Green degrees lead to green jobs. In a first-of-its-kind degree program, Rare (a conservation-based nonprofit organization) and the University of Texas-El Paso (UTEP) have teamed up to offer a master’s degree in communications for conservationists. As with most master’s degree programs, this is a two-year track. However, this is a bit different, as most of the coursework will take place in the field.

 

Brett Jenks, CEO of Rare, says, “The master’s program participants do not graduate until they’ve made a measurable difference in the way people think about and practice conservation in their communities.”  Source: PR Newswire

 

During the two-year program, students will begin preparing for the program at home and then alternate time at the university with time in the field.  Over the course of the two years, only four months will be spent at residence at a university.

 

Although the program is a partnership between UTEP and Rare, there are four regional university partners that prepare students to graduate with this master’s degree. English training is conducted at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.; Spanish training is done at the University of Guadalajara in Mexico; Bahasa-Indonesia training is held at the Bogor Agricultural Institute; and Mandarin training is conducted at Southwest Forestry University in Yunnan Province, China.

 

For more information on this unique degree program, read How Rare provides training (PDF).

 

Photo: lyng883