MES in the Community

As a professional master’s degree, Penn’s Master of Environmental Studies (MES) is designed to support emerging environmentalists who seek to translate their passion for the environment into a meaningful career—and there are many paths that career might take. “The MES program is so incredibly broad, and has grown a lot in the last few years. We have concentrations that span a wide range of topics in environmental studies,” says Dr. Siobhan Whadcoat, Program Director for the MES degree as well as Penn’s Master of Sciences in Applied Geosciences. “We have students whose passion is in what you might think of as traditional environmental sciences—biology and ecology—but they’re interested because of what it means for people and places. Then we have students who are really interested in corporate environmental and social responsibility, climate finance, or environmental policy, which may seem very different to someone who's out in the field looking at plants or bird counts.” As Program Director, Siobhan’s role is to make sure courses and resources are available to help each of those students navigate towards the environmental career of their dreams.

To that end, one of the MES program’s best resources is its faculty—many of whom are themselves practitioners who work in a range of environmental fields, from corporate sustainability officers to city government employees who work during the day and teach courses in the evening. “These working professionals are a real asset of our programs,” says Siobhan. “As I get to know these instructors and talk to them about what they’re going to be teaching, I can also ask: how are things going in your job? What are you seeing in terms of trends in your industry? When people are applying to positions with your company, what are you looking for?” What nearly every industry is looking for, as it happens, is evidence of strong communication skills, teamwork, data analysis, and practical experience. “So, as a program, we put an emphasis on those things across the curriculum,” says Siobhan. “Whatever technical skills you're teaching, you can also teach students to communicate their work to a variety of audiences, and encourage group work and group projects, because we hear from industry that they need professionals who can work with a variety of different teams and people.”

Located in Philadelphia, the MES program is uniquely positioned to offer students opportunities for hands-on experience and partnering with local organizations and initiatives. “Philadelphia is no stranger to a whole host of environmental issues and challenges,” explains Siobhan. “The Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers are tidal, so sea level rise impacts Philadelphia. It’s an old city, so the infrastructure is old, which has implications for our water and our sewer and stormwater systems. There are big problems with urban heat and heat stress, and often the neighborhoods that are the most vulnerable to these issues are economically deprived neighborhoods. But Philadelphia is also a city that has pushed ahead in efforts towards sustainability and making the city greener, so there is a ton of opportunity to see how these issues are managed in an urban environment.” In environmental studies, notes Siobhan, it is particularly important to have tangible, practical examples of what the work looks like on the ground—whether that means conservation and physical remediation, policy and advocacy, or outreach and education. “MES students come from all over the world, and even our domestic students come from all over the country—some from big cities, some from small towns,” she says. “They are coming with a variety of experiences in terms of geographic context and culture, and I think it's important for them to see that they are not just at a university. You’re also in a city. By deepening our relationships with the city government and other local organizations, it gives the students opportunities to really see that and get involved.”

Siobhan began her own environmental studies career at University of Durham in the United Kingdom, in a department that encompassed both physical geography (or earth science) and human geography (or social science). As a student, she focused on the geomorphology of mountain environments and their hazards—and, by extension, how they impact nearby communities. “By nature, it is very interdisciplinary to study landslides and geological hazards,” Siobhan observes. “I found an interest and a passion in how mountain landscapes changed over time, and what shapes them, and the interaction between the environments and the groups of people that live there.” As a master’s student, she had the opportunity to spend a year studying landslides in the aftermath of the devastating Sichuan earthquake of 2008. “I’m more of a physical geographer,” she clarifies. “I’m not a social scientist, but I worked closely with them and learned so much—about everything from why people were living in these vulnerable locations to how we could help them prepare for future events.”

Siobhan discovered a similar tradition of interdisciplinary connections when she arrived at Penn. Although she began by teaching courses in the undergraduate Earth Sciences program and developed a course on landslides for the Master of Science in Applied Geosciences, she eventually started advising in the MES program. “Both of the programs are interdisciplinary by nature, and at their heart, are very concerned about what their research means for people as well as the health of our planet and our environment,” she reflects. “As I started to work with the programs more and get to know the students, it was really enjoyable to learn more about their interests and their research and the fields they were going into, and it felt like coming back full circle to that geography undergrad, incorporating both the physical and social sciences into what I was doing.”

Siobhan stepped into her current role directing both programs in 2024. In addition to rostering courses that future professionals need and consulting with faculty on pressing issues in the field, Siobhan and her team also work with MES students to identify projects for students to work on, connect students to experts, and guide them through a 10-month-long capstone research project. “The capstone is something that, when students graduate and are in job interviews, they can bring up as a great example to showcase their skills and expertise,” says Siobhan. She is also working with practitioners to establish separate External Advisory Boards for the MES and MSAG programs. “I’m really excited about reviving the EAB and having more regular input from industry,” she adds. In contrast to the informal conversations with faculty practitioners, “this is a formal way where I get to sit down twice a year with people from industries that represent the breadth of where our students go and ask them questions.”

While she teaches the Proseminar that introduces new MES students to the key issues and approaches to environmental studies, and will occasionally guest lecture in other courses, these responsibilities typically keep Siobhan occupied outside of the classroom. “And then a student will pop by, and I get to sit and chat with them about their research, and it excites me and reminds me of why we do this work,” Siobhan adds. “It sounds a bit cliché, but I love my job because of the students. They are so passionate and driven. It’s just a real privilege to work with them and see what they do within the program, and where it takes them afterwards.”