Emory's Department of Environmental Studies has a new name, the Department of Environmental Sciences, and a new master's level degree program through the Laney Graduate School, which will start in the fall of 2014.
"We're not changing our direction with the new name. We're reaffirming it," says Uriel Kitron, who has chaired the department since he arrived at Emory in 2008.
"We felt that 'Environmental Studies' did not really convey our strong orientation toward research," he explains. "The majority of our 11 faculty are focused on the natural and health sciences. We also have a few faculty involved in the social sciences, and we plan to increase their number. ‘Environmental Sciences' encompasses the full range of what we do."
The department's emphasis on research gives students many chances to become involved in analysis, lab and field-work early on, Kitron says. The department has projects based in Atlanta and throughout the world.
Another hallmark of the department is extensive collaborations that cut across the University, from public health to business, law, anthropology, biology and other specialties throughout Emory College. The adjacent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention further raises the collaboration quotient and opportunities for research experience.