Environmental Studies Alumni Info

Since 1972 the Environmental Studies Program at UCSB has graduated over 4,300 alumni. This success has established UCSB's ES Program as one of the largest and most successful undergraduate environmental programs in the world. Reflective of the interdisciplinary nature of the ES curriculum, alumni have obtained positions in every employment sector (public, private, and non-profit) and a wide variety of career fields, including: National Park Superintendent, the President of the League of Conservation Voters, Aquatic Ecotoxicologist, and Assistant Secretary of California's Resources Agency.

No matter what discipline within environmental studies ES students choose to study, they all share the goal to become effective environmental problem solvers. It is this common theme that transforms the Environmental Studies Program from a typical academic department into a close knit family of faculty, students, and staff. By working together to educate and create tomorrow's environmental leaders a unique bond is established that persists with our alumni long after they leave UCSB.

This webpage contains a wealth of information regarding the paths and accomplishments of UCSB's Environmental Studies Alumni. If you are an alumnus of the ES Program feel free to drop us an email or give us a call and let us know how you are doing (esinfo@es.ucsb.edu).

• View a complete list of ES Program Alumni (1972 thru 2005)

• View interesting facts about our Alumni

• View Alumni Survey Results 2005 ES Alumni Survey - Summary (4 pgs., .pdf file)
- 2005 ES Alumni Survey - Complete Report (38 pgs., pdf file)
- 2000 ES Alumni Survey - Summary

• Check out the 2005 ES Program's 35th Anniversary & Alumni Reunion Webpage
- 35th Celebration Photo Gallery
- Marc McGinnes Retirement Tribute

• Visit/Join The Environmental Studies Associates (ESA) - An alumni
and community support group dedicated to UCSB's ES Program.

Visit/Join The Environmental Studies Associates (ESA) - This group of ES alumni and community members serve as the ES Program's very own support organization that is committed to working to insure UCSB's ES Program remains one of the finest undergraduate environmental programs in the world.

The ESA sponsors a variety of educational, social, and charitable activities designed to sustain and further the research, teaching, and service missions of Environmental Studies (ES) at UCSB. They are committed to maintaining the quality of this outstanding program of environmental education, enhancing its visibility, and supporting its students. Besides supporting Environmental Studies at UCSB, ESA strives to increase community awareness of the program and participation in its activities. Visit their website at: www.es.ucsb.edu/people/esa/index.html

Summary of the 2000 ES Program Alumni Survey Results:

Note: the 2005 ES Alumni Survey Reults are available by clicking here.

In an effort to find out what ES Program alumni have done since graduating with an ES degree, an Alumni Survey was conducted in the year 2000 sampling over 3,600 ES graduates. A total of 369 surveys were received and the results posted below illustrate the results:

1) 52% ended up continuing their education at some point after graduating from the ES Program:

2) The following was the general employment sector which best fit their current job description:

3) 70% of our graduates classify/consider their current employment as an “environmental career/job”

4) 71% of all ES graduates completed at least one internship while at UCSB. Combined, 98% of them rated their internship experience as either “Extremely Beneficial” or “Beneficial.”

5) The following are reported annual income ranges for ES grads (including graduate students and retirees):

6) 95% of all respondents said they were either “extremely content” or “content” with the overall success of their UCSB Environmental Education.

7) Alumni were asked to choose one category that best fit their current employment; the chart below summarizes their responses and shows the percentage for each category:

8) The following list is a sample of some of the companies and job titles graduates of the UCSB ES Program currently occupy. You will notice a very diverse spectrum of jobs, reflecting the interdisciplinary structure within our curriculum and the strength of our courses in preparing students to pursue a wide range of career opportunities.

9) The following are Alumni responses to questions posed to them in a survey conducted in the year 2000.

Q: How would you summarize your overall experience in the Environmental Studies Program at UCSB?

• UCSB’s Environmental Studies Program not only excited me about working on environmental issues, but helped me develop tools to do so effectively.

• The ES Program inspired me to dedicate myself to improving the quality of life and the environment by encouraging the transition to a sustainable energy future. I will always be grateful for the opportunity to be a part of the program.

• Still happy and proud of my “tree-hugging” roots!!! Thanks for the education and thanks for asking!!!

• Though I didn’t end up in an environmental career, the program was fantastic and I am extremely satisfied with my B.A. degree in ES.

• I learned a tremendous amount from my ES undergraduate program, and was always very grateful that I had an opportunity to participate in such a broad-based program about the environment. To this day, I feel I have a broader perspective on environmental issues than my peers due solely to my ES program education.

• After a decade away from the Program, I am surprised and elated how invaluable the program has been for my career and personal life. When I was going through the program, I had no idea how I would apply much of the information gained from the courses. As the years go by, I am more thankful to those who touched my life during my ES days!

• ES provided me more practical skills than my Business/Economics double major. The caring faculty and students made all the difference. It is a values program worthy of support and protection.

• I am very proud to be an UCSB ES graduate. The ES Program provided me a valuable foundation for my environmental career. Through ES, I learned what it truly means to be an environmental specialist/professional. So many of my colleagues who came from other kinds of educational backgrounds do not understand how their careers are fundamentally rooted in the environmental movement. The ES Program provides this important framework for careers in the various environmental fields.

• I feel that the ES Program very adequately prepared me for an environmental career. I was exposed to many different sectors of the field and feel that I am able to perform many different skills. I think it is important to realize, however, that as an ES student you really have to make what you want it to be as it is interdisciplinary.

• I have consistently found UCSB ES graduates to be the top candidates for positions for which I have been recruiting/hiring. My years in the ES Program stand out as a time of intense exploration, challenge, discovery, and satisfaction.

Q: Why is a interdisciplinary program like Environmental Studies so important at the undergraduate level?

• The integrative approach of the program and the diversity of courses open to undergraduates were key factors in my success at grad school.

• My own feeling is that undergraduate education should aim to produce competent human beings rather than merely competent specialists.

• I feel ES can offer perhaps the most relevant and comprehensive interpretation of human history and of modern issues of our species. I think we should reject and resist any attempt to make it a specialty - rather give it the intellectual status and dignity such a study deserves in a liberal arts institution.

• You might mention to people who doubt the department’s credibility that I have yet to regret in any way getting my degree in Environmental Studies. The broad science background has proven surprisingly useful; most companies are glad to teach you the specifics.

• I have always thought that my environmental studies training was excellent. If a mind is trained to relate contrasting or seemingly unrelated fields of knowledge and draw hypotheses, it has received the most valuable training possible.

• I think the broad spectrum of insights has allowed for a true process to be attained for attacking problems. I’ve learned how to learn.

• Even nuclear physicists at the Livermore Lab complain that they were needlessly narrowed in grad school and had to learn all the details of their actual work after landing the job anyway.

Q: What words of wisdom do you have for current ES majors?

• The more you put into the major, the more you will get out of it! Take notes, ask questions, volunteer for things you are interested in. Open your mind to as many different people, views, and experience as much as you can. In other words, take a proactive stance, not a reactive one!

• Really search for what interests you, don’t just settle for the first offer you get.

• Do an internship as soon as possible and as many as you can. Try to stay there for about six months. Also try to develop a network of people you can use as references.

• Talk to teachers and internship supervisors before choosing a career path. Also, don’t focus on just one thing, always try to learn from both sides of the coin.

• Work hard and learn as much as you can because having knowledge and experience is what companies and job headhunters are looking for, not if you got an A on a book report.

• Get to know your faculty! One of the most valuable career resources available to you at UCSB is its faculty members. No where else will you find more information and experience about a specific career field or academic discipline than from your professors, lecturers, and teaching assistants.

• It is important to always remember, a college education is an investment in the rest of one’s life. Always make sure to take the time to explore all available options. Only you can decide what you want from life!