Environmental and Science Career Guide

Explore Options: A Menu of Major-Specific Experiences and Sampling of Related Career Paths

Academic Resources

Explore our Environmental Science academic resources, designed to support your academic aspirations.

Curriculum Guide

Environmental Science Department

CLAS Advising Center

What Can I Do With This Major? (External Resource)

people touching a tree

Feeling like you don't know what to do with all of this great information? We highly encourage to make an appointment with your academic advisor and career advisor. Another great starting point is the Self-Guided Career Exploration Tool.

Career Resources

Unlock career potential in Environmental Science! Discover resources to maximize your professional trajectory.

Career Assessment - PathwayU

Jobs via Handshake

Environmental Science Career Information

Career Communities

Menu of Experiences

Sample Internship Sites

Internships provide a way for you to get hands-on, supervised experience in the world of work. You are able to apply the concepts you are learning in the classroom to a work environment.

General Internship Information

Join A Student Organization

Get involved with a student organization related to your major. Student orgs are a great way to get connected and explore career options!

Student Organizations

Relevant Courses and Certificates for Building Skills

Developing the relevant skills that employers seek is an essential component of a student's education. GVSU students should consider strategic elective courses and certificates to pair with their major in order to gain additional skills.

Electives to Consider

Community Service Opportunities

Seek volunteer opportunities related to the field you're exploring as a way of testing out future careers.

GVSU Civic Engagement keeps a list of current volunteer opportunities updated on their website. There are ongoing opportunities on a continuous basis, as well as on-campus and off-campus opportunities posted as they become available.

Civic Engagement

Environmental Study Abroad Options

Through study abroad you’ll also set yourself apart from other job-seekers and graduate-school applicants in an increasingly competitive market.

Environmental Study Abroad

Explore Internships Abroad

Undergraduate Research Opportunities

Pursuing academic, creative, and research experiences and projects outside the classroom is an excellent way to learn new skills and build a body of work in your field.

Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholarship

Getting Started

Fellowship Opportunities

Fellowships are high-impact, potentially life-changing opportunities for students and alumni, opening doors to careers in public service, advanced academic study, foreign service, international teaching, and other career and service pathways into meaningful and fulfilling lives.

Frederik Meijer Office of Fellowships

Finding a Fellowship

Environmental Science Career Spotlights

Environmental and Sustainability Studies

Elizabeth Greiter '22 Spotlight

Elizabeth Greiter '22

No one specific memory reigns highest of them all for me but I look very fondly on going for a sweet treat at late night at the Blue Connection with my roommate and our neighbors.

Judi Majnun Miller - Lindsey '78 Spotlight

Judi Majnun Miller - Lindsey '78

I loved playing my guitar and singing my original songs in the local coffee house.

Robert Zinger '12 Spotlight

Robert Zinger '12

I have fond memories of spending time in nature at GVSU while hiking the ravines for samples and measurements during the NRM course called The Climatic Factor as well as during the Rowing I course I finally got enrolled in my senior year.

David Baum '80 Spotlight

David Baum '80

Swinging on the grape vines at the bottom of the ravines.

View More Environmental and Sustainability Studies

Where Alumni Have Landed

  • Parks Program Manager - Friends of Grand Rapids Parks
  • Environmental Staff Scientist - Verdantas
  • Environmental Consultant - AKC Peerless
  • U.S. Policy Advisor - Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative
  • Research Assistant - University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability
  • Environmental Specialist - Electro Chemical Finishing
  • Environmental Quality Analyst - Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy
  • Environmental Geologist - AECOM
  • Staff Geologist - SES Environmental
  • Wet Chemistry Analyst - ALS Environmental

Attend Events

Career Community- Education, Nonprofit & Public Service

GVSU Winter 2026 Career and Internship Fair

February 19, 2026 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM

The Winter Career & Internship Fair is an excellent place to kick off your job or internship search, or to begin networking with organizations looking to hire Grand Valley students and alumni...

2026 GVSU Health Professional Graduate School Fair

March 25, 2026 11:30 AM - 1:30 PM

Interested in exploring educational opportunities beyond your bachelor’s degree? Thinking of attending graduate or professional school for healthcare? Save the date for the Health Professional...

View More Career Community- Education, Nonprofit & Public Service

Consider joining the Education, Nonprofit, and Public Service Career Community or any other Career Community you are interested in!


Beyond Undergraduate: Graduate or Professional Programs

Undergraduate ES majors are able to pursue a variety of graduate degrees. Below are a few examples:

  • Professional Science Master’s (PSM)
  • Master of Public Policy (MPP) – Environmental Policy Concentration
  • M.S. in Sustainability
  • MBA in Sustainability or Sustainable Business
  • Masters in Climate Science
  • Masters in Conservation Biology

Discover More

Join a Career Community

Check out our Podcast!

Career Center Resources

Looking for other career resources? The Career Center Resources page contains resources related to careers, resumes, internships, job search, interviewing, networking, and more.  




Page last modified October 13, 2025