Environmental Studies is an interdisciplinary undergraduate program of the Morrissey College of Arts and Science offering a major (B.A.) and a minor. ENVS is a distinct academic community drawn together around a shared purpose of transforming society to be ecologically regenerative, socially just, and economically secure. Solving the environmental challenges we face in the 21st centuryclimate change, freshwater scarcity, environmental pollution, biodiversity loss, food insecurityrequires a holistic approach, characterized by collaboration and integration across the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities. In the Environmental Studies Program, students experience this rigorous interdisciplinary approach as they envision and implement paths towards sustainability. We also foster a campus-wide dialog about environmental challenges by sponsoring conferences, lectures and other events.
The major in Environmental Studies invites students to join the ongoing work of understanding and responding to contemporary environmental issues. Majors engage with a breadth of disciplines in the natural sciences, the social sciences, and the humanities, encountering multiple frameworks addressing the restoration of planetary ecosystems and human health. ENVS majors also gain depth of knowledge by taking six 3-credit courses within a concentration that focuses either on a particular environmental challenge or career path. ENVS students enjoy flexibility in choosing among a variety of courses to fulfill requirements within the concentration. At the same time, we provide a strong cohort experience in which students gather as sophomores, juniors, and seniors to meet foundational requirements. As a whole, the curriculum provides students with a powerful experience of participating in a community that shares common goals, while also developing as individuals with unique interests, knowledge, and skills.
Wild species are going extinct at unprecedented rates due to human activities causing degradation and loss of habitat. But these trends are reversible. It is critical to protect Earth's intact ecosystems, to rewild degraded land and seascapes and to make our mixed use landscapes hospitable and healthy for people and nature. This concentration is for students who want to deepen their knowledge and skills in conservation ecology, ecosystem restoration, natural resource management, and the legal protection of wild species and whole ecosystems.
