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Excellence and leadership in conservation, water and watersheds, and healthy ecosystems by bridging environmental science and public policy

ESP is a growing academic and professional force spanning the twin domains of the natural and social sciences. We are focused on understanding and implementing science and public policy to address and solve complex environmental issues that challenge the integrity and sustainability of global systems.

ESP students who are trained in environmental policy, conservation sciences, climate change, aquatic ecology, wildlife management or one health, go on to professional careers in government agencies, non-profit organizations, and the private sector.

Students also planted and mulched saplings as a part of the ongoing Rappahannock Parking Deck Reforestation Project. Photo by Sarah D'Alexander

Visit Us On Campus

See what our program can do for you. 

  • Environmental Science and Policy Office

    3005 David King Hall, Fairfax Campus

  • Campus Map
David King Hall at George Mason University Fairfax Campus
George Mason Statue

The Catherine and Richard Becker Graduate Fellowship in Environmental Science and Policy

Made possible through a generous endowment by Catherine Z. and Richard J. Becker, students who are pursuing their graduate degrees in Environmental Science and Policy are selected each academic year. Recipients receive financial support while they learn, teach, and conduct research. All the Becker Fellows to date can be viewed here:

Why study Environmental Science?

Just some of the things you can do with a degree in Environmental Science and Policy!

Why Study Environmental Science and Policy at Mason?

#1

First in the country to offer a PhD program that explicitly blends Environmental Science and Public Policy.

100,000+

Over 100,000 middle school students reached since 2009 through the PEREC Field Interpreter environmental stewardship program.

26.1%

Steady year-on-year increase in enrollment in the B.S. in Environmental Science degree program over the last 5 years.

Our strategic approach to academic and research excellence

Every student pursues their own passion and conducts research in that area to contribute to the health of our environment. Undergraduates can choose from 6 concentrations, drawn from our three areas of expertise: water and watersheds, One Health, and conservation.

Dr. Changwoo Ahn and two of his students discuss a soil sample

Potomac Environmental Research and Education Center (PEREC)

We have a multi-investigator research and education center on the tidal Potomac River - the Potomac Science Center. About half of the ESP core faculty is housed here.

Potomac Science Center

News and Events

Upcoming Events

More Events
Oct15

The Beck Environmental Lecture: Chelsea Henderson

Oct 15, 2024, 7:00 - 8:30 PM

Grand Tier III, Center for the Arts, 4373 Mason Pond Dr, Fairfax, VA 22030

Researcher and policy advisor Chelsea Henderson discusses her new book Glacial: The Inside Story of Climate Politics, which examines the reasons why it took almost sixty years for the U.S. government to pass significant climate change legislation, and urges our elected officials to act in the face of the climate crisis.
Tickets
Oct17

Exploring the Climate Crisis Through Fiction

Oct 17, 2024, 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM

Wilkins Plaza Tent, between the Johnson Center and Horizon Hall, George Mason University.

JoeAnn Hart’s Arroyo Circle follows an ensemble of characters fighting against wildfires raging in Boulder, Colorado. | Sharon Wishnow’s The Pelican Tide portrays a struggling Louisiana family. After an explosion at a nearby oil platform, the Babineaux family could lose everything as a result of the spill.
Oct17

American Society for Intercellular Communication (ASIC)

Oct 17, 2024, 12:00 PM - Oct 19, 2024, 2:00 PM

Bethesda North Marriott Hotel & Conference Center

The meeting is organized by a group of investigators seeking to create a platform for informal exchange of ideas on emerging questions and cutting-edge developments in the field of Extracellular Vesicles (EVs), Extracellular Particles (EPs), and particulate carriers of extracellular RNA (exRNA) as biological mediators, regulators and diagnostic analytes. Our