Upon successful completion of the program, students will be able to:
- Apply and demonstrate the principles of the hydrologic cycle and explain complex interactions of groundwater and surface water.
- Recognize and articulate the foundational assumptions of water resource management in multiple settings (Colorado, the US and international).
- Conduct research and analysis of water data, both temporally and spatially, using spreadsheets, geographic information systems and statistical software.
- Contrast and compare water policy, laws, and regulation to assess potential changes to water management.
In addition to the PSM degree, we offer graduate certificates that provide further training through 9-15 credits of graduate-level coursework to be completed on the CSU campus or online, allowing credentialed specializations in carbon management and water resource planning, management, and policy.
The PSM in Ecosystem Science and Sustainability enables students from diverse academic backgrounds, such as environmental studies, business, engineering, natural resources, and agriculture, to understand the latest ecosystem science and develop the skills needed for emerging professions in areas such as greenhouse gas/carbon management, water sustainability and watershed management, and climate adaptation.
The PSM in Ecosystem Science & Sustainability is an affiliated Professional Science Master’s (PSM) degree. Affiliation is administered by the Commission on Affiliation of PSM Programs (formerly named PSM National Office) to ensure a strong and distinctive PSM brand. The PSM is designed for students seeking a graduate degree in science or mathematics and understanding the need for developing workplace skills valued by top employers.
Students interested in graduate work should refer to the Graduate and Professional Bulletin.
Effective Fall 2025
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ESS 500 | Integrated Ecosystem/Sustainability Analysis | 2 |
| ESS 523A | Environmental Data Science Applications: Introduction | 5 |
| ESS 587 | Internship | 4 |
| Select one course from the following: | 2-3 | |
| Greenhouse Gas Policies | ||
| Water Law for Non-Lawyers | ||
| Foundational Elective Courses 1, 2 | 9-10 | |
| Data Tools and Quantitative Analysis Elective Courses 2 | 12 | |
| Program Total Credits: | 35 | |
A minimum of 35 credits are required to complete this program.
Foundational Elective Courses
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Agriculture | ||
| AGRI 5** | (Must be Advisor Approved) | |
| AGRI 6** | (Must be Advisor Approved) | |
| AGRI 7** | (Must be Advisor Approved) | |
| Anthropology | ||
| ANTH 5** | (Must be Advisor Approved ) | |
| ANTH 6** | (Must be Advisor Approved ) | |
| ANTH 7** | (Must be Advisor Approved ) | |
| Animal Sciences | ||
| ANEQ 5** | (Must be Advisor Approved ) | |
| ANEQ 6** | (Must be Advisor Approved ) | |
| ANEQ 7** | (Must be Advisor Approved ) | |
| Agriculture and Resource Economics | ||
| AREC 442 | Water Resource Economics | 3 |
| AREC 5** | (Must be Advisor Approved ) | |
| AREC 6** | (Must be Advisor Approved ) | |
| AREC 7** | (Must be Advisor Approved ) | |
| Atmospheric Science | ||
| ATS 5** | (Must be Advisor Approved ) | |
| ATS 6** | (Must be Advisor Approved ) | |
| ATS 7** | (Must be Advisor Approved ) | |
| Botany/Zoology | ||
| BZ 440 | Plant Physiology | 3 |
| BZ 471 | Stream Biology and Ecology | 3 |
| BZ 5** | (Must be Advisor Approved ) | |
| BZ 6** | (Must be Advisor Approved ) | |
| BZ 7** | (Must be Advisor Approved ) | |
| Civil Engineering | ||
| CIVE 322 | Basic Hydrology | 3 |
| CIVE 423 | Groundwater Engineering | 3 |
| CIVE 5** | (Must be Advisor Approved ) | |
| CIVE 6** | (Must be Advisor Approved ) | |
| CIVE 7** | (Must be Advisor Approved ) | |
| Ecosystem Science & Sustainability | ||
| ESS 5** | (Must be Advisor Approved ) | |
| ESS 6** | (Must be Advisor Approved ) | |
| Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology | ||
| FW 5** | (Must be Advisor Approved ) | |
| FW 6** | (Must be Advisor Approved ) | |
| FW 7** | (Must be Advisor Approved ) | |
| Food Science and Human Nutrition | ||
| FSHN 500 | Food Systems, Nutrition, and Food Security | 2 |
| Foresty | ||
| F 5** | (Must be Advisor Approved ) | |
| F 6** | (Must be Advisor Approved ) | |
| F 7** | (Must be Advisor Approved ) | |
| Geosciences | ||
| GEOL 452 | Hydrogeology | 4 |
| GEOL 454 | Geomorphology | 4 |
| GEOL 5** | (Must be Advisor Approved ) | |
| GEOL 6** | (Must be Advisor Approved ) | |
| Global Environmental Sustainability | ||
| GES 441 | Analysis of Sustainable Energy Solutions | 3 |
| GES 5** | (Must be Advisor Approved ) | |
| GES 6** | (Must be Advisor Approved ) | |
| Natural Resources | ||
| NR 5** | (Must be Advisor Approved ) | |
| NR 6** | (Must be Advisor Approved ) | |
| NRRT 505 | Environmental Education History and Theory | 3 |
| NRRT 605 | Human Dimensions of Natural Resources Theory | 3 |
| Rangeland Ecology | ||
| RS 5** | (Must be Advisor Approved ) | |
| RS 6** | (Must be Advisor Approved ) | |
| Sociology | ||
| SOC 461 | Water and Social Justice | 3 |
| SOC 5** | (Must be Advisor Approved ) | |
| SOC 6** | (Must be Advisor Approved ) | |
| Soil and Crop Sciences | ||
| SOCR 400 | Soils and Global Change-Impacts and Solutions | 3 |
| SOCR 421 | Agroecosystem Management | 4 |
| SOCR 470 | Soil Physics | 3 |
| SOCR 5** | (Must be Advisor Approved ) | |
| SOCR 6** | (Must be Advisor Approved ) | |
| SOCR 7** | (Must be Advisor Approved ) | |
| Watershed Science | ||
| WR 416 | Land Use Hydrology | 3 |
| WR 5** | (Must be Advisor Approved ) | |
| WR 6** | (Must be Advisor Approved ) | |
| WR 7** | (Must be Advisor Approved ) | |
Data Tools and Quantitative Analysis Elective Courses
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Agriculture | ||
| AGRI 602 | Bioenergy Policy, Economics, and Assessment | 3 |
| Agriculture and Resource Economics | ||
| AREC 540/ECON 540 | Environmental and Natural Resource Economics | 3 |
| AREC 572 | Social Benefit Cost Analysis | 3 |
| Civil Engineering | ||
| CIVE 440 | Nonpoint Source Pollution | 3 |
| CIVE 521 | Hydrometry | 3 |
| CIVE 524/WR 524 | Modeling Watershed Hydrology | 3 |
| CIVE 527 | Tools for Food-Energy-Water Systems Analysis | 3 |
| CIVE 538 | Aqueous Chemistry | 3 |
| CIVE 542 | Water Quality Modeling | 3 |
| CIVE 547/STAT 547 | Statistics for Environmental Monitoring | 3 |
| Ecosystem Science and Sustainability | ||
| ESS 474 | Limnology | 3 |
| ESS 523A | Environmental Data Science Applications: Introduction | 5 |
| ESS 523B/SOCR 523B | Environmental Data Science Applications: Food and Agriculture | 2 |
| ESS 523C/WR 523C | Environmental Data Science Applications: Water Resources | 2 |
| ESS 523D | Environmental Data Science Applications: Reproducible Remote Sensing Models | 2 |
| ESS 555/ANEQ 555 | Life Cycle Assessment for Sustainability | 3 |
| ESS 575 | Models for Ecological Data | 4 |
| ESS 696 | Group Study | 1-6 |
| Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology | ||
| FW 552 | Applied Sampling for Wildlife/Fish Studies | 3 |
| Foresty | ||
| F 520 | Advanced Quantitative Methods in Forestry I | 3 |
| F 521 | Advanced Quantitative Methods in Forestry II | 3 |
| F 524 | Forest Fire Meteorology and Behavior | 3 |
| Geosciences | ||
| GEOL 541 | Geostatistics | 2 |
| GEOL 551 | Groundwater Modeling | 3 |
| GEOL 553 | Use of Tracers in Hydrogeology | 3 |
| GEOL 554 | Remote Sensing of the Earth System | 3 |
| GEOL 662 | Field Geomorphology | 2 |
| Natural Resources | ||
| NR 426 | Programming for GIS I | 2 |
| NR 427 | Programming for GIS II | 2 |
| NR 493 | Seminar--GIS and Remote Sensing Applications | 1 |
| NR 503/GR 503 | Remote Sensing and Image Analysis | 4 |
| NR 505 | Concepts in GIS | 4 |
| NR 512 | Spatial Statistical Modeling-Natural Resources | 3 |
| Soil and Crop Sciences | ||
| SOCR 490 | Hydrus-1D Workshop | 1 |
| SOCR 500 | Environmental Measurement Laboratory | 1 |
| SOCR 572 | Internet-of-Things Environmental Sensors Lab | 1 |
| SOCR 577 | Principles/Components: Precision Agriculture | 3 |
| SOCR 620 | Modeling Ecosystem Biogeochemistry | 3 |
| Rangeland Ecology | ||
| RS 532 | Rangeland Ecosystem Sampling | 3 |
| Statistics | ||
| STAR 5** | ||
| STAT 4** | ||
| STAT 5** | ||
| STAT 6** | ||
| STAT 523/NR 523 | Quantitative Spatial Analysis | 3 |
| STAT 623 | Spatial Statistics | 3 |
| Watershed Science | ||
| WR 417 | Watershed Measurements | 3 |
| WR 418 | Land Use and Water Quality | 3 |
| WR 486 | Watershed Field Practicum | 2 |
| WR 514 | GIS and Data Analysis in Water Resources | 3 |
| WR 524/CIVE 524 | Modeling Watershed Hydrology | 3 |
| WR 575 | Snow Hydrology Field Methods | 1 |
| WR 674 | Data Issues in Hydrology | 3 |
- 1
Students who take ESS 542 to meet curriculum requirements must take 10 credits of Foundational Elective Courses.
- 2
Select courses with approval of advisor and graduate committee.
For more information, please visit Requirements for All Graduate Degrees in the Graduate and Professional Bulletin.
Summary of Procedures for the Master's and Doctoral Degrees
NOTE: Each semester the Graduate School publishes a schedule of deadlines. Deadlines are available on the Graduate School website. Students should consult this schedule whenever they approach important steps in their careers.
Forms are available online.
| Step | Due Date |
|---|---|
| 1. Application for admission (online) | Six months before first registration |
| 2. Diagnostic examination when required | Before first registration |
| 3. Appointment of advisor | Before first registration |
| 4. Selection of graduate committee | Before the time of fourth regular semester registration |
| 5. Filing of program of study (GS Form 6) | Before the time of fourth regular semester registration |
| 6. Preliminary examination (Ph.D. and PD) | Two terms prior to final examination |
| 7. Report of preliminary examination (GS Form 16) - (Ph.D. and PD) | Within two working days after results are known |
| 8. Changes in committee (GS Form 9A) | When change is made |
| 9. Application for Graduation (GS Form 25) | Refer to published deadlines from the Graduate School Website |
| 9a. Reapplication for Graduation (online) | Failure to graduate requires Reapplication for Graduation (online) for the next time term for which you are applying |
| 10. Submit thesis or dissertation to committee | At least two weeks prior to the examination or at the discretion of the graduate committee |
| 11. Final examination | Refer to published deadlines from the Graduate School Website |
| 12. Report of final examination (GS Form 24) | Within two working days after results are known; refer to published deadlines from the Graduate School website |
| 13. Submit a signed Thesis/Dissertation Submission Form (GS Form 30) to the Graduate School and Submit the Survey of Earned Doctorates (Ph.D. only) prior to submitting the electronic thesis/dissertation | Refer to published deadlines from the Graduate School website. |
| 14. Submit the thesis/dissertation electronically | Refer to published deadlines from the Graduate School website |
| 15. Graduation | Ceremony information is available from the Graduate School website |