Marine Policy / Environmental Mgmt Graduate Programs

[kmcnyc]

Are there any current or prospective marine policy students out there who can give me some advice on masters programs? I'm a lawyer making a mid-career change, and I'm interested in marine conservation/protected areas (specifically regional and global initiatives to create marine reserves). I'd like to apply to marine policy / management programs with a strong emphasis on economics, policy and international resource management / conflict resolution -- not programs where the primary emphasis is marine science.

I'm very familiar with the Nicholas School at Duke, and the CEM program looks like it could be a great fit for me. I'd like to come up with at least 3 more programs to apply to, in the event that I'm not accepted at Duke or don't get any financial assistance from Duke. Other schools on my radar include the Marine Resources Management program at Oregon State (COAS), and the Masters of Marine Affairs at U. Washington, both of which seem to be very strong programs with a great offering of classes. I don't know anything about the Rosenstiel School at U. Miami or the program at U.C. Santa Barbara, but I plan to look into them. Given that I'm certain I want to work in the marine policy/environmental area, I'm not sure whether I should also be considering general environmental management programs like those at Yale, Michigan and Berkeley (which would almost certainly offer fewer marine-related classes) -- any advice on that front would be much appreciated. I'm also not sure how much the prestige factor of the school is important in finding employment (with law school, for example, it's very important with a number of firms not considering graduates from schools outside the top tier).

Any insight on admissions criteria would also be much appreciated since I can't seem to find anything online, and the admissions reps I've talked to have shared much info. My GRE score is solid (1410) and I've got an undergraduate degree in economics from a second-tier liberal arts college with a 3.95 GPA. I graduated from a top tier law school (NYU), and I've spent the past 15 years in legal practice in NYC. I've also recently completed post-bac classes in marine biology, ecology and coastal zone management, and I will be taking statistics and calculus (because I can't I've forgotten math!) in the spring.

Thanks for any advice!