Academics

The Environmental Metrology & Policy (EMAP) Program at Georgetown University is a pioneering graduate program developed jointly by Georgetown University, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). It currently offers the degree of Master of Science in EMAP that is ranked number 4 by the Great Value Colleges site among 20 selected programs, with an after-work course schedule that provides students the option of pursuing the degree while still working full or part time, let alone that the Greater Washington DC Area offers plenty of opportunities for the latter. Jointly with the Department of Chemistry at Georgetown University, EMAP also offers an EMAP MS–CHEM PhD dual degree program.

The EMAP Program aims to offer the enrolled students the best education and most rigorous professional training in an emerging interdisciplinary field of great societal importance that integrates organically environmental metrology (measurements science) with developing and implementing appropriate environmental policies. It will lay a solid intellectual and technical foundation for students to become a new type of leaders and practitioners who will possess strong competencies and deep understanding of the intricacies in both environmental metrology and its critical role of using the best available science in developing and implementing sound data-driven environmental policies, both here in the U.S. and abroad.

The EMAP Program leverages uniquely the complementary strengths of NIST, which is the Nation’s ultimate scientific authority in validating and upholding state-of-the-art measurements science and data–metrology; EPA, which is the Nation’s top environmental policy making body; and Georgetown University, which is one of the Nation’s premier research universities, to offer a world-class interdisciplinary graduate education in environmental metrology and policy.

The EMAP Program is a 2-year, 35-credit program with seven environmental metrology and six environmental policy focused core courses; a program-funded summer research internship; a summative capstone course with thesis; a seminar course; and two elective courses in environmental (social) science, epidemiology, economics, government, or ethics etc.

Practicing staff from NIST and EPA join force in teaching the EMAP Program’s core courses and bring their real-world knowledge into the classrooms. By drawing the complementary world-class academic and practical strengths from Georgetown, NIST and EPA, and leveraging the state-of-the-art instruments for metrology offered by a partnership with Agilent Technologies, which is the Nation’s largest provider of analytical instruments, the EMAP Program is a game changer in educating a new type of leaders and practitioners who will possess cross-the-field knowledge and competencies in both environmental metrology and scientific-fact-based/data-driven environmental policy making. One of its signature features is the program-funded 10-week summer research internships available at NIST and EPA.

The EMAP Program is designed for ambitious and aspiring U.S. and international students who have undergraduate degrees in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) fields. Those students interested in career paths in interdisciplinary fields where a deep understanding of the ramifications of data/evidence obtained from reproducible scientific measurements is crucial to developing and implementing the most appropriate environmental policies will find that this degree program is ideally suited for their needs. The program is also suitable for traditionally trained scientists who seek alternative career paths and for governmental staff and private sector employees who need a higher degree to advance their careers in either environmental metrology or environmental policymaking or their combination.

With its premier location in the U.S. capital and its close geographic proximity to both NIST and EPA headquarters; other governmental policymaking agencies; and numerous non-profit organizations, which altogether comprise the very center of the environmental policymaking world, the EMAP Program at Georgetown University offers the best combination of experiential learning, training, and practice of the highest quality with abundant career opportunities to enrolled students who aspire to become a new type of interdisciplinary leader and practitioner in the field of environmental metrology and policy.