Sample Master's Thesis Topics

Recent Master's Thesis topics include the following:

Water and Wildlife Management

  • Evaluation of Habitat Restoration on the Bronx River
  • Non-Use Benefits of Marine Reserves in Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary
  • Assessing Community Support for Marine Reserves in the Biminis, Bahamas
  • Offset Projects: Success and Suitability in Addressing Water-Quality Impairment
  • Wetland Indicators and Assessment Approaches to Clean Water Act Compliance
  • Gender Mainstreaming of Women in Decision Making: The Case of Water Management in Sumari Nkwanta, Ghana
  • Genetic Interaction between Farmed and Wild Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar) on Dennys River, Maine: An Impact Assessment

Pollution Prevention and Regulatory Review

  • A Critical Analysis of Colorado's Environmental Covenant Law
  • An Evaluation of Maryland's Voluntary Cleanup Program
  • Destined for Delay: EPA's Proposal for Regulating Mercury Emissions from Power Plants
  • Evaluation of the Ohio Governor's Energy Smart Community Challenge Program

Land-Use Planning and Environmental Justice

  • Exploring Educational Approaches to Advancing Landscape Scale Conservation
  • Environmental Justice Assessment: The Case of Ferry Point Park, New York
  • Land-Use Planning: Fighting Sprawl and Preserving Farms
  • Making Choices: Strategy and Site Selection by Land Trusts
  • Purchase of Development Rights: Is the Tool Right for the Job?
  • Fiscal Impacts of Proposed Land-Use Regulations: A Critical Analysis
  • "Smart Growth" Policies at the State Level: Designing a Tool to Measure Progress
  • Land Transactions: Policies and Practices of Land Trusts in the Hudson River Valley

Preservation of Natural Resources and the Rural Character of Smaller Towns

  • Rezoning West of Wallkill (New Paltz): A Conservation-Oriented Build-Out and Fiscal-Impact Analysis
  • Do Zoning Codes Implement Goals of Comprehensive Town Plans? Preserving Rural Character in Red Hook
  • An Inventory of Natural Resources and a Build-Out Analysis of the Town of Clermont
  • Strategies for Enhancing the Protection of Maryland's Farmland
  • A Community-Based Trail System: Assessing Social and Legal Readiness in the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica
  • Visual Preferences and Perceptions of Timber Harvesting among Preprofessionals
  • Brownfields Redevelopment on Mine-Scarred Lands: Proposals for Successful Community Redevelopment, from Visioning to Landscape Design

Economic Growth and Sustainable Development

  • Barriers to Marketing for Small-Scale Livestock Producers: The Case of Slaughter Facilities
  • Assessing the Legal, Social, and Economic Viability of a Trail System in Costa Rica
  • Impact of HIV-AIDS on Food and Farming in Malawi
  • The Assessment of Integrated Pest Management in Orange and Ulster Counties, New York
  • Potential Impact on Tourism of Wolf Reintroduction in the Adirondacks
  • Impacts of Windmill Visibility on Property Values in Madison County, New York
  • An Assessment of Community Responses to Wind-Energy Development Proposals
  • Our Energy Future: Renewable Energy Technologies for the Reuse of the Columbia Boxboard Mill: A Financial and Technical Viability Analysis

Corporate Social Responsibility: The Role of the Private Sector in Sustainable Development

  • Corporate Purchasing as a Driver for Environmental Change: Challenges and Recommendations
  • Corporate Social Responsibility: Finding Common Ground
  • Barriers to Mitigating Hospital Waste
  • Energy-Efficiency Theory Meets the Real World at Newark Academy: A Case Study
  • The Driving Force Behind the Use of Compact Fluorescent Lamps in Five Hotel Chains
  • Barriers to Adoption of Energy-Efficiency Measures among Small Businesses in New York's Main Street Areas
  • Projections of NOx and PM Emissions in the United States Construction Sector under EPA Nonroad Diesel Regulations
  • Economic and Legal Aspects of Power Purchasing Agreements in Successful Biodigester Projects
  • Thought for Food: Can Potato Late Blight Be Controlled without Harming Public Health?

A National Agenda

  • A New Approach to Environmental Research at the National Science Foundation: The Proposal for a National Institute for the Environment
  • Plant Conservation in the United States: Long-Term Strategies for Policy Makers and the Nongovernmental Community

International Concerns

  • The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture: Taking Stock and Moving Forward
  • Financing Energy-Efficiency Projects in Russia: Is There a Need for Carbon Credits?
  • Computer E-Waste in India: A Blueprint for Change