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Coming up with a Master’s Project Idea

The planning process for Master’s Projects begins informally during the fall term through a series of informational sessions for those students intending to participate in a Master’s Project group.

Where do project ideas come from? Topics are suggested by faculty members, outside sponsors who contact the School, alumni and students. Get to know your SNRE classmates, and talk to other Erb students - especially if you are interested in doing a project that bridges business and environmental issues. Erb Institute faculty and staff are key resources as well. Erb Institute Board members are valuable sources for ideas and can make excellent project sponsors. In addition, Andy Lawlor, who coordinates IMAP (the International Multidisciplinary Action Projects) and the Global Projects Course at the Ross School of Business, and who also teaches the Entrepreneurial classes, is a rich source for project ideas.

It is critical that you avail yourself of every opportunity to learn about project possibilities and to share your ideas with student and faculty colleagues.

It’s never too early to starting brainstorming ideas, even if you start the program at the Ross School of Business! The more time you spend planning a project, the better it will be.

The role of the faculty advisor

As ideas for projects are developed, teams need to contract with at least one SNRE faculty member to serve as an advisor for the project. The role of the faculty advisor includes overseeing the development of the project proposal as well as the daily business associated with the implementation of the project and responsibility for assigning final grades to team members. Many recent Erb Institute students have enlisted the assistance of faculty outside of SNRE with expertise in some aspect of the project.

By the end of the winter term (and to complete the Project Planning Course), teams are required to submit a complete proposal to the Master’s Project coordinator to receive an acceptable grade for the class. The remaining 4 credits for the Master’s Project (for a total of 6 credits) are taken over the following or final academic year. Details of how these 4 credits are taken can be worked out with the project team.

Recent Erb Institute Master's Projects and Theses

Aveda’s Product Distribution System: A Strategic Assessment of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Energy Consumption (2005)
   - Nathan Arbitman, Tony Baptista, Ted Ekkers, Jonathan Forrester, Heather Kirshman

Encouraging Transformation and Leadership For Sustainable Plant Management (2005)
   - Emily Collings, Laura Flanigan, Liz Hamilton, Kate Napolitan, Nancy Poderycki

Developing Power Business Plan: Empowering the Bottom of the Pyramid (2004)
   - Scott Baron

Moving DTE Energy Toward Sustainability (2003)
   - Jessica Brinkman, Elizabeth Fastiggi, Jamie Lloyd, Michael Sadowski, Jake Swenson

Sustainability Assessment and Reporting for the University of Michigan's Ann Arbor
Campus
   - Matt Roman, Samantha Conrad Sturhahn, Elizabeth Terry

Life Cycle Assessment of the Stonyfield Farm Product Delivery System (2001)
   - Dov Brachfeld, Tad Dritz, Shinsuke Kodama, Alan Phipps, Elyse Steiner

Strategic Venture Investing in Environmental Technologies for Ford Motor Company
   - Luis Bravo, John Cunningham

Tip: Review past Erb Institute Master’s Projects

During the two-credit Project Planning Course (NRE 701), you will be required to review and critique a few Master’s Projects. We recommend you look at past Erb students’ Master’s Projects to get a feel for how they have approached this very integral component of the MS degree. Copies of completed projects and theses authored by Erb students are available for loan in the Erb Institute office. The Shapiro Library also has copies you may view at the library. Master’s projects and theses related to The Center for Sustainable Systems research is available on the CSS website. A complete list of Erb Institute Masters Opus titles is on the Erb Institute CTools site.

Master's Project Completion Requirements

The following requirements must be met before a project is considered complete. These completion requirements must be fulfilled prior to graduation for members who wish to graduate at the end of the term:

Written document - Each group is responsible for a written document. One hard-bound copy of the document must be handed in for the files of the SNRE Associate Dean’s Office and another for the Office of Academic Programs (OAP).

Presentations - SNRE requires at least one presentation of the group’s findings to the SNRE community.

Evaluation - Evaluations provide an opportunity to determine the success of a project and guide changes that might be made in the future. Each group member is asked to complete a written evaluation of the project and submit it to the Master’s Project Coordinator at the end of the project.

The Master’s Project: One Erb student’s perspective

“Without hesitation, I would recommend the Master's Project. The group approach increases your project opportunities because you can study larger topics and be more in-depth. Similar to the Ross School of Business MAP experience, you'll get valuable experience working in interdisciplinary groups, the value of which cannot be underestimated. Also, in addition to using your natural resource skills, the project can truly challenge your business skills. You are guaranteed to bring a unique perspective to the group and applying your Erb Institute experience in a collaborative manner is very rewarding and beneficial to the project.”

Catie Blackler,
Erb Institute graduate, Class of 1996
Eastman Kodak Company

Important Note: Refer to the most current edition of the Master’s Project Handbook from SNRE. It contains all of the requirements of the Master’s Project - and it is very important to read it carefully. SNRE has quite specific requirements in terms of how the School defines “project completion” - from margin width to pagination rules to how the table of contents must be formatted (we’re not kidding!). Read it from cover to cover and follow their rules!