MAS-IA Career Track: Environmental Policy and Sustainability
In this career track, you will enhance your knowledge of environmental policy, regulatory economics and sustainable development. You will explore how governments, businesses and organizations create strategies to address challenges such as climate change, resource depletion and pollution, and how they seek to adopt renewable energy. The track emphasizes the importance of balancing economic development with environmental protection and social equity.
Faculty Spotlight
Meet Professor Josh Graff Zivin who teaches a course on Environmental and Regulatory Economics (GPEC 488). In this interview, he shares how his research – from energy and climate change to innovation and technology and health and international development – drives him to still question the world around him, which has led him to being one of the most highly cited researchers in the world.
Curriculum
The MAS-IA program offers a comprehensive and highly personalized curriculum. You’ll begin with two required core courses that give you a foundational understanding of global economies, as well as the systems and developments influencing policy creation. The core rounds out with a capstone workshop on policy issues. From there, you’ll choose nine courses depending on your professional path and regional interests.
See the general catalog for a complete listing.
Core and Capstone Courses
GPCO 481 - Politics of International and National Policy Making
This course provides an introduction to international political economies of the Pacific region and covers important international developments, such as regionalism, as well as domestic decision-making processes.
GPCO 482 - Global Economics and Markets
This course studies the major economies of the Pacific region by combining standard economic tools with each economy's institutional background. Special attention is given to the challenges that economic globalization poses to economic relations among those economies.
GPCO 483 - Workshop on Policy Issues in the Pacific Rim
This capstone class focuses on students collaborating on long-term projects and analyzing important political, economic and business issues in the Pacific region using the tools acquired through other school courses.
Additional Courses
Nine additional courses are required for this track. They are divided into courses focused on the track, electives and regional courses.
Below is a sample listing.
Three additional courses are required to fulfill the track requirement:
- GPEC 453 - Sustainable Development
- GPEC 458 - International Environmental Policy and Politics
- GPEC 488 - Environmental and Regulatory Economics
- If a student selects only two of the courses listed, the third course must be chosen from the list of electives below
Four courses fulfill the electives requirement:
- GPEC 489 - The Economics of Nonmarket Valuation
- GPPS 428 - The Politics of Energy and Environmental Regulation
- GPIM 457 - Cost-Benefit Analysis
- GPEC 418 - Green Technology
- GPPS 473 - Political Economy of Energy in Asia
Two courses fulfill the regional electives requirement:
At least one of the following courses must be selected from:
- GPPA 467 - Chinese Environmental and Energy Policy
- GPPA 472 - Latin American Environmental and Energy Policy
A second course may be selected from any of the regions below:
China
- GPPS 403 - Chinese Security, Technology and Innovation
- GPPS 404 - Chinese Politics
- GPPS 405 - U.S.-China Relations
- GPIM 461 - Doing Business in China
- GPPA 467 - Chinese Environmental and Energy Policy
- GPEC 486 - Economic and Social Development of China
Japan
- GPIM 411 - Business and Management in Japan
- GPPS 416 - Postwar Politics in Japan
- GPPS 460 - Politics of U.S.-Japan Economic Relations
Korea
- GPPS 408 - Korean Security
- GPPS 484 - Korean Politics
Latin America
- GPEC 409 - Economic Policy in Latin America
- GPPS 454 - Current Issues in U.S.-Latin American Relations
- GPPA 472 - Latin American Environmental and Energy Policy
Southeast Asia
- GPEC 462 - Southeast Asian Economics
- GPPS 463 - Politics of Southeast Asia
Some prerequisite(s) or the instructor's consent may be required for some classes. Course schedules are published quarterly and are subject to change without notice. Some courses that can be applied to meet requirements may not be offered in a given academic quarter or academic year.