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.
The health of people is intricately connected to the health of the environment. Ecosystems that flourish with healthy populations of plants, animals, fungi, and microbes also support healthy human populations. Many anthropogenic pollutants such as plastic, NOX and SOX gases, carbon monoxide, soot, and pesticides, reduce both environmental and human health. The hazards generated by factories, power plants, and waste facilities have been disproportionately sited in low-income neighborhoods, concentrating their negative health impacts in communities of color. Students in this concentration are interested in addressing the underlying environmental causes of human disease and illness and are typically preparing for careers in public health or sustainable development.
