Georgetown’s MS-ESM Class of 2025 Brings New Perspectives to Address Global Sustainability Challenges
Georgetown’s M.S. in Environment and Sustainability Management third cohort arrived this fall, bringing a diverse array of academic and professional experience from locations across the world.
Of the 48-person cohort, 29% are international students (up from 26%) and 18% are from underrepresented minority groups. Additionally, 75% of students self-identify as women and 44% represent U.S. diversity.
The Class of 2025 comes from 20 countries, including Canada, Ghana, India, Peru, Poland, and South Korea. The average student is 25 years old with 1.5 years of full-time work experience.
“We are thrilled to welcome our incoming class of students, who each bring a variety of perspectives and experiences to our interdisciplinary program,” said Kerrie Carfagno, associate teaching professor and MS-ESM program director. “The diversity among the cohort enriches our learning environment in formal and informal ways that benefit all students, as well as fosters innovative solutions to tackle the complex environmental challenges our world faces today.”
Students in the incoming cohort completed undergraduate studies with an average GPA of 3.48 across a variety of disciplines, including environmental or natural sciences, government and international studies, business and finance, and engineering.
The MS-ESM degree was created in collaboration with the McDonough School of Business, the Earth Commons Institute, and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, with the understanding that science and business principles are both critical to achieving sustainability goals across the globe. The full-time, 10-month interdisciplinary MS-ESM program combines principles of environmental science with a foundation in business management to ensure graduates are prepared to become principled leaders in environment and sustainability.
Through the program’s capstone course, students have the opportunity to collaborate with organizations and gain hands-on experience creating solutions to some of the biggest sustainability challenges.
“Preparing our students to become ethical leaders in sustainability is not just an academic responsibility; it is a moral obligation,” Carfagno said. “In a world that faces unprecedented environmental challenges, we must equip this generation with the knowledge, skills, and ethical frameworks to drive meaningful change for a more sustainable future.”
As part of the MS-ESM program, students have the opportunity to work directly with career coaching staff in the McDonough Career Center to identify career paths and goals. The program’s robust curriculum and experiences prepare graduates to enter a variety of fields, including consulting, public relations, government and NGOs, and supply chain management.