Overview
What is this program all about?
The ICARE NRT Master’s degree was a 2-year interdisciplinary degree program with a dual mission of diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice combined with research focused on improving the health of Baltimore Harbor. Students were mentored by a UMBC faculty member and a non-academic scientist from a government agency, non-profit, or industry. That research team was embedded in a larger stakeholder team, meaning that each student and their mentors worked with one or more community members (non-scientists) that had a stake in the research, from development to completion. Students also enrolled in skills courses (community engagement, JEDI, oral and written communication) and disciplinary courses appropriate to their research project.
- Theme
- Grand challenges in urban ecosystems
- Mission
- Our dual mission was to facilitate a cross-sector, interdisciplinary network of environmental scientists and to increase the diversity across the environmental workforce.
- Vision
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- ICARE envisions training a diverse student body in ecology, evolution, engineering, social science, and policy research related to the environment and empowering those students for careers in which foundational research is used to solve environmental problems.
- Goals
- Broaden participation in environmental problem-solving;
- Evidence-based pedagogical training in workforce skills;
- Interdisciplinary exercises mapping research impact;
- Two-way knowledge exchange at the science-policy interface;
- Place our trainees in rewarding jobs in the environmental sector
History
ICARE grew out of an effort by UMBC faculty in 2016 to increase collaboration among ecologists, evolutionary biologists, environmental scientists and engineers on campus. As we coalesced around a mission to train a diverse student body and increase representation of diverse backgrounds in our fields, we expanded to include professional scientists from local government agencies, non-profits and industry. We are now a large network of environmental researchers committed to diversifying the environmental workforce through teaching, mentorship, and professional development.
Applications
The ICARE Master’s Program has not been accepting applications since January 2023, but individual ICARE-adjacent faculty and departments still are! More information can be found under Application Information.
Participating Departments at UMBC
Department of Biological Sciences
Department of Chemical, Biochemical, and Environmental Engineering
Department of Geography and Environmental Systems
Marine Estuarine Environmental Sciences
Application deadlines for ICARE-adjacent departments/programs can be found under Application Information and under News.
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