Environment and Business (MEB)
The Master of Environment and Business (MEB) program offered by the School of Environment, Enterprise and Development (SEED) is aimed at meeting the growing need for business sustainability professionals as a distinct group of knowledgeable, skilled, confident and motivated individuals with the information, tools and expertise to integrate environment with business in very practical ways.
The MEB program offers a part-time program of studies offered through distance education courses with minimal on-campus study, and with course materials distributed over the Internet.
Graduates will be prepared for senior level positions, primarily as team-leaders or in strategic positions in corporations and medium and small-businesses seeking to change to more sustainable practices. Other intended job destinations include consulting firms and nongovernmental organizations that assist businesses in sustainability issues. Government departments (municipal, provincial and federal), public organizations (hospitals, school boards, etc.), and international agencies will also benefit from hiring our graduates.
Local Economic Development (MAES)
As Canada's only graduate program in Local Economic Development (LED), the Master's of Applied Environmental Studies (MAES) program prepares students for careers in local, regional, and community economic development. As well, many economic development professionals take the program to upgrade their skills and earn a specialized Master's degree.
Over the past few years the importance of local economic development has grown as communities and regions search for innovative ways to diversify their economic activities. Our graduates, who benefit from the University of Waterloo's reputation as one of Canada's leading graduate schools, have careers in communities across Canada.
The program is designed to be completed in a year and consists of eight courses, a research paper, and an internship for students with less than two years professional experience. Students learn theoretical fundamentals and applied skills through weekly contact with economic development professionals and the Faculty's own researchers and professors.
Seminars taught by guest speakers and leading researchers expose students to a range of local development issues, including entrepreneurship, information technologies, labour market processes, service sector expansion, globalization, strategic economic planning, environmental impact assessment, and sustainability.
As members of an interdisciplinary program within the Faculty of Environment, students in Local Economic Development interact with students and professors in the Faculty's other graduate programs: Environment and Resource Studies, Geography and Environmental Management, and Planning.
Topics of mutual interest include industrial, urban, and rural economic development, resource and recreation analysis, tourism, as well as urban, regional, and environmental planning. Students also benefit from close ties with the Department of Economics in the Faculty of Arts.
Approximately fifteen to twenty new students are admitted to the program each year, keeping class sizes small to allow students to interact with professors, guest speakers, and fellow students.