What do you want to do after graduation?

Careers in Environmental Politics & Policy: At its best a career is a fluid, ongoing creation process which, intentionally or not, ties your internship/employment experience during college to that which you aspire to pursue after graduation. The rare combination of our top-notch program and our location in the Washington DC metropolitan area offers an edge to ENSP P&P students who hope to join the competitive race for careers in environmental politics and policy. We have compiled a list of links to relevant vacancy-gathering search engines as well as to the specific career/employment/internship web pages of relevant DC-area NGOs, industry groups, governmental agencies and/or international organizations. We encourage those students interested in such career paths to check back on these often. This compilation is posted here to spare you time and effort in your searches both before and after graduation. The ENSP Job-Seeking web page features a useful set of resources on resumes, cover letters, letters of recommendation, interviews, alumni career paths and last but not least on organizations that have hired ENSP majors in the past.

Graduate School: Students interested in graduate studies in environmental policy have several options, including public policy, law, international relations, and interdisciplinary programs in environmental studies or natural resources management . Choosing a type of degree to pursue and a specific program in which to pursue it requires careful thought and research. The ENSP Grad School and Law School web page offers some valuable resources to support you in this effort. Among the questions you may wish to ponder are the following:

1) Why am I doing this? How does grad school relate to my life goals and career ambitions?

2) What useful skills, knowledge, or intellectual enrichment can I expect from this field, university, program?

3) Is this university right for me? Does the campus have resources or other programs that will be an asset to me, beyond the confines of my particular department or school? Does the program allow me to take courses outside my particular department or school if I want to?

4) Is this program a coherent, integrated entity or just a list of courses and requirements?

5) Is there an 'out of classroom' component to the learning experience, in the form of activities, a speaker series, organizations, research projects, or experiential learning?
- How large is the incoming class? What is the ratio of enrolled students to actively involved faculty?

6) How will I spend my summer(s)? Is there a mechanism to help students find internships and/or paid employment?

7) What do students who complete this program end up doing?