However, the founders of the Program also recognized the need for each student to have a strong background in a specific scientific or engineering discipline. It is more applied and more interdisciplinary, and substitutes a research experience in government or industry for an extended research training period on campus. The UCLA D.Env degree has historically been highly marketable relative to other doctoral degrees in the environmental field, including the Ph.D. More than 180 graduates of the D.Env program now hold permanent positions, many in leadership roles in the environmental profession. Administratively, the UCLA Environmental Science and Engineering Program is an interdisciplinary unit of the Department of Environmental Health Sciences of the UCLA School of Public Health. The Program focuses on the critical environmental problems which transcend national borders, but which also have local relevance.
Emphasis is on rigorous science, sound methodologies,and attention to fundamentals.
ESE Program research and training are both experimental and analytical in nature. Research and instruction recognize the cross connections between soil, water, air, and biota, as well as the interdependence of human and ecological health. Equally important,the curriculum emphasizes the interactions and interdependencies between science, economics, and law in the protection of the environment and public health.