Climate Science & Solutions

Climate Science & Solutions Student Resources

The Climate Science and Solutions program has given me a unique suite of tools, enabling me to serve as an interface between the science community and the business sector. My goal is to apply a science-based approach to the major standards and initiatives driving water management in the private sector. -Annikki Chamberlain, 2011 cohort

Apply now

Program Home

CSS Faculty & Staff

Frequently asked questions

Advising

For questions and guidance, please contact:

Robert L. Sanford

Professor, School of Earth & Sustainability

CSS Graduate Advisor

International Advisory Board of Professionals

Meet our Advisory Board

An international Advisory Board of professionals ensures the CSS program is meeting the current needs of the growing climate industry and provides direct assistance to students in growing their professional network, securing internships and advancing in their careers.

One of the unique benefits of the CSS Program is our ability to work one-on-one with CSS students to identify and meet their career goals. Successful professionals understand how to use career and professional development skills such as:

Writing an effective resume
Developing an online career profile
Networking and building a professional network
Researching prospective employers and job opportunities
Building on personal strengths to develop effective career goals
Understanding your own communication style and its strengths and weaknesses
Speaking to those factors that matter most to prospective employers

The CSS Program provides in-class development support in building professional competencies supplemented with one-on-one assistance to help students and graduates enhance their professional skills and discover a fulfilling career. Students in the CSS program have multiple opportunities to work with leaders in the private, non-profit and governmental sectors that incorporate climate science. These industry professionals advise the program and help students to identify a career path that fits their unique strengths.

CSS Alumni continue to benefit from the Professional Development Coordinator through assistance in reviewing their professional portfolios, application materials and networking opportunities.

The CSS program is a non-thesis based Master’s of Science program. As part of the program requirements, all students are required to complete a minimum of 200 hours in a professional internship. The internship experience provides valuable professional experience and helps students to build their professional skills and network.

The Professional Development Coordinator will work with you to identify prospective internships and present your CSS skills competitively.

Previous internship experiences:

Private

Public

Non-profit

Academic

Program fees

In addition to tuition, there is a program fee of $4500 spread over three semesters that goes to support the Advisory Board and Career Services for you during and after the completion of your degree.

Our CSS program is consistently one of the most cost-effective programs in the cutting edge field of climate science!

Students who are residents of 14 participating western states and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands receive in state tuition through the Western Regional Graduate Program.

Tuition waivers

A limited number of tuition waivers are available within the School of Earth & Sustainability. These funding sources will be awarded on an-as-needed basis.

Western Regional Graduate Program (WRGP) Resident Tuition

The CSS program is a member of the Western Regional Graduate Program. Applicants from any of the 15 participating western states are eligible for in-state tuition.

Independent scholarship and fellowship programs

Wyss Scholars

The Wyss Scholars Program supports the graduate education of future conservation leaders in the American West. Northern Arizona University is fortunate to be one of four universities (including University of Michigan, University of Montana, and Yale University) to host Wyss Scholars. These future conservation leaders focus their graduate education on conservation science and policy with the aim of applying this knowledge to their careers in land management agencies and non-profit conservation groups working to protect landscapes in the Intermountain West. This program provides half of tuition costs, a $5k summer research stipend and additional funding upon graduation for students that seek careers in land management agencies and non profit conservation groups.

EPAZ Environmental Scholarship Program

Encouraging students who have invested their future in the environment, Environmental Professionals of Arizona (EPAZ) awards over $8,000 each year to graduate and undergraduate students in environmental programs in Arizona.

Professional Research Opportunities in Patagonia

The School of Earth & Sustainability has partnered with the Omora Sub-Antarctic Research Alliance (OSARA) on a project funded by the National Science Foundation to provide opportunities to conduct scientific research in Argentina, based in the world’s southernmost city – Ushuaia. Patagonian Research Experiences in Sustainability Science (PRESS): Understanding Social-Ecological Drivers & Consequences of Global Change provides an in-depth research and educational experience in Patagonia, where the student will have the benefit of learning from the combined expertise of 17 Argentine scientific and management mentors from the Austral Center for Scientific Research (CADIC), Argentine National Parks Administration (APN), and the National Universities of Tierra del Fuego (UNTDF) and Southern Patagonia (UNPA). Graduate students with strong Spanish language skills may be eligible on a competitive basis to participate in a 15-20 week research program that covers housing costs and a stipend of $5,250 for participating researchers.