If you're lucky enough to call Rhode Island home, you know this New England nugget has plenty to offer, despite its diminutive size. What it lacks for in square miles it makes up for in beauty. In fact, Rhode Island's splendor-complete with sandy shores, salt marches, towering coastline cliffs, quiet waterways, and dense forests-may fool you into thinking this state's environment has gone relatively unscathed.
But there are environmental issues that exist; environmental issues that are a direct result of overfishing, the misuse of resources, overpopulation, and the state's industrial history. Lend your talents to the field of environmental science in Rhode Island and you'll study issues like the management and restoration of fish populations, the implementation of green building efforts, and the cleanup efforts of Narragansett Bay due to years of industrial toxins making their way into one of this state's most precious resources.
You'll need an excellent, post-secondary education to get your career off to a strong start, and graduate study if you want to rise through the ranks in this profession. Fortunately, Rhode Island is home to a number of these programs that will serve as your ticket to a variety of careers in the fulfilling environmental sciences and conservation field.
What Can I Do with an Environmental Science Degree in Rhode Island
Rhode Island's environmental efforts are alive and well through the state's governmental, nonprofit, and private sectors.
Lend your expertise and talent as an environmental scientist to government agencies like the Rhode Island EPA and the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management and your scientific inquiries will become part of statewide initiatives aimed at the protection and restoration of state land and natural resources.
Or, contribute to the state's environmental science efforts by working at one of Rhode Island's nonprofit organizations like the Environment Council of Rhode Island in Providence, a coalition of more than 60 Rhode Island organizations whose work includes developing and advocating policies and laws directly affecting the environment.
In the private sector, environmental scientists are valued members of environmental consulting firms like the Alliance Environmental Group, Inc.. in Warwick, whose services include environmental testing, remediation, and consultation services for commercial, industrial, municipal, and institutional customers.
A career in environmental science can be both professionally and financially rewarding in Rhode Island. According to 2020 BLS statistics, environmental science and protection technicians earned an average, annual salary of $83,070 and zoologists and wildlife biologists earned $75,190 during this time.
2020 US Bureau of Labor Statistics salary figures and job growth projections for Environmental Scientists and Specialists and Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists reflect state data not school-specific information. Conditions in your area may vary. Data accessed September 2021.
Master's in Environmental Science in Rhode Island
A master's degree in environmental science is your ticket to advanced positions in the field and an increased earning potential.
The Master of Environmental Science and Management through the University of Rhode Island delivers the superb course of study you'd expect from the state's largest university. Students of this program can choose to take day or evening classes at the Kingston, Narragansett Bay, or Providence campus and have the opportunity to choose among seven specializations like remote sensing and spatial analysis, conservation biology, and environmental planning and design,
Bachelor's in Environmental Science in Rhode Island
A bachelor's degree in environmental science is the ideal introduction to the field and solid preparation for future graduate study.
In Rhode Island, you'll acquire this educational foundation through schools like Bryant University, which offers a BS in Environmental Science, Roger Williams University, which offers a BA/BS in Environmental Science, and Salve Regina University, which offers a BA in Environmental Studies.
These programs come with their share of perks, including Bryant's exceptional experiential learning through living laboratories in forest, aquatic, and wetland environments, guaranteed research opportunities at Roger Williams, and Salve Regina's unique experiential learning program Tree ID, which takes place in the university's campus arboretum.
