Environment & Sustainability Major and Minor

The Environment and Sustainability curriculum prepares students during their freshmen and sophomore years to pursue a concentration in depth. 

The cross-college Environment and Sustainability undergraduate major is available in both the College of Agriculture & Life Sciences and the College of Arts & Sciences. 

CALS seeks students who maintain a rigorous high school curriculum and demonstrate an outstanding record of academic achievement.

• 4 Units of English
• 4 Units of Mathematics (including pre-calculus)
• 3 Units of Science (biology, chemistry and physics recommended)
• Also recommended: an additional unit of science

The Environment and Sustainability major comprises a required set of core courses and completion of a selected concentration. Visit the E&S Curriculum page for more information.

In addition to a required set of core courses, all students must select one of six concentrations, consisting of six to ten additional courses. Descriptions of the concentrations, their course requirements, including those courses to be selected within the core requirement, and associated lists of electives are at the links below. E&S concentrations are:

1. Environmental Biology and Applied Ecology (EBAE)
2. Environmental Economics (EE)
3. Environmental Humanities (EH)
4. Environmental Policy and Governance (EPG)
5. Land, Air and Water Resources (LAWR)
6. Individual Student-Designed Concentration (ISD)

BIOEE 1610: Ecology and the Environment

This course provides an introduction to ecology, covering interactions between organisms and the environment at scales of populations, communities, and ecosystems. Ecological principles are used to explore the theory and applications of major issues facing humanity in the 21st century, including population dynamics, disease ecology, biodiversity and invasive species, global change, and other topics of environmental sustainability.

EAS 2680: Climate and Global Warming

This course familiarizes students from a range of disciplines with such contemporary issues in climatology as global warming and El Nino. It introduces the natural greenhouse effect, past climates, and observed and projected climate changes and impacts, and covers natural climate variations and their consequences and predictability.

HIST 2581: Environmental History

This lecture course serves as an introduction to the historical study of humanity’s interrelationship with the natural world. Environmental history is a quickly evolving field, taking on increasing importance as the environment itself becomes increasingly important in world affairs. The course is designed as an intensely interdisciplinary course: we’ll view history through the lenses of ecology, literature, art, film, law, anthropology, and geography.

NTRES 2201/ BSOC 2201/ DSOC 2201: Society and Natural Resources

The actions of people are crucial to environmental well-being. This course addresses the interrelationships between social phenomena and the natural (i.e., biological-physical-chemical) environment. It is intended to (1) increase student awareness of these interconnections in their everyday lives; (2) introduce students to a variety of social science perspectives, including sociology, economics, psychology, and political science, that help us make sense of these connections; (3) identify the contributions of each of these perspectives to our understanding of environmental problems; and (4) discuss how natural resource management and environmental policy reflect these perspectives.

Students will be able to:

• Compare and contrast multiple perspectives on the sustainability of human-environment relationships, including implications for food, land, air, water, energy, climate, and biodiversity
• Evaluate claims about sustainability using approaches and perspectives from the biophysical sciences, humanities and social sciences.
• Apply diverse scholarly approaches to critically evaluate information and build knowledge about how the environment influences human resource use.
• Work collaboratively and across disciplines to formulate approaches to environmental challenges that could help build sustainable human-ecological systems.
• Communicate and collaborate across disciplines, and demonstrate the capacity to enter the public dialogue regarding complex environmental issues using a variety of communication strategies.