Environmental Studies
Students who matriculated in fall 2021, 2022, or 2023 may follow the Environmental Studies major and minor requirements. Students who matriculated in fall 2024 must follow the requirements of the Sustainability and Environmental Studies major and minor. Any Environmental Studies major or minor who matriculated before the fall of 2024 must work closely with the program to ensure that they are meeting all requirements appropriately.
Program Guidelines
As a holistic interdisciplinary area, Environmental Studies draws on work in the natural sciences, social sciences, humanities, and the arts. It endeavors to bridge these many intellectual approaches and perspectives in the hope that students will gain a deeper understanding both of the environmental concerns facing the world and of proactive opportunities for change. Among issues of concern and investigation are resource utilization, the impact of technology on ecosystems, relationships between the environment and sociocultural systems, ecosystem management, geographic analysis, sustainable design, environmental economics and policy, conservation of biological diversity, nature writing, alternative dispute resolution, political ecology, environmental photography, sustainable agriculture and environmental ethics, among many others.
Faculty
Environmental Studies Faculty
Affiliated Faculty
Resource faculty
Academic Administrative Assistant
Students who matriculated in fall 2021, 2022, or 2023 may follow the Environmental Studies major and minor requirements. Students who matriculated in fall 2024 must follow the requirements of the Sustainability and Environmental Studies major and minor. Any Environmental Studies major or minor who matriculated before the fall of 2024 must work closely with the program to ensure that they are meeting all requirements appropriately.
Environmental Studies Major
The Environmental Studies Major requires eight (8) courses plus a thematic concentration, typically five (5) courses, as part of a three-pronged program.
1. Four required core courses: ENVS 100, ENVS 200, ENVS 301, and ENVS 401.
2. Four distribution courses: Students are to fulfill the requirements of the distribution categories listed below. No double-counting is permitted among these distribution categories or between the distribution courses and the concentration.
a. One environmental methods course from the Humanities or the Arts. Examples include: AHVC 263, AHVC 302, AGRS 312, ENGL 291, ENGL 391, PHIL 260.
b. One environmental course from the Social Sciences. Examples include: ECON 202, ECON 427.
c. A two-course sequence in the Natural Sciences. Examples include: BIOL 230, EESC 200, EESC 240.
3. A thematic concentration. The concentration is a set of courses (typically five) that provides depth in an area of interest. Concentration courses may not double-count with the Core or Distribution categories above.
ENVS Thematic Concentration Options
- Creative Environments
- Ecosystem Conservation
- Environmental Decision Making
- Environmental Geoscience
- Global Environmental Justice
- Journalism
- Sustainable Agriculture
- Sustainable Design
- Sustainable Development
Note that students may propose their own self-designed thematic concentration, subject to the approval of the Program Committee. In all concentrations, other relevant courses may be added to these lists as they are developed and offered by faculty. Also note that appropriate Off-Campus Study courses may count toward most thematic concentrations.
Environmental Studies Minor
The Environmental Studies Minor requires six courses. Regular offerings are listed here for each category. Check with the ENVS program office or website for a list of special offerings that may be allowed to fulfill each requirement. Also note that some of these courses have prerequisites.
- ENVS 100 - Integrated Environmental Studies
- ENVS 200 - Environmental Analysis
Four distribution courses: Students are to fulfill the requirements of the distribution categories listed below. No double-counting is permitted among these distribution categories.
1. One environmental course from the Humanities or the Arts:
2. One environmental course from the Social Sciences.
3. A two-course sequence in the Natural Sciences.