The M.S. in Coastal and Watershed Science & Policy (CWSP) is a graduate degree program in the Division of Science & Environmental Policy (SEP). The program accepts students from a wide range of related undergraduate majors. Regardless of undergraduate major, the following prerequisites must be completed by the times indicated below for admission to the graduate program.

Calculus (2 course sequence that includes integration and differentiation; must be completed BEFORE enrolling in the fall).
Statistics (1 course; college statistics for science majors; must be completed BEFORE enrolling in the fall).
Biology (2 courses; college biology for science majors; second semester may be completed in the fall; e.g., ecology, botany, ecosystems).
Physical Earth Science (1 course; e.g., geology, soils, geomorphology, hydrology, oceanography; may be completed during fall semester).
Economics (1 course; e.g., microeconomics, macroeconomics, resource economics; may be completed during fall semester).
GIS (1 college-level GIS course or basic ESRI ArcGIS certification; may be completed during fall semester).

Conditional Admission

Applicants who lack any of these required courses may be accepted for conditional admission. Applicants should outline in their Statement of Purpose how they plan to complete all missing requirements in the appropriate timeframe. Please note that Calculus and Statistics must be completed before the start of the fall term.

Program Admission Requirements

Bachelor's degree in related field from accredited college or university with an overall GPA of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale. Applicants with a strong application and a GPA of 2.75 to 2.99 may be considered under exceptional circumstances if their GPA in their final two years of undergraduate or postgraduate studies is above 3.0.
GRE general test scores. When submitting scores, be sure to specify Institution R1945 (California State University, Monterey Bay).

Admission to the CWSP M.S. program will be based upon a holistic evaluation of all application materials.

General Admissions Information and Procedures

All CSU campuses utilize an online application process using CSUmentor.edu. At CSUMB, a secondary online application system has been added to streamline the submission of documents.

Your OtterID is required for login and access to your application. If you have just applied to the campus, you may not have received an email about your OtterID yet, but that should be in your inbox soon. You can also access your program application via MyCSUMB at my.csumb.edu (if you are already a CSUMB student, the program application will be under the "Students" tab).

Here you will provide details regarding your interest and qualifications for entering the CWSP M.S. program. To begin, you will enter your degree option and area of emphasis. We offer both Thesis and Professional Science Masters (PSM) degree options. For either option, students choose an emphasis in Applied Marine Science or Applied Watershed Science.

Your Statement of Purpose should clearly identify potential faculty advisors and provide details on:

Your professional goals;
Your particular area of specialization within Coastal and Watershed Science & Policy and reasons for wanting to pursue a M.S. degree in this area;
Your past academic work as it relates to your desired area(s) of study; and
Any additional research or professional experience that may assist the selection committee in evaluating your preparation and aptitude for graduate study.

All applicants must submit GRE test scores to CSUMB as well as enter the scores into our application website. Be sure to specify Institution R1945 (California State University, Monterey Bay) and Department 0502 (Environmental Sciences). GRE scores are valid for five years.

Names and email addresses for those who will send letters of recommendation are also required. Requests for these letters will be sent directly to your contacts from the CSUMB online system. If letters have already been sent and received by us, we will enter the information into your application record.

Your success is important to us. Should you have any questions or concerns regarding the CWSP Program or the application process, please contact Karen Wallace (Science Advisor / CWSP Graduate Secretary / USDA E. Kika De La Garza Fellow) at 831-582-4739 or kwallace@csumb.edu.