Learn more about the EES experience in a short video we put together, featuring answers to commonly asked questions by current EES undergraduates, our EES ambassadors.
UMaine's Ecology and Environmental Sciences (EES) program takes an interdisciplinary approach to its mission: to train the next generation of scientists, equipping our students with the skills and knowledge necessary to address today's complex environmental problems. All EES students are broadly trained in biology, ecology, physical sciences, environmental policy, quantitative literacy, and communication skills as part of our core curriculum. Then, students receive discipline-specific training through concentrations that span a diverse range of environmental science, from wildlife to environmental policy to climate science.
After gaining discipline-specific expertise, we bring EES students back together in core classes to work on interdisciplinary teams, addressing real-world environmental issues in Maine. Our EES core classes include hands-on, field based experiences. For example, all EES majors take EES 217 (Field Research Experience in EES), in which they work to address a real environmental problem in Acadia National Park over the course of a weekend. Watch this video put together by previous EES 217 students and another here to get a sense for this whirlwind field research experience:
Many of our students successfully receive additional training through extracurricular jobs, internships, independent studies, and study abroad experiences. (this video shows photos from EES minor Kaitlyn MacNeil's semester in New Zealand).
The interdisciplinary training in the EES program prepares students for a wide range of careers, including wildlife and ecosystem management, law and policy, environmental education, advocacy, and research. Our alumni work in all sectors, including private consulting companies, non-profit organizations, academia, and government agencies at the local, state, and federal level. Learn more by browsing our Alumni Profiles. One of the things we're proudest of about our EES majors is that many don't wait until they graduate to get environmental science -relevant job experience. Instead, we help them find a wide range of positions while they are still in school. Learn more about them at our Students on the Job Profiles and the videos here and here that show EES undergraduates doing environmental research both as their jobs and for thesis credit.