges and universities where you can find top environmental studies programs, according to U.S. News and World Report.

  1. Stanford University With a number of different schools at Stanford, you can find green degree programs of varying types. The Civil & Environmental Engineering School offers civil engineering, environmental engineering, and architectural design emphases. The School's approach also integrates much of the curriculum with the core emphases on built environment, atmosphere & energy, and water environment.

  2. University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign A natural resources and environmental sciences degree program gives you a chance to study conservation, resource ecology, water quality management, and many other topics. Meanwhile, the Civil and Environmental Engineering School offers you both undergraduate and graduate programs, giving you the opportunity to become a "green" subject matter expert.

  3. University of California--Berkeley Berkeley's College of Environmental Design lets you dive into programs in architecture, city & regional planning, landscape architecture & environmental planning, and urban design. A green degree program at Cal can help you understand how to balance the needs of society with those of the environment.

  4. Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyThe Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering at MIT offers programs for undergrads, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers. Graduate-level work focuses on environmental science and engineering; systems and transportation; and mechanics, materials, and structures.

  5. Johns Hopkins University Two departments that you may want to investigate at Johns Hopkins include Geography and Environmental Engineering as well as Environmental Health Sciences. The latter offers only graduate-level work, awarding degrees such as Master of Health Sciences and Doctor of Public Health. The former offers undergraduate and graduate programs, which integrate physics, hydrology, chemistry, biology, math, and social sciences.

  6. Georgia Institute of Technology Georgia Tech offers Bachelor of Science, Master of Science, and Ph.D. degrees in environmental engineering. There's even a dual degree program that combines environmental engineering with city & regional planning.

  7. University of Texas--Austin Much like the other universities, University of Texas--Austin offers a number of environmental engineering programs. However, your green interests may also be piqued by the Geosciences Department with programs such as hydrogeology/environmental geology. An interdisciplinary graduate degree program called energy & earth resources could also be fascinating upper-level work.

  8. University of Michigan--Ann Arbor At the University of Michigan--Ann Arbor, you can enjoy green degree programs in the Engineering, Public Health, and Natural Resources & Environment schools. In just the Public Health Dept, degree programs range in topics from industrial hygiene to environmental health to toxicology.

  9. Cornell University Cornell offers a range of green programs in biological and environment engineering as well as design & environmental analysis. Here you can find degree programs about sustainable design and development. Within the design & environmental analysis undergraduate program, you can choose from three emphases including: interior design, facility planning and management, and human factors and ergonomics.

  10. Carnegie Mellon University Attending Carnegie Mellon, you have the opportunity to major in environmental policy as well as to minor in environmental science or environmental studies. Master's degree programs are available in environmental engineering as well as in sustainable design in architecture.

Finding the Right Green Degree Program

This just scratches the surface of environmental, sustainable and green degree programs that are available at some of the nation's top schools. Many other schools also offer similar programs both on campus and online to help you turn your passion into a green career.

Sources:
University of Texas -- Austin
All the Cool Kids Are Doing It
US News & World Report
Stanford University
University of California, Berkeley
Cornell University
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
John Hopkins University
Carnegie Mellon University
Georgia Institute of Technology
University of Michigan--Ann Arbor