ENVR 401: Environmental Research

Environmental Research is considered to be the capstone of a student's education at the McGill School of Environment, in which she or he brings to bear the science and tools taught at the MSE. In this course students work in interdisciplinary teams on real-world research projects involving problem definition, methodology development, social, ethical and environmental impact assessment, policy analysis, execution of the study, and dissemination of results to the research community and to the clients affected. Teams begin selecting their clients and defining their projects during the preceding academic year.

Objectives

This course has several objectives. It will enable you to:

• Create and conduct policy analysis/impact assessment
• Learn qualitative research methods
• Work in a real-world environment with real clients
• Understand the delicate and contradictory terrain of working within advocacy and science
• Employ methods and approaches from other MSE domains
• Gain technical skills in data analysis, computer use, web page design, report writing, and oral presentation
• Conduct team-based research