How to Apply to the MESM Program

Application Materials:

Non-Refundable Application Fee

There is a required non-refundable fee for US citizens and Permanent Residents; and all others. View the current fee here. Applications are not processed until the fee is received. This fee can be paid by credit card or with a check/money order using the Check/Money Order Submission Form found on the last page of the online application.

Applying for a Fee Waiver 

Application fee waivers are available to qualified U.S. citizens and permanent residents who demonstrate evidence of financial need or proof of participation in an undergraduate research program. McNair Scholars and Project 1000 applicants are among those eligible. Fee waivers are not available to international applicants.

To apply for a fee waiver, follow this procedure within your online application: click on the Payment Information tab and scroll down to the fee waiver information. Then, select the option relevant to you and upload your supporting documentation.

Do not submit a fee waiver the day before the application deadline; it will not be processed in time and your fee waiver request will not be reviewed. Please submit a fee waiver request at least two weeks before the application deadline.

For more information, read FAQs about the UCSB graduate application fee. 

Statement of Purpose Essay

The Statement of Purpose essay is your chance to explain why you want to attend a graduate program and earn a MESM degree from the Bren School at UC Santa Barbara. You should include your specific area of interest, providing an analysis of an environmental issue and how it relates to your ambitions. Explain how your past experiences have prepared you for a rigorous graduate program and how the MESM program will help you achieve your professional goals. Please review the UCSB Graduate Division’s statement prompts before applying.

Personal History and Diversity Statement 

In your Personal History and Diversity Statement, please describe any aspects of your personal background, accomplishments, or achievements that you feel are important in evaluating your application for graduate study. This is your chance to describe if you have experienced economic challenges or any unusual or varied life experiences that might contribute to the diversity of the graduate student population. Examples include but are not limited to the following: lived experience as part of an under-represented group, being financially responsible for family members or dependents, having to work significant hours during undergraduate schooling, coming from a family background of limited income, speaking multiple languages, or living in bicultural communities. You may also include any academic research interests focusing on cultural, societal, or educational problems as they affect under-served segments of society, or if you have intentions to use your graduate degree toward serving disadvantaged individuals or populations.

It may also be a good opportunity to address any discrepancy in your application (e.g. low grades or gaps in your resume). If you wish, you may discuss any discrepancy in the Personal History and Diversity Statement essay to help the admissions committee better understand what circumstances might have affected your academic or professional performance at the time. If you experienced any challenges related to COVID-19, this section would be an appropriate place to indicate them. Please explain how you’ve addressed the issue(s) and why you are prepared now to be successful in a rigorous graduate school program.

The Personal History and Diversity Statement must be written in narrative (essay) form without duplicating content from the Statement of Purpose (SOP) and it must have a minimum word count of at least 250 words.

Please review the UCSB Graduate Division’s statement prompts before applying.

Statement Length Guidelines

There is no specified word limit for the Statement of Purpose or the Personal History and Diversity Statement; however, the prompt does say "brief statement" and the average document size we see is around two pages in length so it is recommended to not make it too much longer than that. UC Santa Barbara accepts PDF and Microsoft Word (.doc and .docx) documents for upload in the online application. The maximum file size allowed is 4 MB per document. You can see more document specifications from the Graduate Division.

Resume or Curriculum Vitae

While work experience is not a requirement for admission, it is highly valued and significantly strengthens your application. Although professional experience in the environmental field suggests that your goals are well matched to the Bren School, we also highly value experience in other professional settings provided you have an environmental background through other means, such as coursework. If your experience is in an area that is not related to environmental science, make sure to provide an explanation in your Statement of Purpose that clearly conveys your reasons for embarking on a new environmentally-related career path.

Please include all relevant academic, work, volunteer, or leadership experience. Formatting style (e.g., line spacing, typeface, and font size) is up to your discretion.

Letters of Recommendation 

Three letters of recommendation (maximum of four) are required as part of your application. Letters should be uploaded to the online application directly by the recommender. For this process to happen, you will be asked to supply the name, email address, job title, and current institution or organization name of each recommender. Once this information is supplied, the online application will generate an automated email to the recommenders, prompting them each to upload a letter on your behalf.

If you are using a Letter Service (such as Interfolio or a university career center) to submit one or more letters, you will be able to indicate this information within the recommender profile. UCSB needs a rating on our rating scale from each recommender you indicate. If the letter will come from a letter service, we will only request the necessary rating from your recommender. 

We would appreciate your recommenders' personal impressions of your intellectual ability, aptitude in research, and professional skills. Please ask your recommenders to comment on your character, quality of previous work, and promise of productive scholarship, among other important aspects. The most successful letters are ones where the recommender clearly understands the student's previous professional and academic accomplishments, can comment on the student's preparedness for graduate-level studies, and can make a connection between the student's future goals and the MESM program.

It is beneficial to provide at least one letter from a faculty member who is familiar with your academic abilities. We realize this may be difficult if you have been out of school for a number of years. If this is not possible, you can provide letters from professionals in supervisory or managerial roles who can attest to your scholarly ability and potential, creativity, dedication, and work performance, among other attributes.

GRE Scores

Please note the GRE requirement has been waived for the 2024-25 admissions cycle. The Bren School will not be accepting any GRE scores at this time. The requirement will continue to be evaluated on an annual basis moving forward.

Prerequisite Verification Form

The Prerequisite Verification Form is required for all MESM applicants. Please use this form to clearly list all of the courses you plan to use in order to fulfill the required MESM program prerequisites. This is your chance to highlight any courses that are on your undergraduate transcript or transcripts from other institutions where you’ve completed prerequisite coursework. This is especially helpful for the admissions committee if you’ve completed courses with atypical titles that might apply toward our prerequisites.

Instructions:

1. Download Bren's supplemental Prerequisite Verification Form and complete it.

2. In your UCSB online application, upload this document under the Supplemental Documents section and title it "Prerequisite Verification Form."

Supplemental Memo: Missing Prerequisites
If you are missing a program prerequisite or if you plan on enrolling in a prerequisite course before you start the MESM program, then you are required to submit a memo. In this document, please outline how you plan to rectify your deficiency before enrolling as a graduate student in the summer, if you are admitted as a MESM student. Presenting a good plan will strengthen your application. While you are not required to have finished all of the prerequisite coursework for admission, you must have it all completed before enrolling in Bren School courses. This memo should be uploaded to the Supplemental Documents section of your UCSB graduate application.

Transcripts

You will be required to upload transcripts from all institutions you’ve attended to your application. These uploaded transcripts are required to be official documents created by the university but can include "unofficial" transcripts that are generated by an online student portal -- as long as the transcripts include the name of the student, the institution, the grades, and a grading scale. For more details, view the UCSB Graduate Division's details and tips on uploading transcripts.

If you are admitted and decide to attend the Bren School by submitting a positive Statement of Intent to Register (SIR) with UCSB, you will be required to send official transcripts directly from the institution(s) attended to the UCSB Graduate Division (not the Bren School). The only exception to this requirement is for admits who attended UCSB as an undergraduate, in which case official transcripts are not required since UCSB can verify academic records using their student data-tracking systems. 

Transcripts for International Students
If you have received your degree, please include your degree certificate within the same file as your transcripts. The uploaded document must include both the original language transcript and the certified English translation. English transcripts are required and must be a complete, exact and literal translation of the original transcripts. English translations must be provided by the school or an official agency.

English language exam for non-native speakers

If your native language is not English, then you are required to complete the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) exam, or the Duolingo English Test (DET). TOEFL ITP Plus, TOEFL Essentials, IELTS One Skill Retake, and other exams not specifically noted in the Graduate Division's English Language Examination admissions requirements will not be accepted. Exams scores must be within two years of the date of application. The University requires a minimum score of 550 (paper test) or 80 (computer test) for the TOEFL exam, a minimum overall band score of 7.0 or higher for the IELTS exam, and a minimum total score of 120 for the DET exam. Be sure to check the above Graduate Division's webpage for more information before you apply.

Exceptions to English language proficiency exams may be granted to applicants who have completed an undergraduate or graduate degree at an institution whose primary language of instruction is English. If you think you qualify for this exception, you will need to upload unofficial transcripts from your institution and indicate on the online application that it is an English instruction-only institution. There are no additional forms or steps necessary at the time of application.