August 11, 2017

Georgetown Offers New Master’s in Environmental Metrology and Policy

Some of the primary challenges in dealing with formulating effective environmental policy in today’s complex world are, on the one hand, to reliably identify and accurately quantify human impact on the environment and assess the potentially hazardous effects to human health and earth’s ecosystems and, on the other hand, to causally relate these measurement data to proper environmental policymaking.

Hand holding a globe
Hand holding a globe

In response to these challenges, Georgetown University has partnered with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to develop the nation’s first master’s program in environmental metrology and policy (EMAP)

The program aims to provide first-class graduate education and training that relates measurements science and data (metrology) to environmental policymaking. Students with science, technology, engineering, and math backgrounds will find a pathway to become leaders in the global environmental movement for the betterment of human society. 

​FIRST IN THE NATION

The EMAP Program is the first in the nation to offer a premier interdisciplinary curriculum with a program-financed internship. The program integrates rigorous, research-oriented education and training in chemistry/biochemistry-based environmental metrology with key tenets of environmental policymaking. 

EMAP leverages the complementary strengths of NIST, the EPA, and Georgetown. NIST is the nation’s ultimate scientific authority in validating and upholding state-of-the-art metrology, while the EPA oversees top environmental policy formation in the United States. By locating this program within an international research university with rich resources and strong policy programs, Georgetown is able to offer a world-class interdisciplinary graduate education in EMAP.

Georgetown’s EMAP Program is further bolstered by a partnership with Agilent Technologies (Agilent), a premier American public research, development, and manufacturing company. Agilent is providing the EMAP Program with state-of-the-art measurement equipment to educate and train students. This unique partnership will provide students with a highly enriched learning experience that combines robust classroom instruction with real-world practices.

INTERNATIONAL DIMENSION

EMAP pioneers an advanced graduate education that integrates high-quality professional training in an emerging interdisciplinary field with global significance. As more and more countries begin enacting legislation aimed at addressing environmental challenges, the EMAP Program’s unique blend of scientific rigor and policy education will train a new generation of professionals who are well equipped to lead in this space—particularly in the fields of toxic substances measurement, health and environmental assessment, and policymaking.