Louisiana is blessed with abundant natural resources. To protect public and ecological health, and restore air, soil, and water quality, Louisiana has developed one of the strongest professional environmental communities in the world. The environmental management systems curriculum provides students with the knowledge and skills to work as part of this environmental community in a variety of areas of specialization, including air permitting, environmental enforcement, soil conservation, water quality, wetland delineation, environmental compliance, coastal restoration, and risk assessment and management. Environmental management systems graduates are well-qualified for a variety of careers because of their solid training in sciences, problem-solving, and written and oral communication, all of which will be critical for the fast paced, ever-changing future job market that will favor workers who are well-trained and demonstrate flexibility and adaptability.<br><br>The environmental management systems curriculum is partitioned into three areas of concentration: (1) environmental analysis and risk management, (2) policy analysis, and (3) resource conservation. Each concentration includes a variety of elective courses that allow students to gain expertise in specific areas that interest them. Particularly in their junior and senior year, students interact with a wide range of accomplished environmental professionals to refine their program of study and career goal, and focus on specific career paths within the broad environmental management field. However, the environmental management systems curriculum is designed to be sufficiently flexible to allow students to prepare for positions in the public or private sectors working in the office, laboratory, or field.<br><br>Graduates with a concentration in environmental analysis and risk management will have a knowledge and practical understanding of: chemistry (analytical, organic, and quantitative analysis, instrumentation, soil and water chemistry), environmental microbiology, environmental fate and transport geology (hydrology), land use planning (including GIS/GPS), site investigation principles and collection methods, human and ecological risk assessment, and federal and local regulations governing site assessment, site evaluation, and site remediation.