Carbon Management­: Reduce Our Footprint and Reach Net Zero

The Carbon Management Degree Track of the Professional Science Master’s in Ecosystem Science and Sustainability is designed to develop professionals with expertise in carbon and greenhouse gas management for local to national governments, corporations, agricultural and forestry operations, energy companies, and other entities.

The curriculum focuses on providing a foundation in carbon management concepts and approaches as well as technical capacity to quantify greenhouse gas emissions and develop mitigation strategies.

Students also learn about current and emerging policies and the tradeoffs among carbon, nitrous oxide and methane. 

This is an in-demand area with high earning potential. You can read more about how CSU is training students to meet the demand here!

“We have to move very quickly to start to bring our emissions down, and the ultimate bottleneck is the supply of skilled people”
– Microsoft President Brad Smith

Carbon Management Master’s –  Carbon, Climate, and Greenhouse Gas Accounting

The carbon management specialization teaches you applied skills in carbon and greenhouse gas management for local to national governments, corporations, agricultural and forestry operations, energy companies, and more. The curriculum focuses on providing a foundation in carbon management concepts and approaches as well as technical capacity to quantify greenhouse gas emissions and develop mitigation strategies.

The course selection can be designed to obtain both the PSM and the carbon management certificate.

Some of the classes you take as part of the carbon management track:

• Foundations of Greenhouse Gas Management and Accounting
• Current Topics in Climate Change
• Applications in Greenhouse Gas Inventories
• Life Cycle Analysis
• Integrated Ecosystem/Sustainability Analysis

FACULTY SPOTLIGHT: Dr. Stephen Ogle

Dr. Ogle improves national greenhouse gas inventories, and implements those improvements in an operational system for US government reporting to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. He has done extensive capacity building in over 20 countries. assisting government compilers with improving national greenhouse gas inventories in Asia, Africa, Central America and South America.

In 2007, Dr. Ogle received the Nobel Peace Prize for his work on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Internships – Putting Your Carbon Management Degree into Practice

As part of the Professional Science Master’s students complete a 400-hr, 4-credit internship to gain on-the-job experience and expand their professional networks. Students apply to their internship with the guidance of their faculty advisor and internship coordinator. These internships are almost always paid.

Students have interned at a variety of places, including American Carbon Registry, The Climate Trust, and Bank of America.

Ben Robinson, an alumnus of the Carbon Track, interned with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. He has since become a senior associate with HXE–a consulting firm that specializes in sustainability–and has hired two interns and one full-time employee from the program. 

FACULTY SPOTLIGHT: Dr. Lauren Gifford

Dr. Gifford is a critical geographer exploring intersections of global climate change policy, conservation, markets and justice. She is Associate Director of the Soil Carbon Solutions Center at Colorado State University. Dr. Gifford has particular expertise in carbon markets and offsets, climate finance, climate tech, and UNFCCC processes and is regularly contacted by media. She teaches several courses in the Carbon Management Degree specialization and is a vibrant addition to the ESS faculty!

Careers – What Can You Do With a Carbon Management Degree?

Carbon Accounting is a quickly growing area of demand as governments, companies, and organizations work to reduce their carbon footprint, bring down greenhouse gas emissions, and reach net zero.

The Carbon Management track prepares you for a variety of jobs, in the public, private, and NGO sectors. Some job titles you could expect to apply for are:

• Carbon Accounting and Measurement Consultant
• Specialist – Carbon Management
• Greenhouse Gas Inventory Manager
• Impacts Data Specialist
• Sustainability GHG Accounting Manager
• Carbon Footprint and Climate Strategy Consultant
• Carbon Analyst

Our alums have gone on to work for American Carbon Registry, Brilliant Earth, State of Colorado Public Health and Environment, and more.

Start Your Application for your Carbon Management Degree!

Do you want to learn more about the Carbon Management degree track of the Professional Science Master’s? Would you like to meet with an Academic Success Coordinator? Ready to start your application?

Get in touch! We would love to chat with you.