MESM Impact Projects

Why It's the Heart of the Degree

Real stakes. Professional-grade work. A career portfolio.

Every MESM student spends a full year solving a real environmental problem — for a real client or as a real venture. It's our strongest recruitment story, and the clearest answer to "what will I actually do here?"

Real stakes

Live problems for real organizations — agencies, companies, NGOs — not hypothetical case studies.

Professional-grade work

Each team takes on a full year of rigorous, real-world analysis — scoped, executed, and delivered to a real client.

A career portfolio

Published deliverables, a public presentation, client references — and often a paid internship.

4-6

students per interdisciplinary team

1 yr

of applied work for a real client

100%

serve a real external client

91%

of clients would partner again

What It Is

The MESM master's project — with a client, and consequences.

Teams of four to six students work for a real client — businesses, government agencies, and nonprofits — to solve an environmental problem and deliver professional recommendations. It is the MESM master's project: 14 units across ESM 401A–D, spanning a full year.

Teams manage the full arc of a professional engagement: scoping objectives with the client, building work plans, analyzing data, managing stakeholders, and presenting findings — in writing, in person, and in public.

It is not a simulation. The work products are real, and clients put them to use.

Client-Facing Track · This page

MESM Impact Projects

formerly Group Projects

Work for a real client to solve an environmental problem and deliver professional recommendations.

Entrepreneurial Track · Innovation Focus

MESM Impact Ventures

formerly Eco-E Projects

Don't just study the problem — build the solution. Find where market demand meets an environmental need, then build and validate a venture.

Go to impact ventures page →

Real Teams. Real Work.

Four to six students. One real challenge. A full year.

Each MESM Impact Project team brings together students with complementary expertise — environmental science, policy, economics, and data analysis — all working toward a single client's goal.

A faculty advisor guides the process. The team runs it — from the first scoping call through the public presentation at the Bren Impact Showcase.

students stand with their client and advisor

How it works

The year, in four phases

Projects span two academic years, with the most intensive work concentrated in the second.

Spring, Year 1
Scope

Join a team, meet the client, scope the problem, and build a work plan.
Fall, Year 2
Analyze

Gather and analyze data; produce client deliverables.
Winter, Year 2
Refine

Faculty review; complete the final report.
Spring, Year 2
Deliver

Executive summary and public presentation at the Bren Impact Showcase.

Professional Development

Skills built through doing — not simulated

Unlike a classroom exercise, every skill here is tested against real stakeholders, real data, and real deadlines.

Leadership

Guide a team through complexity, ambiguity, and real organizational pressure over a full year.

Project Management

Build a real work plan, set milestones, manage scope, and deliver on time to a real client.

Public Presentation

Present findings to client executives, public audiences, and at the Bren Impact Showcase.

Collaboration

Coordinate across disciplines and work styles on one high-stakes goal for a year.

Client Communication

Manage professional relationships — from scoping calls through final delivery and the public showcase.

Stakeholder Engagement

Interview experts, navigate competing interests, and build trust with decision-makers who use your work.

Data Management

Structure, clean, analyze, and communicate complex environmental datasets to non-technical audiences.

Conflict Resolution

Navigate team dynamics, competing priorities, and the inevitable pressures of a year-long engagement.

Testimonials

What clients, students, and faculty say

"The Bren team did an excellent job at every phase of the project — from research and community outreach to mapping and drafting a detailed Restoration Plan. We believe this work will have lasting value for SRT and help guide conservation priorities across the region."

Adam Livingston, Director of Planning and Policy

Sequoia Riverlands Trust · Client - HydroLogic Impact Project

"Working on an Impact Project gave me the opportunity to apply what I was learning at Bren to a real-world environmental challenge while building skills in teamwork, project management, communication, and client collaboration. That experience prepared me to navigate complex projects in my work today, and I now pass many of those lessons on to my own students."

Eric Cole, New student head advisor, College of science

Oregon State University · MESM 2023

"Our Impact Projects provide a great opportunity for our students to work on real-world problems, applying their knowledge to develop practical solutions."

Arturo Keller, Distinguished Professor

Bren School · Faculty Advisor

Completed Projects

“Impact” means work that keeps making a difference after the project ends

Impact Projects produce findings and tools with direct policy and management implications — informing how agencies regulate, how organizations conserve, and how industries decarbonize. A few recent examples:

Managing Human-Wildlife Interactions: Ecological and Financial Assessment of Elk Feedground Closure in Teton County

In Teton County, elk feedgrounds spread disease, impacting cattle and ranchers. This project assessed ways to manage risks from feedground closure, recommending financial tools to support wildlife coexistence and reduce economic losses for ranchers.

Policy Evaluation for Decarbonization of the U.S. Iron/Steel and Cement Industries

This project developed a policy evaluation tool to assess emissions and model reductions from federal decarbonization efforts. The open-source tool helps policymakers target high-impact interventions for industrial emissions reduction, particularly in disadvantaged communities.

Black Bear Aware: Predicting Human-Black Bear Conflict Likelihood in a Changing Climate

This project modeled human-black bear conflicts in California, incorporating fire and drought impacts to predict future hotspots. Findings help wildlife managers allocate resources and implement proactive strategies to reduce conflicts, especially in vulnerable communities.

Fishing boat on the water with a sunset behind it and birds flying around the boat.

A Bioeconomic Evaluation of Distant Water Fishing Management Strategies in Liberia

Liberia's waters face overfishing from foreign fleets, harming local ecosystems and fishers despite government profits. This project explores how limiting trawling could impact fish stocks and income, helping policymakers balance ecological and economic needs.

Impact Project Showcase

The final projects are shared at the end of the year

MESM Impact Projects and MESM Impact Ventures open the Bren Impact Showcase season — presenting finished work to clients, employers, alumni, and the public.

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April 16, 2027